The Bishop of St Asaph’s recent letter to his clergy mentioned Psalm 131 moments and the hope that these could form part of facing whatever challenges 2025 brings to us individually and corporately. With his permission, that part of his Ad Clerum forms this week’s reflection and it comes with my thanks to Bishop Gregory and the hope that this may be a helpful discipline for us all as thoughts turn from Christmas towards Lent.
With my prayers; pob bendith,
Christine, Priest Guardian.
Bishop Gregory’s reflection – Psalm 131 moments.
Walking in the bright sunlit calm that we had on one day last week, I was able to soak up the healing balm of nature. After all the rush and busyness of Christmas, the quietness of space to think, to relax and to recover was very important. However, that walk in the open air was also for me a quiet revelation of the love of God. I do believe that the Holy Spirit is manifest in all creation and offers grace to us through all sorts of things and experiences, so that even walking in the sunshine can itself be a channel of God’s grace to us. It was a Psalm 131 moment:
Lord, my heart is not proud;
my eyes are not haughty.
I will not get distracted by things
too great or too wondrous for me.
Instead, I have calmed and quieted my soul
like a weaned child with its mother.
My soul is like a weaned child.
O Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
both now and forevermore.
My hope, as we begin 2025 together, is that we can all invest, individually and corporately in Psalm 131 moments. In eight weeks’ time we will be beginning Lent, and we will have once again the fine Lent Prayer Card…. which calls us to be joined together spiritually in the saying of the same prayer at the same time every day in Lent. Until then, however, we have two months to make a discipline of finding time to say Psalm 131 alone or in prayer groups, to make the attitudes of which it speaks, of humility before God, and expectation, part of the orientation of our hearts in facing whatever challenges 2025 will bring. As Isaiah put it: “in quietness and in trust shall be your strength” (Isaiah 30.15)
Every blessing as we begin an exciting new year.
+ Gregory Llanelwy