Experiencing a Psalm

Lift me to a rock that is higher than I

for you are my refuge,

a strong tower against the enemy.

Let me abide in your tent forever,

find refuge under the shelter of your wings. (Psalm 61:2)

            During a vacation in Arcadia National Park, Maine, a number of years ago, several friends and I decided to climb the Beehive, a mountain which was described as moderate, but did not look moderate from where my friends and I stood. We reached a point where we had to climb a ladder which was built into the mountain. I began the climb but came to a place where I could not go on. We could not go back because of the narrowness of the trail. We had been warned of this at the beginning of the climb! My friend, who had reached the top, took my hand while an unknown young man assisted from below. They lifted me to a rock that was higher than I and which I could not have reached on my own.

            Because of that experience Psalm 61 took on a new and deeper meaning. I pray it as if I had composed it myself.

An afterthought: I think that may have been the last mountain I climbed.

      Sr. Justina Franxman, OSB