A Reunion with a Steadfast Spirit

In the second verse of today’s Responsorial Psalm, it reads,

“A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.”

Often, when I plan my Lenten sacrifices for these 40 days, I am often, in my mind, framing these practices as doing something new, something novel. For example, it will be a new thing in my life to not eat meat for 40 days. It will be a new routine to spend more time in reflection, to spend more time in prayer. It will be a new time of the year when we try to simplify our lives and be aware of our statuses as sinners, especially compared to the old beginning of the calendar year, one of celebration and excess and culminating in Mardi Gras. However, reflecting on this second verse above, I think I have been getting it a little wrong. Lent is not necessarily a time for new beginnings, but an opportunity to get in touch with the spirit of God that is already inside of me for the entire liturgical year.

The language in the second verse above reminds me that this new spirituality that I commit myself to during Lent is not necessarily new, it is just latent inside of me for most of the time. The speaker does not speak of an enriching “steadfast spirit” or the “Holy Spirit” as forces that they do not recognize or have not experienced. They simply ask God to reawaken the spirits that are already in their heart. Additionally, the speaker does not call out to God to plead for an introduction, but acknowledges that God has already been in their presence. The tone of the verse is not of an individual encountering things that are completely foreign, but a reunion with God’s presence that is already there, just largely unnoticed.

As I enter the second week of Lent, I am trying to immerse myself in the perspective of the speaker in the 51st book of Psalms. The new habits that I commit to during Lent shouldn’t feel entirely new, but as vehicles to reconnect God’s presence that never left my daily life. Hopefully, this perspective will allow me to view Lent not as an annual, seasonal check-in with God, but as an opportunity to be more aware of the Holy Spirit’s presence and “steadfast spirit” throughout the rest of the year.

Author: Chris Patterson, English Department