Today is August 26, Tuesday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time.
We read at today’s Mass, “O LORD, you have probed me and you know me; you know when I sit and when I stand; you understand my thoughts from afar. My journeys and my rest you scrutinize, with all my ways you are familiar” (Ps 139:1-3).
Psalm 139 is one of the most consoling passages in all of Scripture. It reminds us that God knows us completely — our actions, our thoughts, even the hidden movements of our hearts. This knowledge is not distant or abstract. It is intimate and personal.
St. Thomas Aquinas reflects on this mystery in the “Summa Theologiae.” He explains that God is present in all things in three ways: by his power, since all things are subject to him; by his presence, since nothing is hidden from his sight; and by his essence, since he sustains all things in being. For Aquinas, God does not simply observe us from the outside, as we know one another, but also knows us from within. His knowledge is immediate and complete.
Known and loved
This means God is never far from us. He is nearer than we can imagine, closer even than our own thoughts. We may at times feel distant from him, but the truth is that he dwells in the very depths of our being. He knows our desires, our fears, our struggles and our hopes.
Far from being a reason for fear, this truth is cause for peace. God’s knowledge is always joined with his love. He who knows us best also loves us most. In a world full of uncertainties, Psalm 139 assures us that our lives are never hidden from God. We are known, loved and sustained at every moment.
Let us pray,
O God, who cause the minds of the faithful to unite in a single purpose, grant your people to love what you command and to desire what you promise, that, amid the uncertainties of this world, our hearts may be fixed on that place where true gladness is found. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
