Shine Bright

A Reflection on the Psalm for March 27th, 2022:
Fourth Sunday of Lent

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Psalm 34

R. Taste and see that the Lord is good.

I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. 

R. Taste and see that the Lord is good.

O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. 

R. Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Look to him, and be radiant; so your faces shall never be ashamed. The poor one called, and the Lord heard, and saved that person from every trouble. 

R. Taste and see that the Lord is good.

O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace…


Saint Francis of Assisi’s famous prayer seems to echo in this Sunday’s psalm. Together, they speak of the transformative power of God. Eternal. Constant. Never changing. The source of all light.


I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears…
… [W]here there is despair, (let me sow) hope…


Both psalm and prayer tell a conductive story: one of crying out to God, receiving Him, possessing Him, and then, finally, expressing Him.


Look to Him, and be radiant…
… [W]here there is sadness, (let me sow) joy…


There is a natural tendency to assume that anything existing in murky darkness is part of that darkness. However, psalm and prayer paint a defiant image of pure, perfect light existing unsullied in the dead of night. An image exemplified by Christ’s Passion and crucifixion, and what we, as His followers, are called to imitate.


I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth…
… O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console…


Surrounded in darkness, it’s easy to believe that we, too, are part of it. We call out to the Lord expecting Him to remove us from the mire, and He does — in a way. He removes us insofar as He gives Himself to us so that we come to possess Him. Unfortunately, however, we’re still stuck in the mire.

As a result, there is a temptation to believe that because the environment around us hasn’t changed, He’s not doing anything. Or He’s not present, or He’s ignoring us. But that’s not the truth. He’s with us. We possess Him. The next chapter in the story isn’t to leave the mire, but to express Him there.


My soul makes its boast in the Lord…
… [Grant that I may not so much seek] to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love…


When we do, we become sources of His light in the darkness. Unsullied. Unchanging. Unconquerable. A sign of the Lord.


Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
… For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned…


As both psalm and prayer suggest, however, this will never happen without our faith, trust, consent, and cooperation. At the end of the day, the sign of God is also a relationship.


The poor one called, and the Lord heard, and saved that person from every trouble.
… [I]t is in dying that we are born to eternal life.


God chooses to work with imperfect vessels, who choose to work with Him; lifting us out of the all-consuming darkness, and then purifying us, so that we may shine brightly with His light.




Laura Dysart

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