Unto Generations

A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, June 2nd, 2024:
Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

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Psalm 116

R. I will lift up the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.

What shall I return to the Lord for all his bounty to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.

R. I will lift up the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful ones. O Lord, I am your servant, the son of your serving girl. You have loosed my bonds.

R. I will lift up the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.

I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice and call on the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.

​R. I will lift up the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

When the days are long and the trials are hard, I find much comfort in the psalms. The words of the psalmist David give me the words for my lament, a song to praise with, and, perhaps most of all, a sense that the problems I am enduring are not new or insurmountable. David grieved. He suffered in his soul and in his body. He was angry and sad and frustrated. He felt alone. There’s something universal in those extremely human experiences. As the old saying goes, “there’s nothing new under the sun.”

Reading only the bare historical facts about him, he was remarkable both in his strengths and his weaknesses. He could have focused on his own strength. His tactical skill. The respect he commanded as a ruler. What epic tales could be written about his mighty deeds! What songs could have been sung for generations by the bards! 

But that’s not the story David tells. David’s humanity is always on display. His weakness and dependence are always centre stage. He takes himself out of the role of epic hero, and instead acknowledges himself as a servant. His salvation isn’t something he accomplished. It is a gift from God. 

And his humble acceptance of this fact isn’t just a private admission, but a public declaration. A declaration given over to the people he was called to rule, a song of worship to God passed down in humility and gratitude. His words are at the heart of liturgy for generations of God’s children.

Every day, Christians around the world centre their daily devotions around the rhythm of his words. Through the Liturgy of the Hours, through personal devotions, and through the Mass, we join our voices to David’s.

David, who recorded the song of his soul, gave us universal songs we all join in. In his words, we find both a reliable accounting of his fears, lament, and grief, but also the incredible power of God working in him. David is a man whose bonds are loosened, who truly believes God has saved him.

The words still resonate, because generation unto generation, we have found ourselves in them. In my despair, I find my story in David’s words. In my thanksgiving, I sing my praise in David’s words.




​Stéphanie Potter​

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