Psalm for Sunday, January 25, 2026

Reflections

Psalm 27: 1, 4, 13-14     (Read)

“The Lord is my light and my salvation.”

The Psalm is about trusting the Lord and our desire to spend the rest of our days in His presence. The Psalm says, "One thing I ask of the Lord; this I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.”

Perhaps this desire to be with 
the Lord is what inspired Simon 
Peter and his brother Andrew 
that day by the Sea of Galilee, 
when they left their father and 
their nets to follow Jesus and 
be his disciples (Sunday's Gospel).
Surely, Peter and Andrew recognized 
Jesus as their own personal light 
and their own personal Savior.  
As the Psalm says, "The Lord is 
my light and my salvation."

As we grow older, we too take steps 
on our journey to be with the Lord, 
to enter His house.  Recall that Jesus 
said, “My house has many mansions.”  
It is no accident that older people
want to go to daily Mass and be with 
the Lord as much as possible.  They 
are called to that promise of eternal 
joy when they may “gaze on the 
loveliness of the Lord” all the days 
of their lives.

Amen

Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.  Two verses of the Psalm assure us that we should not fear, or be afraid 
of anyone, so long as the Lord is our refuge and our salvation.  How do you apply these verses to your daily life?

2.  Our psalmist asks, "To dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life that I may gaze on the loveliness of the Lord."   Where is the house of the Lord, and how do you believe you will get there?

Psalm for Sunday, January 18, 2026

Reflections 

Psalm 40:  2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10   (Read)

“He put a new song into my mouth.”

Our psalmist David waits for the Lord, to reach out to Him, to make God hear his cry.  We are like that.  We are weak on our own; we need the Lord’s strength 
to be delivered from our sinful ways.

As the prophet Isaiah says, God is our
strength (Isaiah 49:5).  We put our trust
in Him.  Our God is an awesome God.
“Many shall look on [our God] in awe
and trust in the Lord.”  We are called to be
God's holy people, as St Paul tells us 
(1 Corinthians 1:2).

Our psalmist says, “He put a new song into
my mouth.” In response we sing a new song
unto the Lord.  For us, having waited for
the Lord, it is no longer the same old tune
or the same old us.   We are in fact a new
creation, singing out the good news.
Where does our joyful spirit come from?
It comes from the Lord, and we are called
to share what He has given us and to do
His will.

We are called to follow Christ.
Obedience isn’t an unpleasant chore for us;
instead, as the Psalm tells us,
“To do your will is my delight.”

Amen

 
Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.  The Psalm Response this Sunday is, "Here am I, Lord;
I come to do your will."  Speak of how you discern God's will
in your life, and tell how you are carrying out what God wants 
you to do.

2.  Our psalmist David says, "God put a new song into my mouth."  
Have you too had a conversion in your walk with the Lord?  Tell of 
your own experience.

Psalm for Sunday, January 11, 2026

 

Reflections

Psalm 29: 1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10    (Read)

“The God of glory thunders.”

The Psalm is about the splendor and the power of God.  “Give to the Lord the glory due God’s name.  Bow down before the Lord’s holy splendor.”  The Psalm speaks of the voice of the Lord “thundering” over the waters.  "The voice of the Lord is power; the voice of the Lord is splendor"

God's awesome voice was heard over the 
Jordan River that day when the heavens 
were torn open and the Holy Spirit descended 
upon Jesus just after He was baptized.  What 
could be more powerful than the voice of God 
declaring, “This is my beloved Son, with whom 
I am well pleased.” (Gospel, Matthew 3:17)

What happened at the Jordan River that day 
was to fulfill what God said to the prophet Isaiah – 
“Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen 
one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have 
put my spirit.”  (Isaiah 42:1)

The baptism of our Lord may have happened 
over 2000 years ago, but on that day God 
anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and power, 
the power to serve the faithful (people like us), 
and to do battle on our behalf with the 
devil. (Acts 10:38)

From that time forward we too became eligible 
to serve the Lord as His chosen ones.   Isaiah 
tells us what our spiritual mission is to be:  
like Jesus, we are to be a light to the nations, 
and open the eyes of the blind (those who do 
not know the Lord).  (Isaiah 42:6-7)
And imitating Jesus, we are to bring out 
prisoners from confinement (those who may 
be imprisoned by sin).  What better way 
would there be for us to serve the Lord?

Amen


 Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.  The Psalm's verses speak of the power and splendor of the voice 
of the Lord, thundering over the waters.   Have you heard God's powerful voice speaking to you, anointing you as one of His chosen ones?  Explain.

2.  Our psalmist encourages us to give God the glory due His holy name.  Tell of how you give God the glory in your activities and your everyday life.

Psalm for Sunday, January 4, 2026

 

Reflections 

Psalm 72: 1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13   (Read)

“Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.”

 

The Psalm is a prayer for our newborn King,

a Messiah who will be like the “rain coming 

down upon the fields, like showers watering 

the earth.”  Our psalmist prays that our 

newborn King will be anointed by God with 

divine judgment and empowered to rule the earth.

The prophet Isaiah in our 1^st reading predicts that

the light of the Lord will cause our hearts to overflow,

and the riches of the sea to be emptied out 

before us. (Isaiah 60:5) 

Our psalmist also speaks of abundance 

that will flourish in the King's days. 

But the Messiah is among us, to do more than 

bless us materially; the Savior has come to make

our burdens easy, to share our afflictions. 

“The lives of the poor He shall save.”

We see the light, just as the prophet Isaiah said 

we would.  (Isaiah 60:1) 

In the Psalm, the mystery is revealed 

to us, poor in spirit though we are:

“He rescues the poor when they cry out [as we do],

the afflicted who have no one to help.”

This is what our Good Shepherd Jesus is sent to do, 

to shepherd God’s people. This is why we join the 

Magi in paying homage to our newborn King, and 

join with our psalmist in singing,

"Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.”

Amen

Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.  Our psalmist mentions 'afflicted ones' and 'the afflicted' in two of the Psalm's verses.  Are there times when you can identify yourself as an 'afflicted' one?   Tell what remedies are available to you that are mentioned in the Psalm.

2.  The Psalm says, 'Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.'   Using the verses of the Psalm, explain why 'all kings' would want to pay homage to our Lord.

Psalm for Sunday, December 28, 2025

 

Reflections

Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5   (Read)

“Just so will they be blessed 

who fear the Lord.”

The Psalm affirms that 
blessings for we who
fear the Lord are to be
found in the recesses
of our homes, in the
ordinary joys of family.

The worthy wife is valued 
in the Psalm as a fruitful
vine because she blesses 

her home and family with 
the gift of her handiwork. 
She uses wisely what is 

given her as her way of 

obeying the Lord and 

holding Him in awe.  

And if a man walks with the Lord, 
this will be reflected in the way
he loves his wife.  Because if a man
cherishes his wife, as ‘flesh of his flesh’
and ‘bone of his bones,’ he nourishes
his relationship with her, as Christ
nourishes the Church.  And the man’s
reward is that his wife will be like
a ‘fruitful vine’ within his house. 
This is how a man is blessed who
fears the Lord.

As the Psalm says, if we fear the Lord 
and walk in His ways, we will receive
the blessings of our labor, prosper,
and grow old gracefully in the company
of our wife and children.

Amen

Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.  The Psalm assures us that we will be favored by the Lord, if we walk in 
His ways.  Speak of how you have been blessed by obeying the Lord and
holding Him in awe.

2.  Our psalmist tells of a worthy wife who uses wisely what she has been given.  Give an example of how you have used your God-given talent to serve your family or your community.

Psalm for Sunday, December 21, 2025

Reflections                                                              

  

Psalm 24: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6   (Read)

“Who may go up the mountain of the Lord?
Who can stand in His holy place?”

The psalm is about a journey to a holy 
place.  It is a place where we will meet 
the Lord.  But we are asked, “Who can 
ascend the mountain of the Lord?  Who 
may stand in His holy place?”

During Advent we become aware that 
although we may not have to climb a holy 
mountain to meet the Lord, we must prepare 
to receive Him in our hearts.  In fact the Psalm
is guiding us to prepare ourselves from within, 
so that we are made ready to receive Him 
when He comes.

This is what our Advent time is about --
preparing ourselves to receive the Lord.
Just as St Paul in our 2nd reading was made ready
to receive “The grace of apostleship,” we too are
called to open our hearts to the Lord.
(Romans 1: 1-7)

What must we do?
We must cleanse our hearts.
The verses of the Psalm say, “The clean of hand
and pure of heart who has not given his soul to
useless things … will receive blessings from the Lord.”
We are all unworthy to be in the Lord's presence,
but at least we can cleanse ourselves through Confession,
and bathe in the Word.  That is how we show our love
for the Lord.

The Psalm calls for the coming of the king of glory,
just as the Gospel calls for the birth of Jesus. (Matthew 1: 18-24)
Who will enter His kingdom?  Our psalmist tells us
that those who love the Lord and those who seek
God's face will receive their reward from God our Savior.

Amen

Discussion Questions for Reflection
 
1.  The Psalm Response asks us, "Let the Lord enter;
He is the king of glory."   How do you prepare yourself
during Advent so that the king of glory can enter your heart?

2.  Our psalmist speaks of a people that seeks the Lord,
that seeks the face of God.   Describe what you are doing
to seek out the Lord in your family and in your community.

Psalm for Sunday, December 14, 2025

 

Reflections
 

Psalm 146: 6-7, 8-9, 9-10   (Read)

“The Lord God keeps faith forever.”

The Psalm tells us that our long journey of waiting and petitioning the Lord has come to an end.  For us, then, the Psalm is about the time of Advent, when the promises of Isaiah and the other prophets 
are fulfilled. (Isaiah 35: 1-6, 10)
The coming of Jesus means for us that we who are afflicted will be set free; we who are hungry will receive real food.

Why do we trust in God and not princes of
this world?  Because, “The Lord God keeps
faith forever; He gives food to the hungry.”
Who among us is not hungry for a closer
relationship with The Lord?

And, “The Lord gives sight to the blind.”
Our eyes are opened when we enter the 
kingdom.  St James tells us that our patience 
will be rewarded.  (James 5: 7-10)
And the psalm confirms this, “The Lord raises 
up those who are bowed down.” 
We are raised up with the Lord Jesus.

Our psalmist sings about God's promises to the
oppressed, the hungry, the prisoner, the blind,
and those who are bowed down in one way or
another.  We could all benefit by being set free
in the Spirit or healed, so that we are no longer
blinded.   Then we too would no longer be lame,
but would be able to leap like a stag as the
prophet Isaiah promises. (Isaiah 35: 6)

And how are the promises of the psalmist fulfilled?
Where else but in the healing ministry of Jesus,
as the Gospel tells us.  (Matthew 11: 2-11)
Who else has the grace and the mercy to heal us?

Advent is our time to be joyful.  The coming of
the Messiah opens up a new time for us, a time
of promise.  We can celebrate with our psalmist,
“The Lord shall reign forever; your God, Zion,
through all generations!  Hallelujah!”

Amen


Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.  The Psalm's verses speak of a hopeful time when our God
will come and save us.  Tell of what it means to you to trust in
the Lord, to be set free, and to be raised up.

2.  Our psalmist promises that the Lord will give food to the
hungry.  Speak of your hunger for a closer relationship with the
Lord, and how you expect to receive real food this Advent.