The Psalmist and the Lord’s Mercy (Psalm 51/50)

The psalmist implores, with moving emphasis, God’s mercy in the first verses. Once he feels sure of this mercy, the first thing he does is an honest self- examination.

This is the reason he is saved. An examination of the self, both at the evangelical and psychiatric levels, is the doorway to all salvation. We see, on the other hand, that rationalization is also, at every level, the doorway to perdition. Rationalization is, in effect, really the sin against the Holy Spirit. It does not mean precisely that one is not forgiven, since God forgives everything, (and forgiveness is a celebration for the Father). However, in this situation (in the interplay between grace and free will) God does not have anything to do.

It could not be otherwise. Guilt complexes populate the soul with sadness, a salty and bitter sadness. However, when mercy dawns on the soul and as man realizes that, in spite of his excesses and overindulgences; he is still encircled by arms that favor him. Tenderness, freely given, perfumes his house. The consequences are foreseeable. Sadness disappears like nocturnal birds at dawn. Everything; the walls and inner spaces, are clothed with a spring like air perfumed with joy and gladness.

Extracted from the book “Psalms for Life” by Father Ignacio Larrañaga