What’s the one thing I ask of the Lord?

There is one thing I ask of the Lord; only this do I seek: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. 

All this week at Mass, the monks have led us in chanting this verse from Psalm 27 after Communion.

For someone like me, who is always asking God for things (usually with the thinly veiled conviction that I really know best…) this is a pretty striking prayer. Seeking, asking one thing only.

Circumventing my usual inventory of anxious requests, the prayer itself prods me to consider the way I pray. I know that it’s good to bring my hopes, my fears, and my desires to God with total honesty, no matter how small or how large they might be. But sometimes I also need to look at these requests, to reflect on my priorities and to question whether I’m allowing my awareness of my own need to outstrip my awareness of God’s goodness or the incomparable riches He offers in a life with Him. It’s something I struggle to recall, somehow, even though I’m surrounded by reminders. It’s why I need this prayer.

Is this really the only thing I seek, to live in the house of God?

Asking it can remind us of Jesus’ words to Martha in the Gospel of Luke’s, when she complained about being left alone in her work, caught up in the bustle of serving and the frustration that Mary hadn’t come to help her. Most of us could imagine ourselves in her place. Jesus could be addressing any one of us when he says, so gently, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. One thing alone is necessary.” One thing.

Christ has prepared a place for you, for me, in His Father’s house. We know that this is true, and it is a profound source of hope and joy that we will find a real and personal space prepared in eternal life with God. But that life doesn’t begin only after we die. We can live in the house of the Lord all our lives. We can seek and ask that one thing, make our home in Him – in the Church that is His Body – and trust that He will take care of everything else.

God inspired the psalmist’s prayer. Christ assured Martha that only one thing – one Person, who is Love – is necessary. If I tell a child that they only need to focus on one thing, I intend to take care of everything else.

This weekend, let’s ask God for one thing in particular… May we live in the house of the Lord, make our home in His love, all the days of our lives.