Like a Child

A Reflection on the Psalm for August 2nd, 2020:
The Solemnity of the Angels of Portiuncula

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Psalm 145

R. You open your hand to feed us, Lord, and satisfy our needs.

The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made. 

R. You open your hand to feed us, Lord, and satisfy our needs.

The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand, satisfying the desire of every living thing. 

R. You open your hand to feed us, Lord, and satisfy our needs.

The Lord is just in all his ways, and kind in all his doings. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. 

R. You open your hand to feed us, Lord, and satisfy our needs.
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Pause. Pray.

And then read more...

I have five children whom I was gratefully able to nurse as infants.
 
Funny thing about a hungry baby — or anyone who’s “hangry!” — they aren’t satisfied until they are fed! Shortly after birth, a baby roots for its mother with a quiet, instinctive tongue roll and a turn of the head. If there is no response, they amplify the search pretty quickly in the only way they can communicate — a slight wail, a searching cry, an all-out screech of immediacy that continues almost mercilessly until the need is met.

In due time, we all mature from infancy and find more efficient ways to identify, communicate, and get what we need.

Or do we? 

While a baby lacks the words to say exactly what he or she needs, there is something to be said for how a baby is neither ashamed of having those needs or of getting them met. A baby innately expects and trusts its caregiver to provide for a multitude of needs to survive — needs for love, touch, personal care, sustenance, acceptance.

Sometimes there’s enough junk in my head and heart that it's difficult to determine which of my needs have not been met or what I’m actually “hungry” for. When I do get it sorted, I’m often a mess about it — either from a place of pride:

“I don’t want this weakness or struggle, Lord! I don’t want to need your help!” 

… or from a place of shame or guilt: 

“I shouldn’t be this needy. I don’t want to bother you with this, Lord. I am undeserving of your help."

Or sometimes, unlike the humility of a child, I don’t even recognize my own need, poverty, and vulnerability — much to my own detriment. A child whose needs go unmet risks its survival.


You open your hand to feed us, Lord, and satisfy our needs.


Providing sustenance (in whatever way I can) for my children has been one of the most natural and profound experiences of my life. How deeply satisfying for both child and parent! It seems innately what each is designed for. One receives what the other provides.



Let us Pray:

Lord, I am made to receive what You provide. I will not be averse, ashamed, or unaware of my need for You. It is Your joy to draw near and sustain my life!




Michelynne Gomez

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