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A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday September 4th, 2022:
Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Psalm 90

R. Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.

You turn man back to dust, and say, “Turn back, you children of Adam.” For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past, or like a watch in the night.

R. Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.

You sweep them away; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning; in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers. 

R. Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.

So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart. Turn, O Lord! How long? Have compassion on your servants! 

R. Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.

Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Let the favour of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the work of our hands.

​R. Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.

This psalm really stirred me up. It quite literally strikes the uncomfortable chord of the conundrum of human life and gives us hope for the meaning of man. 


In today’s society we are often in a hurry, rushing around to accomplish tasks, in an endless desire to keep up with all the demands placed on us. There are some moments where we lift our heads and take a pause from the intensity of the pace of life and wonder what we are striving for, what is our purpose, or if we are simply caught in an endless, meaningless wheel. People often turn to magazines or self-help books to remind them that the meaning they seek can be found in things that can be captured, like money, wealth, significance, fitness. That sends us on another frenzy of searching for meaning. We then come to a point on the quest again where we are reminded, just as today’s psalm reminds us, 

“In the morning man shall grow up like grass; in the morning he shall flourish and pass away: in the evening he shall fall, grow dry, and wither.”

We come back to realize that we all turn back to dust and wither away. No one can hold money, or wealth, or significance forever. These things fade away and when our time comes, we also pass. It can be easy to read this and feel hopeless. This is not the intent of the psalmists’ writings this Sunday. It is meant to remind us of Who our work is for, Who we live for. At the end of time, through God’s mercy, our lives will be redeemed through His grace. 

“And let the brightness of the Lord our God be upon us […]”

Praying for you all. If you are in a hopeless season, be reminded that the brightness of God is near.




Theresa James

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