Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
Psalm 103:1
Inspired by the Spirit of God, collected in the book of Psalms, Psalm 103 is one of the 150 jewels of biblical literature.
Israel’s king David authored Psalm 103 in his old age. In the very first verse king David tells himself to praise the Lord with all his being: heart, soul, and mind. My mother instilled in me to do the same in my early years. She did it discretely and continuously as I was growing up in communist Yugoslavia. We were not allowed to praise the Lord publicly, and school curriculum taught us to deny faith and religion. My family secretly celebrated the traditions of Orthodox faith behind closed doors.
Forty-three years ago, on March 14, 1966, my family immigrated from Yugoslavia to this blessed country where I have been allowed to openly praise the Lord without fear of repercussion. It is so right and satisfying to live in the country where one may praise the Lord over and over and enjoy all the fruits of the freedom of religious expression.
Jasmina McNew
