Morning Prayer: Meriba and Masah

 

From Morning Prayer: “Today, listen to the voice of the Lord; do not grow stubborn as your fathers did in the wilderness when at Meriba and Masah they challenged me and provoked me although they had seen all of my works.” [Psalm 95]

There’s something about those two names — Meribah and Massah — that always feels like a sigh rising up from the page. Not a scolding sigh, but the kind that comes when someone remembers a hard moment and says, “We’ve been here before.”

They’re wilderness words. Dry words. Words from a place where people were tired and frightened and not at their best. And maybe that’s why they still echo. Because we know those places too.

Meribah: the place of quarreling. Massah: the place of testing. Two names for one moment when fear got the upper hand and trust slipped through the fingers.

What moves me is that the psalm doesn’t say, “Don’t be like them.” It simply says, “Don’t let your heart harden the way theirs did.” As if the real danger isn’t thirst or fear or even complaint — it’s the slow stiffening of the heart when we’re worn thin.

And I think that’s why these names show up in prayer. Not to drag us back into ancient history, but to remind us gently of our own inner landscapes. The places where we snap because we’re stretched. The places where we whisper, “Are You here or not?” The places where we forget what we’ve already been carried through.

The psalm invites us to notice those places without shame. To breathe. To soften. To listen again. To remember that even in the wilderness — especially in the wilderness — God has a way of bringing water out of unlikely places.

Maybe that’s all the prayer needs to be today: a quiet acknowledgment of our own Meribahs and Massahs, and a willingness to keep the heart open anyway.


Note about Morning Prayer: Each morning prayer post reflects on one phrase from the Morning Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours. which can be found in the iBreviary (a downloadable app), Universalis (website) or Divine Office (publication and website).

post production may be assisted by AI in image generation and content (research and wording)


Read more Morning Prayer posts.

Morning Prayer posts inspired by Being Catholic in Troubled Times (Dennis Ortman)


Book Description:

These are times that try our souls. This book is addressed to all, not just Catholics, who search for deeper meaning in tough times. Our age is marked by division and alienation. We long for some message that will bring peace to our world and our hearts.

This book suggests that the Catholic faith can provide strength in these troubled times. The word "catholic" means "all-embracing, universal." Nothing is excluded in the catholic mind. The truth that sets us free can be found everywhere, especially in unexpected places. It is often hidden in plain sight. In our darkest moments, we find new light and life. When we are most despairing, a ray of hope shines through.



Dr. Dennis Ortman, former priest and current psychologist, is the author of Anger Anonymous, Anxiety Anonymous, Depression Anonymous, Being Catholic in Troubled Times, and Life, Liberty, and COVID-19.


For more posts by and about Dennis and his award-winning books, click HERE.



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