Look to Your covenant, O Lord

“Réspice, Dómine, in testaméntum tuum: et ánimas páuperum tuórum ne obliviscáris in finem; Look to Your covenant, O Lord, be not unmindful of the lives of Your afflicted ones.”

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

These words of the introitus, taken from Psalm 73 [or 74, depending on a translation], furnish us with a pleasant taste of a beautiful song of a human soul pouring herself out in deep prayer, in a way that she appears to be overwhelmed by a great desire for God’s mercy and love. It is a prayer of intercession. So significant is this prayer that there is a repetition of these words in the Graduale, right before the proclamation of the holy gospel. The psalmist who kneels in the presence of God imploring for mercy, has seen enough of evil that afflicts God’s people. And from the depths of his heart, he prays that Divine intervention will put an end to this leprosy and restore peace and health to God’s people. Because God is always faithful to His covenant. The covenant of love and mercy.

“Exsúrge, Dómine, et iúdica causam tuam; Arise, O Lord; defend Your cause”, so prays the Psalmist. Defend your covenant, O Lord, which you initiated and entered into with your chosen people when you brought them out of slavery, when you stretched out your tenders arms on the wood of the Cross, when your heart was pierced by the lance, when you freed your beloved people from Satan’s grasp by the shedding of your precious blood, when you allowed your mistreated body to lay in the hands of your sorrowful Mother. When you rose from the dead and triumphed over evil, defend your cause, O Lord, look to your covenant. This is the same covenant that St. Paul speaks about in the Lectio, “the promise that God made to Abraham and to His offspring, who is Christ” (Gal. 3:16). For, when Abraham spoke to his son, Isaac, he prophesied when he said, “God will provide a Lamb: Deus providebit Agnum.” And He did! Christ is the Lamb of God whose blood reenacts a new and everlasting covenant between God and His people. And the Magnificat of our Lady gives proof of this indeed, for, she says, “God has remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children forever.”

Weak and forgetful as we are, we stumble, we struggle to maintain fidelity to the covenant and the promises we make. We, therefore, rely on God’s faithfulness to His covenant. And there is our hope, we have faith in God that He will bring about what He has promised. Therefore, we say, in the words of the Oratio for today, “Omnípotens sempitérne Deus, da nobis fídei, spei et caritátis augméntum: et, ut mereámur asséqui quod promíttis, fac nos amáre quod prǽcipis; Almighty, eternal God, grant us an increase of faith, hope and charity; and make us love what You command so that we may be made worthy to attain what You promise.”

We may also recall that some of the most beautiful and refreshing moments of our lives are the renewal of vows and promises, such as, marriage vows, baptismal promises, religious vows, and professional vows. May I suggest that we consider renewing our vows more often. For, I believe it to be one of the kindest and most loving reminders for the married couple to say to each other, “look to your covenant, [honey], arise and defend your cause.” And for the consecrated religious to say to God, “Look to your covenant, O Lord, Arise and defend your cause.” This is why I believe, dear friends, that as Catholics, we need to attend Mass very often. For, at Mass, we keep the memory of God’s covenant, the covenant of love and mercy. He says, “Do this in remembrance of me.” Every time we go to Mass, we behold Him, He never stops loving. And we are encouraged to stay faithful as well.

Let us pray for the grace to be always grateful to God who is always faithful to His covenant, even when we fail and turn away from Him. And May God’s faithfulness be our source of faith, hope and love.

Amen.

Homily given on the Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost.