The Lament of God: You Forgot

Archdiocese of Washington ^ | 02-06-18 | Msgr. Charles Pope

[Salvation]

The Lament of God: You Forgot

Msgr. Charles Pope • February 6, 2018 •

The following tale is from the Hasidic tradition:

Yechiel was playing hide and seek with another child. He hid himself for some time, but his playmate did not look for him. Little Yechiel ran to Rabbi Baruch and said amid tears, “He did not look for me!” The Rabbi said, “That is also God’s complaint, that we seek Him not.”

Indeed, one of the most frequent laments of God is that we forget Him. So often He said, שָׁכַח (shakach): You forgot! Here are just a few examples from Scripture.

• You neglected the Rock who begot you, and forgot the God who gave you birth (Dt. 32:18).
• Your fathers forgot the God who saved them, who had done great things in Egypt, miracles in the land of Ham and awesome deeds by the Red Sea (Ps 106:21-22).
• Your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery (Dt 8:14).
• Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet My people have forgotten Me, days without number (Jer 2:32).
• You have forgotten Me and cast Me behind your back (Ez 23:35).
• You have forgotten Me, declares the Lord GOD (Ez 22:12).
• And being satisfied, their heart became proud. Therefore, they forgot Me (Hos 13:6).
• Your sons have forsaken Me and sworn by those who are not gods. When I had fed them to the full, they committed adultery and trooped to the harlot’s house (Jer 5:7).

Note in particular the final two, which place the source of the problem in the very gifts that God bestows. Receiving such gifts without gratitude and awe we become satiated and forget the very God who gave them to us. St. Augustine lamented this as a long source of his problem:

Late have I loved you,
Beauty so ancient and so new,
late have I loved you!
Lo, you were within,
but I outside, seeking there for you,
and upon the shapely things you have made
I rushed headlong –I, misshapen.
You were with me, but I was not with you.
They held me back far from you,
those things which would have no being,
were they not in you.
(Confessions Book 10)

Yes, we are so easily forgetful and unreflective. Surrounded by God’s gifts, we grow dull of mind and claim as our own what really belongs to God.

The little child’s lament, “He did not look for me!” is God’s as well. Yet it is not God who is wounded or hurt by this—it is we. Isaiah exhorts, Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near (Is 55:6). In this alone is our salvation.

This song says, “Always remember Jesus. Always keep Him on your mind.”

[Salvation]

Video

[Salvation]

Monsignor Pope Ping!

[dsc]

Can you say mysteries of the rosary on different days? The sorrowful mysteries on a Wednesday, for instance?

[Mercat]

Absolutely. I try to say rosaries a day at least.

[dsc]

Oh, yes, that’s right. Older I get, dumber I get.

Thanks.

[Mercat]

I meant two a day. Lol.

[dsc]

Don’t be too embarrassed. I’m sure I will make a mistake too, some day.

[Salvation]

Sure.

The usual lineup is posted on the Daily Readings threads.

[dsc]

“The usual lineup is posted on the Daily Readings threads.”

Thanks. I think my brain just fell down, and it couldn’t get up.

[ealgeone]

This song says, “Always remember Jesus. Always keep Him on your mind.”

The Rosary isn't the way to do so.

[Mr. K]

Saying “Hail” to Mary (a person) seems crazy to me.

I know they think she has an “in” with The Big Guy, being his baby momma and all, but I don’t recall anywhere in The Bible the command to pray to anyone other than to God.

[ealgeone]

You would be correct. All prayer is directed to the Creator....not the created.

[dsc]

I have been told that some of you protestants think that Catholics hate you as much as you hate us.

We don’t. Personally, I feel sorry for you, because you have cut yourself off from so many of God’s graces.

I pray some day you get your thinking straightened out, but until then, I do not care to discuss our religious differences with you.

[ealgeone]

I have been told that some of you protestants think that Catholics hate you as much as you hate us.

I do not hate Roman Catholics. If I didn't care about Roman Catholics, I wouldn't post on these threads.

We don’t. Personally, I feel sorry for you, because you have cut yourself off from so many of God’s graces.

It is the Roman Catholic who has cut themselves from God's graces by not praying to Him and Him only. When you start praying to the created, you're not giving the Creator the honor and worship He deserves.

[dsc]

I just told you that I don’t care to discuss our religious differences with you, but you just can’t leave it alone.

[Salvation]

The Rosary recalls these happenings in the life of Christ’
Joyful:
Annunciation, Visitation, Nativity, Presentation in the Temple, Find the Child, Jesus in the temple — all in the Bible.

Luminous:
Baptism of Christ in the Jordan, Christ’s First Miracle at the Wedding of Cana, The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God and the Call to Conversion, The Transfiguration, and the Institution of the Eucharist — again all in the Bible.

Sorrowful:
Agony in the Garden, Scourging at the Pillar, Crowning with Thorns, Carrying the Cross and the Crucifixion — again all in the Bible.

Glorious:
The Resurrection, The Ascension, The Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, the Assumption of Mary into Heaven and the Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven — all but two are in the Bible and the other two are supported by Holy Tradition.

So the Rosary is basically a meditation on the Life of Christ!!

[ealgeone]

If you didn’t want conversation don’t reply.

[ealgeone]

The Rosary is a repiticious prayer predominantly addressed to Mary. We are told to avoid these kind of prayers.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Yep.

[Mrs. Don-o]

That is so dumb.