Psalm for Sunday, December 6, 2020

Reflections

Psalm 85:  9-10, 11-12, 13-14   (Read)

"Near indeed is His salvation." 

 












The Psalm is a prayer that God
will grant mercy and forgiveness
to the Israelites, and by extension
we are told that our own salvation 
is near.  “The Lord proclaims peace 
to His people, glory dwelling in our land.”

The Prophet Isaiah tells us in today's 
1st reading, our God declares, “Give 
comfort to my people.”  And Zion is told,
“Cry out at the top of your voice;
here is your God!"  (Isaiah 40:1,6,9)

The Psalm is a promise of salvation.
“Near indeed is salvation for those 
who fear Him.”  St Peter too affirms
that the Lord does not delay in keeping His
promise in today's 2nd reading.  (2 Peter 3:9)

And what should we expect?
Nothing less than the coming of the Messiah
himself.  Our psalmist affirms, “Truth will spring
from the earth,” and for us this takes place
when the Messiah is born.

The psalmist prepares the way of the Lord,
as does John the Baptist in this week's Gospel.
As the Psalm says, “Justice shall walk before 
Him and prepare the way of His steps.”

Amen


Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.  The Psalm says, "Truth shall spring out of the earth."  For us this verse 
foretells the coming of the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ.  What else about 
the Psalm prepares us for the birth of our Savior?

2.  Our psalmist says, "I will hear what God proclaims."  This verse can be seen 
as a reminder to study the Word of the Lord.  Explain how your study of the Word 
is strengthening your faith.

Psalm for Sunday, November 29, 2020

Reflections

Psalm 80:  2-3, 15-16, 18-19   (Read)

“Lord, make us turn to you, and we shall be saved.”

 

The Psalm is a prayer to restore
Israel, and by extension to restore us,
as a scattered people of God.
The Psalm is well adapted to our
prayer during Advent.  We are a people
scattered and separated from God, and
we await His coming.  He alone can
'make us turn to Him' and convert us.
“Shepherd of Israel, lend an ear;
come to save us.”

Our psalmist makes a direct appeal
to God to shepherd us.   “Turn again
Lord, attend to this vine.”  Just as
the Lord tends to His vineyard, He
protects a shoot planted by His right
hand.  The coming of Christ is intended
to revive us, restore our strength.  
As the Psalm says, “Then we will not
withdraw from you; give us new life, and
we will call upon your name.”

Where does our hope for revival
come from?  It comes from our Savior,
our cornerstone, sent by the Lord.
In Him we are restored.   “Lord of
hosts restore us; let your face shine
upon us, that we may be saved.”

We all need to be renewed from
time to time when our faith grows
lukewarm, when our hearts harden
due to the sins that separate us from
God.   We, like the Israelites,  need
to beg for God’s mercy, to petition
the Lord and seek his peace, the peace
that will  guard our hearts and minds,
and restore us as his people.

Amen

 
Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.  The Psalm says, 'Lord, make us turn to you.' Have you noticed at times when we stray off His path how the Lord tugs at each of us so that we return to His ways?  Give an example from your own experience.

2.  Our psalmist is writing about the scattered people of Israel, 
but his words may apply to each of us when we feel separated from God.  In what way are you inspired by the Psalm's verses to repent and seek renewal? 

Psalm for Sunday, November 22, 2020

Reflections

Psalm 23:  1-2, 2-3, 5-6   (Read)

"He guides me in right paths."

This well known psalm is a prayer 

that we offer to our Lord, the Good Shepherd.

“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.”   

We desire to be one of His sheep because He

looks after us and protects us and seeks us

out when we stray.  On the other hand we

do not want to be one of the goats that He

scatters.  Nor do we want to be on the wrong 

side of His judgment when He separates the 

sheep from the goats. 
(See Gospel, Matthew 25: 31-34)

In Sunday’s first reading the prophet Ezekiel tells us --

“The Lord God looks after his scattered sheep.” 

(Ezekiel 34:12)

He brings us back to the sheep-hold

where He will bind up our wounds.

Jesus speaks of himself as the Good Shepherd,

and we are drawn to Him, because He offers 
to lead us beside still waters, to grant us peace, 
and to restore us spiritually.

Our Lord Jesus, King of kings, stands by us 
in the victory over death. 

Our psalmist David says it this way, a thousand
years before the time of Christ,

“You prepare a table before me in the 

presence of my enemies.” 

As the Psalm says, our Lord anoints us; 
He fills our cup so that it overflows.

We are ready to go forth on our own journey 

to discover who we are and how we are to treat others, 

especially the least among us. (Gospel, Matthew 25: 45)

In our journey we learn that, if we really want 
to have eternal life with our Lord, then we must 
become shepherds in our own right, here on earth.

Having been rescued by our Savior, 

and now counted among His obedient sheep, 

and ready to do His will, 

we are groomed to enter the kingdom 

and to sit at the table that God sets for us.

“Surely goodness and mercy 

shall follow me all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

Amen

Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.  The Psalm makes it clear we want to stay on the right side of our 
Good Shepherd; we want to be guided in right paths for His name's sake.  
Explain what you are doing so that you will be placed on His right, and not 
on His left with the goats.

2.  As His good sheep, we are being groomed to do His will.  Our psalmist 
says that our Lord anoints us with oil.  Having been anointed by the Lord, 
how are you carrying out His will within your family and your community?

Psalm for Sunday, November 15, 2020

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.  
As in the Gospel 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, November 8, 2020

Reflections

Psalm 63:  2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8   (Read)

“My soul is thirsting for you, 

O Lord my God.”

This prayer of longing was written 

at a time when David was in the 

desert, a place where physical thirst 

was all around him, and the earth 

was parched, lifeless and without 

water.  But David is writing also 

about a spiritual thirst that 

overwhelms him and reminds him 

of the emptiness of life without God. 

David meditates on those happier moments 

when he was close to the Lord, 

when his soul was satisfied as with the riches 

of a banquet, and when he took shelter 

in the shadow of the wings of God.

We too go through times of spiritual deprivation
when we are away from God and indulge in 
sinful practices that separate us from Him.  
At those times, like a penitent sinner, we experience 
our deepest longing for the love of the Lord, and 
we seek out His loving embrace.  As our psalmist 
says, at times like that our soul clings fast to the Lord.   
We bless Him, we glorify Him, we praise Him.

Amen

Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.  Our psalmist seeks the Lord because his soul thirsts for Him.   
Give an example of a time when you have thirsted for God's 
presence and blessing in your life.

2.  The Psalm speaks of gazing toward the Lord in the sanctuary.
Tell of a time when you have gazed at the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament 
Chapel of your parish and how you could see His power and His glory.