Day 141: the life of david

2 Samuel 23:1-7 David’s final words reflect God’s promise of an everlasting kingdom and a perfect and definitive king. Fidelity to the covenant remained an indispensable requirement for maintaining the Davidic dynasty, and those kingdoms that did evil would eventually fall. (CCC 2579)


1 Chronicles 28:1 The final two chapters concern primarily the final instructions of David to Solomon and to his people. David recalled the words of the Lord with regard to the permanence of his dynasty and the building of the Temple. Ceremoniously, he handed Solomon the blueprints for the Temple’s construction and for the work of the Levites who would serve there. He counseled Solomon to undertake the project with trust in the Lord and his assistance as well as the support of all Israel. He also urged the people to keep the Commandments so the land might remain in their families forever.


Ch 28:9 Those who seek God with a sincere heart will find him, and those who reject him will be deprived of the indescribable blessings that flow from his friendship. This counsel to Solomon acknowledges both God’s eagerness to be close to us and his respect for the choices we make. (CCC 30)


Psalm 42 The deer in search of a stream from which to drink is an allegory of our own spiritual journey. Only God can satisfy the longing of the human heart. St. Augustine’s oft-quoted statement comes to mind here: 


“Our hearts are restless, Lord, until they rest in you.” 


For the psalmist, his thirst was for the Promised Land; evidently, he wrote these words while in forced exile from his homeland. In this case, the thirst symbolizes feelings of abandonment in the face of hardship and apparent futility. Nevertheless, a person of faith mounts an unfailing hope in God’s ever-faithful love and support. (Cf. St. John Paul II, General Audience, January 16, 2002)


Where is your God?: This was a frequent taunt directed toward the people of Israel by their conquerors and captors throughout history. If the God of Israel was so great, why did he not rescue his people? Christ was confronted with a similar challenge as he hung from the Cross. In truth, God DOES intervene and HAS intervened throughout history as Scripture and Tradition amply reveal, even if there is no apparent outcome. 


Deep calls to deep: Prayers of praise and adoration lead us toward an intimacy with God, whom we encounter in the depths of our hearts. The Lord’s Prayer, which Christ himself taught his disciples to pray, begins with three petitions for God to be glorified in as we pray: 


“Hallowed be thy name,

Thy kingdom come,

Thy will be done” (Mt 6:10)


These petitions are followed by four other ones, which present both our spiritual and material needs to God our loving Father: 


“Give us this day our daily bread,

Forgive us our trespasses…

Lead us not into temptation…

Deliver us from evil.”


(CCC 2112, 2803)

(*The Didache Bible RSV-CE Ignatius Edition, 2006)



Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven we give you praise. We do give you praise in all things. And God, thank you so much for Psalm 42. We are reminded that we can ask the question, ‘God, where are you?’ Actually, we are not only reminded that we have the question, ‘Where are you?’, we get so often assaulted by that question, ‘Where is your God? If you believe in Him and if He’s there for you and if He loves you then point him out to me. Where is He?’ Lord God, in those moments we might be our own accuser. The evil one might be the accuser, or those around us might be the accuser that ask that question. And yet, in this moment, Lord, we know where you are, you are with us. Who you are for, you are for us. And you are beside us at all times and you are beside us at all times. Lord God, we give you praise and we thank you and we make that declaration of faith. That declaration of faith that is even when it is hard for us to know where you are, or hard for us to sense your presence, we have faith. We have faith that you are faithful to your promises and you have said that you will be with us forever. You are with us at all times. Without you, we can do nothing. And so with you, we can do all things. Father, keep us close to you and never let us be parted from you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.”