For the Fourth Sunday of Easter…
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me in right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
with your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
Psalm 23:1-4
When I was a child in a Catholic grade school, my fifth-grade English teacher, a Sister of Mercy, focused on poetry—and our memorization of her list of classic poems. Besides the poetry of Walt Whitman, T.S. Eliot, and Joyce Kilmer, I remember, quite vividly, memorizing the 23rd Psalm. And besides my own memorization, I listened to each of my classmates take their turn standing before us to present these verses and more by memory. The lesson stuck.
It has been a blessing to still have these verses hidden in my heart, so many decades later. They have been an encouragement of God’s providence and personal care for me when I’ve needed it most … a harrowing birth in my 20s … a breast-cancer diagnosis in my 30s … a return to graduate school in my 40s … a chronic pain situation in my 50s … and so on.
As Catholics, we likely have many of the prayers we know memorized. May I also suggest trying to memorize some of your favorite verses of Scripture? The benefits are manifold, helping to turn God’s Word in us into a living faith.
