Psalm Reflection: The Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle C

“Turn to the Lord in your need, and you will live.” - Psalms 69

My journey to conversion began with a life-altering and traumatic loss. Two weeks before our high school graduation, my best friend, AJ, drowned while we were swimming in the local lake. I pulled his body out of the water and administered CPR, but he did not make it. My whole world crumbled around me. Everything I had worried so much about previously on a day-to-day basis seemed meaningless.

AJ was brilliant. He was an accomplished athlete and student. He was set to go on to bigger and better things, but I was not. I did not even apply to college, and was still completely unsure of what I wanted to do. So when AJ died, I was mad. I could not understand, if there was a God, how He could take someone like AJ from this world and leave someone like me behind. I desperately wanted to trade places with him. And one night in an outburst of emotion, I yelled out, “WHY DIDN’T YOU JUST TAKE ME?!?” 

Into that pain, God spoke to me for the first time in my life, simply saying: “I am not done with you yet.” 

“When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” - Psalm 34:17-18

I immediately began questioning what it was that I was meant to do. I realized I could honor AJ’s memory best by using the time I had left to fulfill whatever mission I was meant to accomplish on this earth.

I also realized in that moment, that I was still alive because God wanted me to be. It was no accident that things happened the way that they did, but God was using the events of life to bring about His purposes. I realized that He was upholding my life. 

God is upholding YOUR life at this very moment. If He forgot about you for even a split second, you would cease to exist. But, you are still here reading this, which means that God is thinking about you and willing you into existence at this very moment in time for a specific purpose that only you can fulfill. Do you realize that every single second of your life is a gift? And not only that, it is an assurance that God has not forgotten you. He is loving you into existence right now, and He will not stop until your time in this life is spent, at which time He will call you home so He can continue to love you in the next life.

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” - Jeremiah 29:11-13

If we truly know and believe these things to be true, we should never be worried, anxious, afraid, or doubtful. Our name is on the mind, heart, and lips of the Creator of the universe. If we are still breathing, it is because there is still work to be done, and we can trust that the God who sustains our lives with our breath will provide for our every need.

“By his providence God protects and governs all things which he has made, ‘reaching mightily from one end of the earth to the other, and ordering all things well.’” - CCC 302

“The witness of Scripture is unanimous that the solicitude of divine providence is concrete and immediate, God cares for all, from the least things to the great events of the world and its history.” - CCC 303

Everything we truly need in life comes from God. He infused us with eternal souls, which give life to our bodies. He wants us to exist at this very moment, and He created us on purpose for a purpose. It is up to us, with the Lord’s help, to discern what that purpose is, and to trust that He will provide for our every need.

Do you believe that God is actively sustaining your life at this very moment? How does this truth change the way you view your daily struggles?

What specific steps can you take to discern the purpose God has for your life? Are you actively seeking His guidance in prayer and reflection?

How can you honor the memory of someone you’ve lost by living out God’s purpose for your life?

What worries or fears are you holding onto that you need to surrender to God, trusting in His providence and care?

I am praying for you, please pray for me and my family, and I will see you in the Eucharist.

Matt

This reflection is based on the Responsorial Psalm for this Sunday, July 13th, 2025, the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle C: Psalms 69:14, 17, 30-31, 33-34, 36, 37.