Let Me See Your Kindness, O Lord

Last night after St. Columbkille's wonderful kindergarten Christmas program, my kindergartener, David, still wanted to sing.

He had just finished a whole lineup of Christmas songs with his friends, but strangely, on our way home, from the middle row of our family's van, I heard this: "Let us see Your kindness, O Lo-ord . . ."

I remembered what he was singing, from a responsorial Psalm at Mass. Maybe David sang it that morning at a school Mass.

"Let us see Your kindness, O Lo-ord," he sang over and over, because that's all he remembered of the song. I couldn't remember the rest of the response either. So David chanted the line as I drove.

Eventually he tired of it and started making up his own music and lyrics, and I heard him sing these sweet words: "Come into my heart, Jesus, come."

David's songs seemed so perfect for that moment, just a week before Christmas. As he sang his invitation for Jesus again and again, and sprinkled some other prayers into his song, I said my own prayer. It's one I pray when I want to receive Jesus in holy Communion but am not able to be physically present at Mass. Any invitation for Christ would do for a spiritual communion, but I like this prayer:

"Jesus, Jesus, come into my heart. Make it meek and humble like Thy Sacred Heart. Come, Beloved Jesus, come."

After we got home, "Let us see Your kindness, O Lo-ord . . ." became stuck in my head. Usually it's annoying to have a song do that, but when it's a prayer, I figure it's the Holy Spirit at work. That line was still ringing in my head this morning, and the rest of the response came to me, at least the way I remembered it: "Let us see Your kindness, O Lord. Grant us Your salvation, O God."

I gave David the additional line, and he walked away singing the response. Now we'll both be singing those two lines in our heads, over and over, all day long. So as I prepare for Christmas, and the Reconciliation Service tonight at church, I'll be singing: "Let us see Your kindness, O Lo-ord. Grant us Your salvation, O God."

And after the service -- after being forgiven and reconciled by God --I can joyfully await Christmas. I will sing and pray like David -- who seems to take after his namesake, King David, the Psalm writer and singer.

David and I will pray with the rest of our family: "Come, Beloved Jesus, come!"

Inspired by the Year of Faith, Susan Szalewski began writing weekly columns for us. Although that year is over, we liked them so well that we asked her to keep writing. Thankfully, she said yes. So watch for these on Thursdays and see the Year of Faith Blog here.