today's other readings are Exodus 11:10 -12:14 and Mt. 12: 1-8
Our spalm today is one of my favourites, and it speaks the sacrifice one makes in thanksgiving to God for the gift of one's life.
The psalmist referes to himself as a servant. Normally no one would like to be called a servant, especially if it conjures up images of someone waiting "hand and foot" on another. But to be a servant of God is to be one who first recognizes that she/he was made by God and that one's life is a gift from a God, a gift that that needs to be lived with faith, kindness, compassion and actions, and a gift that at some point in the future God will reclaim. This gives us a good idea of what the psalmist refers to by the phrase, Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His faithful ones.
Today, as we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, let us ask for our blessed Mother's intercessions that we may continue to be faithful.
P.S. the image above is by Pietro Novelli, 1641, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.