psalm 103: benedicamus domino - 10th week saturday

In our psalm today, psalm 103, David talks to himself and tells his soul to do two things.  First he tells his soul to praise the Lord – bless the Lord, O my soul.  To bless the Lord means to praise in thankfulness.  To bless the Lord means that I recognize that God is the giver of blessings.  To bless the Lord is to joyfully announce all good things come from God.  This is what benedicamus Domino means – let us bless the Lord, praise him, thank him for all the good he has bestowed on you.  In the seminary the first invitation of the day as you wake up is to bless the Lord – the day is new, life has been given anew, God has sustained you, God loves you, God calls you, thus the first words that comes from our lips in the morning is Deo gratias – thanks be to God.  BE thankful.

The second thing David tells his soul is to ponder all God's benefits to us.  David tells his soul, do not forget the good the Lord has done for you.  It takes a long time to forget our hurts and sorrows but we have a short memory in recalling how good the Lord is to us through all those years.  Ponder on the goodness of the Lord to you and do not forget.  In the bible to forget the works of God for you is to commit sin.  That is why Jesus always asks us at the end of the consecration of the wine that commemorates what he has done on the cross for our salvation, he asks us in the mass to do this in memory of me.  Do not forget.  Ponder the goodness of the Lord to you. "Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all my being, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits."