God, in Your Great Love, Answer Me
Psalm 69 is the lament of a person in deadly danger; from someone who attacks someone faithful to God. This psalm would have been prayed by Jeremiah (1st reading) and can be our prayer as disciples of Jesus. God, who is all-powerful, promises to accompany us always in love. The lowly ones, those who seek God, the poor, God’s own who are in bonds, have every reason to be confident of God’s help. As we pray this psalm, let us ask God to support us when we face danger and opposition that comes from proclaiming what Jesus has revealed. We pray for courage in discipleship and trust in God.
I bear shame and insult because I bear your name.
Rejected by my family, I am stranger to my kin.
My passion for your cause takes all my strength.
Insults meant for you now fall on me.
God, hear this prayer,
favor me now with love,
and send me your ready help.
Answer me, God,
turn to me with mercy and love.
Look and see, you oppressed,
there is cause to rejoice for those who seek God.
Let your hearts hope again,
for God hears the poor, does not despise the imprisoned.
Praise God, heaven and earth, the seas and all that live in them.
[verses adapted from People’s Companion to the Breviary © 1997 by the Carmelites of Indianapolis]