Welcome to the Pauline Family's "Year of the Bible"! I'm reading the Bible clear through this year, and I invite you to read along with me. But first, let us pray:
My God, I adore and thank your loving and wise Providence, manifested on every page of Sacred Scripture. You have always been close to sinful and erring humanity, and have indicated the way and given hope. Amid the shadows of error and corruption, you kindled the light of your truth; amid universal corruption, you are the Just One; amid so much idolatry, humanity in every corner of the earth has cultivated a sincere worship of you.
Let my reading today increase my trust in your goodness, your mercy, and your unfailing faithfulness.
Today's chapters are Judith 4-6 and (because it is Sunday) Psalms 83 and 84.
We are introduced to the villain Holofernes, who laughs at the thought that the people he has come to conquer are taking refuge in prayer. (We know who will have the last laugh.)
Psalm 83 well expresses the prayer of the people of Judah, but it is really Psalm 84 that I would like to comment on. This the prayer of a pilgrim to Jerusalem; someone on the "road to Zion" with their "hearts set" on the "courts of the Lord," envious of the birds who make their nests in the Temple itself. We, too, are on pilgrimage through this "Valley of Tears" (the Latin translation of the words mystifyingly rendered "Baca Valley," a place which cannot even be identified). Our crucified and Risen Shepherd leads the way, and we trustingly say: "Better is one day in your house than a thousand elsewhere."
Start reading Judith here and the Psalms here.
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