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Ordinary Time · Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time · Year C

Psalm 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14, 17 (1) or Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 (7, 8)

Teach Us to Count Our Days

August 6, 2028

The Stages of Life, Caspar David Friedrich
The Stages of Life, Caspar David Friedrich, about 1834Museum der bildenden Künste, Leipzig
A shore at sunset with five people on it, an old man with a stick furthest from us, then a man in a top hat, then a woman and two children at the water’s edge, and out on the water five ships at five distances, the nearest with its sails still full and the furthest almost gone.So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart.Caspar David FriedrichFriedrich, who made the ships and the people the same count and let the viewer work it out.Museum der bildenden Künste, LeipzigThe Museum der bildenden Künste in Leipzig.Museum der bildenden Künste, Leipzig
Roman Lectionary
GospelLuke 12:13-21Lk 12:13-21
Second ReadingCol. 3:1-5, 9-11Col 3:1-5, 9-11
First ReadingEccl. 1:2; 2:21-23Eccl 1:2; 2:21-23
Responsorial PsalmPs. 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14, 17 (1)Ps 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14, 17 (1) orPs. 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 (7, 8)Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 (7, 8)

Overview & Insights

"So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart" (Psalm 90:12).

Psalm 90 contrasts the brevity of human life with God's eternity and prays for wisdom to number our days well, a natural pairing with Ecclesiastes. The alternate, Psalm 95, is an invitation to worship that warns against hardening one's heart, read here as a caution against trusting in what does not last.

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Take it further: Psalm 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14, 17 (1) or Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 (7, 8)

Commentary

Psalm 90 CommentaryPs 90 Commentary Enduring Word · David Guzik

Explains Moses's prayer for wisdom to number our fleeting days.

Psalm 90:1 CommentariesPs 90:1 Commentaries BibleHub

Collects classic commentary on God's eternity set against human transience.

Psalm 90Ps 90 StudyLight

Offers verse-by-verse notes on the prayer to count our days wisely.

Psalm 95:1 CommentariesPs 95:1 Commentaries BibleHub

Covers the alternate psalm's call to worship and warning against a hardened heart.

Background & Word Study

Psalm 90Ps 90 Sefaria

Presents the Hebrew text of the psalm, attributed to Moses, with traditional commentary.

Psalm 95Ps 95 Sefaria

Gives the Hebrew text of the alternate psalm's call to worship.

Art & Music

Psalm 90Ps 90 Vanderbilt

Links art associated with the psalm's meditation on human life and God's eternity.

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