Lamentations

In the RSV interpretation of the Bible, Lamentations 5 has the subheading, “A Prayer for Mercy.” It continues to lay out the persecution and suffering from enemies, reminding me of the current state of the Catholic Church in America and perhaps the world.

In the RSV interpretation of the Bible, Lamentations 5 has the subheading, “A Prayer for Mercy.” It continues to lay out the persecution and suffering from enemies, reminding me of the current state of the Catholic Church in America and perhaps the world.

We are not too different from God’s people in the Old Testament. They believed in Him and His providence, but they always struggled with breaking their covenants. They agreed to make God their only god, but they would forget or get angry and seek out idols. They suffered immensely and were often at the mercy of other nations.

Humility.

Quite possibly the hardest and most important virtue for all of humanity. In fact, St. Augustine said: “Humility is the foundation of all the virtues; therefore, in a soul where it does not exist there can be no true virtue, but the mere appearance only. In like manner, it is the most proper disposition for all celestial gifts.

I remember experiencing a series of pretty awful events several years ago. You know how it is ­ drama transpires that just isn’t really necessary. If it hasn’t happened to you, I’m sure you’ve seen other people go through it, and you probably think to yourself, “And THAT’S why I prefer to live drama­free!”

Before I begin:

As we read the Bible, it is a good exercise to relate certain words or phrase to other language that is used in Scripture. For example, “water” is often related to the Holy Spirit or new life, and “law” often means the word of God. When we read a passage several times in this way, always trying to go deeper with the meaning of the words, we become more open to what the Holy Spirit may want to show us, and we begin making connections and viewing Scripture as a whole, integrated text.

Tears can be healing. As women especially, I think that many of us know this. There are also women who can’t seem to cry, won’t let themselves, or see it as a sign of weakness. But as humans, we are mind, body, and soul. We have intellect, emotion, and will. Living a fully integrated, human existence requires us to acknowledge our emotions, whether good or bad. 

So I know a lot of people working in education, customer service, retail, restaurants, public service, etc., and I hear some of the worst horror stories. Kids acting out in class, customers making outrageous accusations, people who pretend to be good Christians by offering prayers instead of leaving tips.

You may have heard the story of the “footprints in the sand.” In a dream, a woman walked along the beach with the Lord, and scenes from her life flashed by. There were two sets of footprints, hers and the Lord’s, throughout most of her life. Yet she became distressed because she noticed that during some of the lowest, most trying times of her life there was only one set of footprints. When she asked the Lord why He would abandon her during times of great trial, He responded with, “Those are the time that I carried you.”

  Admitting when we're wrong, weak, or defeated is hard. Really hard. It's what makes relationships complex and difficult. It's why we fall into bitterness and resentment and act out of fear. We take the reasons for our failings and turn them into excuses because we have such a hard time admitting that we are just not sufficient on our own. 

I don't know about you, but I wasn't too sure about what I'd find while reading a book called "Lamentations." The name itself sounds fairly depressing, and most of the verses sound quite the opposite of some of the joyful praises we find in the Psalms. At first I wondered why a book like this would even be in the Bible, and I'll be honest ­ I hadn't read it before.