Today, we turn our hearts to reflect on the responsorial psalm on this day when we celebrate the memorial of Saint Teresa of Avila. As Christians, we can espouse this lovely prayer more eagerly than someone reading it in the context of just the Old Testament. It is a prayer about the Word of God as heard in his Law. After speaking his word through Moses and the prophets, God has spoken definitively through Jesus Christ. Christ himself is the Word of God made flesh, and his person, his works, his teaching, and his death and resurrection are the eternal Word of God addressed to all, which brings light and salvation. The Psalms give us a voice to ask God for mercy, to soften our hearts, to wash us clean, and to provide us with a new start. There are also times when we feel bitterly disappointed with God himself and need some way to express this. The Psalms give us this voice: “Why are you so silent? Why are you so far from me?” even as they make us aware that God is not afraid of our anger and bitterness but, like a loving parent, only wants us to come and talk about it. Let your mercy come to me, O Lord.