As the headlines and images of these days have us all horrified, it is good to turn to God to seek comfort.
The Psalms are a wonderful fount of comfort and renewed hope.
As Pope Francis has said:
In the Psalms we hear the voices of men and women of prayer in flesh and blood, whose life, like that of us all, is fraught with problems, hardships, and uncertainties. …
In the Psalms, however, suffering is transformed into a question. From suffering to questioning. …
And among the many questions, there is one that remains suspended, like an incessant cry that runs throughout the entire book from beginning to end. A question that we repeat many times: “Until when, Lord? Until when?” …
[I]n life suffering takes a thousand forms, and takes the name of sickness, hatred, war, persecution, distrust… Until the supreme “scandal,” that of death. Death appears in the Psalter as man’s most unreasonable enemy …
But in the Psalter, pain becomes a relationship, rapport: a cry for help waiting to intercept a listening ear. It cannot remain meaningless, without purpose …
All human suffering is sacred to God. So prays the prayer of Psalm 56: “Thou hast kept count of my tossings; put thou my tears in thy bottle! Are they not in thy book?” (v. 8).
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Here are 5 psalms to take to heart, and to raise to God on behalf of those suffering today.
1Psalm 34:18
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted,
and saves the crushed in spirit.
2Psalm 121:1-2
I lift up my eyes to the hills—
from where will my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
3Psalm 9:18-19
For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
nor the hope of the poor perish forever.
Rise up, O Lord! Do not let mortals prevail;
let the nations be judged before you.
4Psalm 23:4
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff—
they comfort me.
5Psalm 46
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
3 though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble with its tumult. Selah
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved;
God will help it when the morning dawns.
6 The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
8 Come, behold the works of the Lord;
see what desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
10 “Be still, and know that I am God!
I am exalted among the nations,
I am exalted in the earth.”
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah