Contend, O Lord,
with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me! Take hold of shield and buckler, and rise for
my help! Draw the spear and javelin against
my pursuers! Say to my soul, “I am your
deliverance!”[1
St. Thomas Aquinas tells us that the
title is “For the leader, a Psalm for David himself,” and that, mystically, it
pertains to Christ, the true David; and, according to a mystical exposition, it
is the second psalm of those which speak copiously concerning Christ's passion.[2] He, then, goes on to state: “Therefore,
whether this psalm is read either with respect to the person of David, Christ,
or whomever, it does two things. First,
it asks for the rejection of the impious, and second, assigns the cause: witnesses
rising up.”[3]
St. Robert Bellarmine explains: “Because
the enemies of Christ and of his Church would have it appear that, in their
persecutions, they were influenced only by a desire of upholding the law and of
acting agreeably to it--while they were, at the very time, acting as professed
enemies instead of impartial judges--and, with an assumption of piety, were
only standing by their false superstitions, the Psalm adds: ‘Overthrow them
that fight against me’--take up my cause, fight my battle—that, when my enemies
are overthrown, by you, I may escape them, and depart the conqueror.”[4]
These are, of course, very true and
are beneficial in the sense that we are assured that God will ensure that
justice will prevail. The world, in its
view, would see the deaths of Christ and the martyrs as God not answering the
prayers of Jesus and his Church; nevertheless, we understand that they will, in
the end, be put to shame. However, we
also need to looks at this psalm in a way that is practical to us in this
moment and all others to come.
Let us take the first sentence: Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with
me. Who are the those that contend with us most seriously? Is it not ourselves, the sins that prevail
within us? Are they not our most dangerous
enemies? No one can endanger our souls—only
ourselves. ...[It] was we who strayed from the way of truth, and the light of
righteousness did not shine on us, and the sun did not rise upon us. We took our fill of the paths of lawlessness
and destruction,
and we journeyed
through trackless deserts, but the way of the Lord we have not known. What has our arrogance profited us? And what good has our boasted wealth brought
us?[5] We ask the Lord to contend with our sins for
we have not the strength nor the wisdom to overcome them. St. John Cassian tells us we have eight
principal faults: gluttony, or pleasures of the palate; fornication;
Therefore, we see a need to be
brought into a continuous remembrance of these sins and their severity, to have
the prayers of the Church—including each other—and also be able to how others
have overcome these sins. Whether we
realize it or not, those who have overcome these sins have done it through
cooperation with the grace of God, whether consciously or unconsciously. People may not have prayed for that grace;
nonetheless, God still grants that grace.
When they do not recognize God’s grace, they are in effect boasting,
claiming to have overcome sin by their own strength. Overcoming sin is a good thing, and our Lord
tells us, “…apart from me you can do
nothing.”[9] We
have the power to do evil; we only do good by cooperating with the grace of
God, utilizing his goodness. All
goodness comes God, who is chief Good.
People will argue, “But non-believers can do good.” Yes, they can, because they are unconsciously
cooperating with God’s grace, albeit giving themselves the credit--pride. As our Lord teaches us, “…the beginning of pride is sin, and the man
who clings to it pours out abominations.”[10]
Due to the tenacious hold these sins
have upon us, we need to cry out: Contend,
O Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against
me! Take hold of shield and buckler, and
rise for my help! Draw the spear and
javelin against my pursuers! Say to my
soul, “I am your deliverance!” When
God contends against them, he will bring them to remembrance, causing an
anguish in us. This will, in turn, cause
us to implore his aid, his giving us the strength to overcome. Many times, he will send this aid, as stated
by John Cassian—quoting St. Antony--through our fellow man: [A person] “ought
by no means to seek for all kinds of virtues from one man however excellent. For one is adorned with flowers of knowledge,
another is more strongly fortified with methods of discretion, another is
established in the dignity of patience, another excels in the virtue of
humility, another in that of continence, another is decked with the grace of
simplicity. This one excels all others
in magnanimity, that one in pity, another in vigils, another in silence,
another in earnestness of work. And,
therefore, the [person] who desires to gather spiritual honey ought, like a
most careful bee, to suck out virtue from those who specially possess it and
should diligently store it up in the vessel of his own breast. Nor should he investigate what anyone is
lacking in, but only regard and gather whatever virtue he has for, if we want
to gain all virtues from some one person, we shall with great difficulty or
perhaps never at all find suitable examples for us to imitate.”[11] As a result of the pride within us,
oftentimes we desire that God deal on a one-to-one basis with us, which very
well winds up enhancing that pride, puffing us up. God will, if fact, work with us in a way
which will bring us more humility, in a way which will take away the confidence
within us. For this reason, he causes us
to learn from one another. When we see
good in others, we can see the benefit of cooperating with the grace of
God. Now, the proportion may be in
different measure since God gives gifts as he chooses; nevertheless, we are
still encouraged, knowing that God is willing to work in us if we are willing.
When we go to Mass, we are asking
God to contend with us by bringing these faults to the forefront to contend
with them. We do this in the Confiteor, confessing
our sins and asking each other, the Blessed Virgin, and the angels and saints
to pray for us. We are not asking them
to pray that God overlook our sins but that he contend with our faults,
destroying them. In the Collect, we
prayed, “By your help, we beseech you, Lord our God, may we walk eagerly in that
same charity with which, out of love for the world, your Son handed himself
over to death.” We are asking that he
contend with everything not consistent with that charity. We are asking the same in the Psalm reading
when we pray, “Create in me a clean
heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.”[12]
God, through the prophet, Jeremiah,
tells us: “Behold, the days are coming …
when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of
Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers when I took them
by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant which they
broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. But this is the covenant which I will make
with the house of Israel after those days …: I will put my law within them, and
I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be
my people. And no longer shall each man
teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they
shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I
will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”[13] We note that, while God was [taking] them by the hand to bring them out
of the land of Egypt, they transgressed and broke his covenant. Today, we see the same thing happening in us,
and it disturbs us. Seeing God’s promise
to write his law upon our hearts, making us to know him, we become like the Greeks who went to St. Philip, saying,
“Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”[14] We do not desire to see what Jesus looks like
physically; we desire to see him,
desiring to be as he is. This is what we
are asking in the Mass.
Jesus, bearing our sins, went to the
cross; therefore, seeing our sins within us, we desire to sacrifice ourselves
for the glory of God, not for our sakes only but for the sake of others. In the
days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries
and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard for his
godly fear. Although he was a Son, he
learned obedience through what he suffered.[15] Hence, we have Christ
praying, through the priest, “Hear us, almighty God; and, having instilled in
your servants the teachings of the Christian faith, graciously purify them by
the working of this sacrifice.” Will not
the Father answer the Son’s prayer?
Because he does, and because we know the Father will do this for us, we
exclaim: “Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory!
Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the
Lord!” Then we look at the Son, desiring
this earnestly, imploring: “Save us, save us, Savior of the world, for by your
Cross and Resurrection, you have set us free.”
We can’t wait for the fulfillment of being transformed into the image of
our Savior. That not being enough for
us, we pray, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom
come, thy will be done…” Oh, how we want
to see Jesus! Therefore, we are
re-presented with what our Lord does on the Cross, his death, and
Resurrection. He is reinforcing upon our
minds that he is doing what we desire.
For this reason, we exclaim: “Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the
world; have mercy on us. Lamb of God,
you take away the sins of the world; have mercy on us. Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the
world; grant us peace.” And, then, upon
the elevation of the host and cup, we are told, “Behold the Lamb of God, behold
him who takes away the sins of the world; blessed are those called to the
supper of the Lamb.” God is in the
process of answering our prayers. “Lord,
I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and
my soul shall be healed.” “Lord, though
I am not worthy now; nevertheless, you are making me worthy.” How fitting the prayer after Communion, “We
pray, almighty God, that we may always be counted among the members of Christ,
in whose Body and Blood we have communion, Who lives and reigns for ever and
ever.” We are asking God to make us
persevere, for we have the ability to turn away. For this reason, Jesus, through the priest,
prays, “Bless, O Lord, your people, who long for the gift of your mercy, and
grant that what, at your prompting, they desire they may receive by your
generous gift.” That desire is that God
contend with us, destroying the sins within us, making us to “see” Jesus.
[1]
Catholic Biblical Association (Great Britain), The Holy Bible:
Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition, (New York: National
Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, 1994), Ps 35:1–3.
[2] Aquinas, Thomas. Commentary on the Psalms (Kindle
Locations 6350-6352). Fig. Kindle Edition.
[3] Ibid., (Kindle Locations 6352-6354).
[4] Saint Robert Bellarmine. A Commentary on the Book of
Psalms (Illustrated) (p. 153). Aeterna Press. Kindle Edition.
[5]
Catholic Biblical Association (Great Britain), The Holy Bible:
Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition, (New York: National
Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, 1994), Wis 5:6–8.
[6] John
Cassian, Sulpitius Severus, Vincent of
Lérins, John Cassian, 1894, 11, 233–234.
[7] Ibid.,
234.
[8] Ibid.
[9]
Catholic Biblical Association (Great Britain), The Holy Bible:
Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition, (New York: National
Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, 1994), Jn 15:5.
[10] Ibid.,
Sir 10:13.
[11]
John Cassian, Sulpitius Severus, Vincent
of Lérins, John Cassian, 1894, 11, 234–235.
[12]
Catholic Biblical Association (Great Britain), The Holy Bible:
Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition, (New York: National
Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, 1994), Ps 51:10.
[13] Ibid.,
Je 31:31–34.
[14] Ibid.,
Jn 12:21.
[15] Ibid.,
Heb 5:7–8.
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