My soul thirsts for God

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Sicut Cervus

Today is Monday the 9th of March, in the third week of Lent.

The Choir of Westminster Cathedral sing Sicut Cervus by Palestrina: “As the deer yearns for running streams, so my soul is thirsting for you, my God”.

Sicut cervus desiderat ad fontes aquarum,

ita desiderat anima mea ad te, Deus.

Sitivit anima mea ad Deum fortem vivum:

quando veniam et apparebo ante faciem Dei?

Fuerunt mihi lacrymae meae panes die ac nocte,

dum dicitur mihi quotidie:

Ubi est Deus tuus?

As the hart longs for the water springs,

So longs my soul for thee, O God.

My soul has thirsted for the living God:

When shall I come and appear before the face of my God?

My tears have been my bread by day and by night,

While it is said to me daily:

Where is your God?

3:23

Today’s reading is from Psalm 42.

Psalm 42:2-3; 43:3-4:

My soul thirsts for God,

for the living God.

When shall I come and behold

the face of God?

My tears have been my food

day and night,

while people say to me continually,

‘Where is your God?’

O send out your light and your truth;

let them lead me;

let them bring me to your holy hill

and to your dwelling.

Then I will go to the altar of God,

to God my exceeding joy;

and I will praise you with the harp,

O God, my God.

4:38

The Cathedral Set

Diana Rowan

‘My soul thirsts for God.’ What circumstances cause you to thirst for God? Busyness perhaps? Or maybe a feeling of distance or disconnection in your prayer life? Speak with the Lord from your heart about these things.

The psalmist writes: ‘My tears have been my food day and night.’ We might wonder what the cause of these tears is. When we are grieving, we can feel closer to God in consolation or sometimes, more distant in desolation as strong feelings become overwhelming. What is your experience of the presence of the Lord with you in difficult circumstances?

‘People say to me continually, “Where is your God”?’ Perhaps a different way of saying this these days is, ‘How can God have allowed this suffering?’ Where is your God today?

As you listen to the reading again, notice the petitions of the psalmist in the second half of the psalm. Notice what stays with you...

8:24

Psalm 42:2-3; 43:3-4:

My soul thirsts for God,

for the living God.

When shall I come and behold

the face of God?

My tears have been my food

day and night,

while people say to me continually,

‘Where is your God?’

O send out your light and your truth;

let them lead me;

let them bring me to your holy hill

and to your dwelling.

Then I will go to the altar of God,

to God my exceeding joy;

and I will praise you with the harp,

O God, my God.

9:21

‘O send your light and your truth; let them lead me.'

Spend the remainder of your prayer time today in conversation with God, perhaps crying out for the things close to your heart, your griefs, your desires, your thirst, or simply your longing to know that God is near.

11:49

You have given all to me

To you, Lord, I return it

Everything is Yours

Do with it what You will

Give me only Your love and Your grace

That is enough for me

Amen