Steadfast Love

​A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, April 16th, 2023:
Divine Mercy Sunday

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Psalm 118

R. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever.

Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” Let the house of Aaron say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” Let those who fear the Lord say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” 

R. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever.

I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation. There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous. 

R. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever.

The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. 

R. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever.

“His steadfast love endures forever.”

We are exhorted by the rhythmic nature of this line, which comes back again and again in this psalm, to trust the ever-enduring love of God with every part of our lives and our beings.
The first stanza asks all different peoples and finally all those who are believers to proclaim God’s steadfast love. Imagine how powerful a witness this would be if all of the faithful responded to this call to uplift one another and remind each other of this truth. It is as if this stanza says, His steadfast love endures for all people.

Then the psalmist shares from a place of darkness he had reached in his own life. How relatable is it to listen as he reflects back on that time, seeing him pushed so hard by the trials of life that he could no longer stand upright. He was falling, perhaps into temptation, maybe even into despair…. His steadfast love endures in times of suffering. 

But the psalmist’s trial is not the end of him, and he is given the strength and salvation of the Lord! Remember a time in your own life when you could look back on a season of darkness that, with faith and perseverance in trusting the Lord, gave way to a season of light. The whole Easter season is a remembrance of this kind; even death did not restrain Jesus from bringing about the most glorious morning for all of humanity. In the midst of this glory, there is shouting and clapping and singing in the houses of the faithful as we experience all that He is doing…. His steadfast love endures in times of celebration.

We rejoice that the stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. Christ made this work of salvation the cornerstone of the rest of our lives. We are not mere bystanders or observers of the resurrection. We are built upon it and dwell within its realm every day.… His steadfast love endures through the grave.

When I lived in the south end of Halifax, I would go for a walk every day, and often I encountered the same man on the street as he was out and about doing his errands. Without fail, when we saw each other on the road he would call out to me, “Hello, Sister! This is the day the Lord has made!” and I would dutifully respond, “Let us rejoice and be glad in it!” I can’t tell you how uplifting that was — to have the truth of God’s goodness and the newness of His mercy proclaimed over me every day! Would that we would all follow this man’s example, and the exhortation of the psalmist, to proclaim everywhere and in all seasons, to ourselves and to one another, God’s steadfast love truly endures forever!



Sr. Angela

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