We hear in the lessons from the Hebrew scriptures today Job’s cry of desolation: “If I go forward, [God] is not there; or backward, I cannot perceive him; on the left, he hides and I cannot behold him; I turn to the right, but I cannot see him,” followed by the psalmist’s despair: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” We hear that same passionate cry from Jesus on the cross: “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mk.15:34)

We obviously come from a long line of folks who have experienced what they perceive as the absence of God, as separation from Divine Love, what some call the dark night of the soul. Even though we know all too well what that feels like, our faith tells us that we are not and never can be separated from God’s steadfast love and mercy, from the enfolding, indwelling presence of the Holy One. That is the truth of the gospel.

Job’s searching for the Divine brings to mind the prayer we know as St. Patrick’s breastplate: “Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, . . . Christ beneath me, Christ above me, “ (Hymnal 1982, 370, v.6). I picture that prayer hymn coming from the tradition of the ancient Celtic caim prayer. In that prayer technique, the pray-er stands on the ground acknowledging God as the very ground of our being and then inscribes a circle around where s/he is standing, recognizing that it is indeed holy ground. The pray-er then faces in each of the four cardinal directions, east, south, west, and north, lifting up whatever concerns for oneself or others there may be. Using the caim prayer, we may experience the reality of St. Patrick’s Breastplate, the balm of Christ’s presence, the surety of God’s protection. You don’t have to feel forsaken to use the caim prayer; take time today to try it for yourself.