Psalm 63

Today's psalm was taken from Psalm 63, and I had the opportunity to witness this psalm in action:

Responsorial Psalm PS 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9

R/ (2b) My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
O God, you are my God whom I seek;
for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts
like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water.
R/ My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
Thus have I gazed toward you in the sanctuary
to see your power and your glory,
For your kindness is a greater good than life;
my lips shall glorify you.
R/ My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
Thus will I bless you while I live;
lifting up my hands, I will call upon your name.
As with the riches of a banquet shall my soul be satisfied,
and with exultant lips my mouth shall praise you. 
R/ My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
You are my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I shout for joy.
My soul clings fast to you;
your right hand upholds me.
R/ My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

This psalm is lovely, but I think sometimes we don't take it literally enough. For example, we've all been thirsty, but probably not to the extent where it was physically uncomfortable or it made us single-minded in our focus. Water, juice, pop, sports drinks, and more are quite readily available. Do we know what thirst really is? When I was practicing, I thought about the words more intently. A parched, lifeless earth - has my soul longed for God with such intensity?

We used a new setting of the psalm, and I asked one of the choir members earlier in the week if she would lead it.  She has two young children, the youngest who just celebrated his first birthday!  We practiced before Mass, and I marveled at the composers use of music to elevate the last verse of the psalm, "shouting for joy".  This was going to be lovely.  After the first reading, the cantor went to the ambo for the psalm, and about that time she was spotted by her little guy who was in the front row with dad.  As we started the psalm, he made it known that he wanted his mom and he wanted her right now!  By the end of the psalm, he was fully demonstrating what a true thirst looked like.  With every ounce of his being, he wanted, no he NEEDED his mom.  Nothing else would suffice.  

After Mass, I was chatting with the family, and I mentioned how apt it was to see his single-minded focus for his mom while she was singing a psalm about our soul's single-minded focus on God.  It was such a perfect representation of the psalm.  Just imagine if we longed for God with that same intensity.  How would our prayer lives look?  Where do we begin to lose focus?  Why?  Do we allow distractions to get in the way?  

I encourage you to re-read the psalm and consider your soul.  It is longing for God, but maybe we have forgotten what that looks like, feels like, or sounds like.  Perhaps we have distracted it with things of this world, but deep down, we know that something is missing.  Take some time to reacquaint yourself with the true desires of your soul - Jesus Christ.