The Land of the Living

“I believe that I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.” - Psalm 27:13

This verse has been close to my heart ever since I heard the song “God of Every Daughter,” in preparation for my Discerning Deacons pilgrimage last fall. In the past fourteen months I have walked with it, cried with it, prayed with it, and carried it across the world with me- twice. 

It can be hard to believe that we will see the goodness of the LORD. It can be hard to hold on to the belief in our inherent goodness when the world does not always agree. There is a lot of cognitive dissonance surrounding the experience of being a young person in the twenty-first century Catholic Church, particularly a young woman. This verse has been a source of grounding.

It has been my experience, and that of many of my peers, that being included as a part of the Church is very different from feeling as though your perspective is welcomed and dignified as a person of God. And this verse is a declaration of the power that comes from belonging to this universal vision- the community of the baptized.

I believe in my own goodness. 

I believe in my right to be here. 

I believe in my call to speak. 

In reflecting on this song once again during our St. Phoebe prayer service, I began to think about the second phrase- “the land of the living," to which I had never paid much attention.

Although I had always interpreted this to mean the afterlife, our “eternal reward,” it struck me that we are experiencing the land of the living right now, as we walk on the earth towards the Kindom of God. And suddenly the phrase I had been carrying so close to my heart took on a completely new meaning. 

“I believe that I will see the goodness of the LORD, here and now.” 

A declaration of resistance against all that is ugly in this world. 

A promise to find what is beautiful, and name it.