We prayed portions of Psalm 103 at Mass on Friday morning, and I have to say, I was really feelin’ it…
You see, just about 13 hours earlier, I had put the finishing touches on a golf round that ranks as my personal best in our weekly league.
Bruised, but not bowed…
Not just this season…but the best score I’d carded in at least 15 years.
So yeah, I hope you’ll forgive me if I break out and sing a few lines from Psalm 103:
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
Regular readers may recall that my golf game does not generally brings words of praise to my lips. At my best, I’m a bogey golfer. And over the past couple of years, even that’s been a stretch.
Still every once in a while, I manage to catch lightning in a bottle…and exit the course with my head held high.
Now mind you: I have no illusions that my game –even on the good days – is anything to write home about.
Notice, for example, that I haven’t yet mentioned my actual score for yesterday’s 9-hole round.
That’s because I wound up six over par…carding a 42 on the par 36 course. There are more than a few guys in my league who’d consider that a lousy day at the office. So the fact that it’s a personal best serves to keep me humble about my skill level, to say the least.
Suffice it to say, I don’t play the game in order to acquire trophies. But why, then, do I keep going back to golf – a pastime I find virtually impossible to master?
You can finish the round…but never master the game.
Part of the answer, I think, is “redemption.” I was definitely feelin’ it last night…and I was reminded of the divine quality again this morning, in the words and wisdom of Psalm 103:
- The Lord is kind and merciful.
He pardons all your iniquities,
he heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
he crowns you with kindness and compassion.
Golf, for me, isn’t just recreation. It’s a chance for re-creation, surrounded by the beauty of nature…and immersed in the camaraderie of friends. It’s (all too often) a reminder that I am flawed and utterly unworthy of admiration on my own merits. And yet, despite this brokenness, somehow the light breaks through.
And I consider myself blessed…deeply blessed…to be a witness.
In the rarified air…at the top of the leaderboard.
Let us pause now…to recall that we are in the presence of the Holy & Merciful One.
IHS
With Us Still 
Do I get any credit for a pre game talk? be the BALL
Well, Mike…most decent golfers prefer NOT to be associated in any way with my game. But I do count your pep talk(s) among the many blessings associated with time spent on the links… 🙂