Psalm for Easter Sunday, March 31, 2024

Reflections

Psalm 118: 1-2, 16-27, 22-23   (Read)

“This is the day the Lord has made;

let us rejoice and be glad.”

Jesus’ risen presence among us

is living proof of God’s enduring love. 

As the psalmist says, “God’s love endures 

forever.”  The Lord’s deliverance is cause

for joy.  Just when we were down, the Lord 

raises us up. The joyful shout of deliverance

is heard. We are on firm ground after all – 

Christ has become our cornerstone.

In the Psalm we read in advance of the 

Paschal Mystery. Christ, who is rejected 

and then exalted, becomes the foundation

stone of the new People of God -- 

“I shall not die, but live and declare the 

works of the Lord.” This is Jesus speaking 

about His own resurrection and about His 

food, which is to do the work of the Father.

The Psalm says, “The right hand of the 

Lord has struck with power; the right hand 

of the Lord is exalted.” Our days of mocking 

our Savior are over; we no longer hurl insults 

at Him. 

Our Savior has risen. “By the Lord has this 

been done; it is wonderful in our eyes.”

“The joyful shout of deliverance is heard in 

the tents of the victors.” The Psalm celebrates 

a great victory over death. This victory is 

delivered by the Lord’s right hand, a clear 

notice in advance of the power of the Son of God.

Our risen Savior has defeated death and the 

grasp that sin has on us. And having been saved,

what are we to do? What is our commission? 

St Peter tells us in today's first reading, “He 

commissioned us to preach to the people and 

testify that Jesus is the one appointed by God.” 

(Acts 10:42)

Christ has become our cornerstone. “The stone 

the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”

Christ has become a source of strength for us, 

despite his apparent weakness that day on the cross, 

when He died a shameful death. Only the Lord 

could have done this remarkable thing:

“This is the day the Lord has made;

let us rejoice and be glad.”

Amen

Discussion Questions for Reflection

 
1.  The Psalm speaks of a great victory over death, 'I shall not die, but live.'  
Tell of how you share in Christ's victory over death and what this means to you.

2.  Having been saved from death, the psalmist says he will 'declare the works of 

the Lord.'   Speak of how you are empowered by our Lord's resurrection to go forth and proclaim the Gospel.

Psalm for Sunday, March 24, 2024

Reflections

Psalm 22: 8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24  (Read)

“My God, my God, why have you 

abandoned me?”

David writes this psalm almost as 

though it were planned to be part 

of the Passion of Christ.  In fact 

the psalm becomes the prayer of 

Christ at the time of his crucifixion 

and speaks of the suffering that our 

Savior experiences on our behalf.

People are the same today as they were 

back then, when Jesus was being led to 

the cross.  We scoff at him; we mock him; 

we wag our heads and hurl insults at him.

Why?

Because he becomes contemptible in 

our eyes. He reminds us that we are a 

sinful people; he convicts us; he catches 

us in the lie;  he embarrasses us; he 

exposes us; he accuses us of being 

hypocrites. 

He holds us to a higher standard;

He speaks directly to God; 

He claims to be God's Son; 

and we reject him for this; and mock him. 

We do not move to assist him. 

Let God rescue him – 

“He relied on the Lord; let him deliver him;

let him rescue him, if he loves him.” 

These words of the psalm are the same 

words used by those who conspired against 

Jesus when he was dying on the cross. 

They did not realize that the suffering and 

death of an innocent servant would restore 

life for sinful man. The words they spoke 

were to be fulfilled, not by Jesus coming 

down from the cross, but by sinful humanity 

like us being delivered, forgiven, 

and lifted up. 

We are reminded by St Paul in today's second 

reading that Christ takes the form of a slave, 

obedient even to death for our sake. 

(Philippians 2:7-8) 

Isaiah in today's first reading speaks 

about the Messiah long before his birth and 

predicts that he will be beaten, and his beard 

will be plucked. (Isaiah 50:4-7)

But the servant does not rebel (as Isaiah tells us).

He knows that he will not be put to shame. 

God the Father is not far off, even when Jesus lies 

hanging on the cross. The psalm describes the 

Passion of Christ, and we know that what seemed 

like a moment of weakness for Christ became a 

source of strength for sinful humanity. 

Ultimately God reverses this righteous man’s 

condition.  As our psalmist says, “But you, O Lord, 

be not far from me; O my help, hasten to aid me.” 

Hope returns, the righteous man is delivered, and he 

celebrates his deliverance – “I will proclaim your name 

to my brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will 

praise you: You who fear the Lord, praise him.”

Amen

 

Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.   Were you part of the crowd of evildoers who closed in on Christ, that our 

psalmist speaks about?   Tell of what part you play even today in mocking Christ.

2.   The psalm asks, 'My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?'  Do you 

believe that our Lord was truly abandoned by the Father?

  

Psalm for Sunday, March 17, 2024

Reflections

Psalm 51: 3-4, 12-13, 14-15  (Read)

“Create a clean heart in me, O God.”                                                                         

This Sunday's Psalm is David’s mea culpa  

and is written after Nathan calls attention 

to David’s adultery with Bathsheba.  We are 

shown in the Psalm that although David was 

chosen by God to be king, even David sins 

gravely.  But God in His compassion and 

goodness can blot out David’s offense, 

no matter how grave.

David realizes that only God, in His mercy,
can cleanse David from his sins.  David’s sins, 

like our own, are offensive to God first and 

foremost; we are all born of a sinful nature.
David calls on the Lord to blot out his offense,
knowing that the Lord, in His abundant 

compassion, will wash away his guilt.

David’s words are a prayer of repentance and recall 

for us the power of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
“A clean heart create for me, O God; renew within me 

a steadfast spirit. Give me back the joy of your salvation.”
Where else can we turn when we are separated from God?
Who else has the healing power to cleanse us?

“Do not drive me from your presence, nor take from me 

your Holy Spirit.”  David reminds us that without the Holy 

Spirit we are ruled by the desires of this world.  And without 

the Holy Spirit we cannot bear the fruits of the Spirit,
which we are called to do.

The people of Jeremiah’s time were given the assurance 

that David sought. They were assured that the Lord would 

forgive their evildoing, their own infidelity to God, and that 

their sin would be remembered no more. (Jeremiah 31:34)
On David's part we can almost hear his loud cries and see 

his tears, as he offers this psalm as prayer and seeks his 

own inner renewal.  When Christ was in the flesh, this is 

how He himself prayed, as we are reminded in Sunday's 

second reading. (Hebrews 5:7)

David prays that God will create for him a clean heart,
because God alone can bring about this transformation.
We, too, are called to seek our Savior’s mercy for our sinful 

ways, especially during this Lenten season.  We, too, are 

given an opportunity to be restored in the joy of His Salvation, 

to offer up what is dead within us, so that we can again bear 

fruit and be good witnesses for the Lord. (John 12: 24)
In that way, we will then teach the wicked, God's ways,  

and our mouths will proclaim His praise.

Amen

Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.  Our psalmist King David cites the greatness of the Lord's compassion in calling 

upon God to wipe out his offense.  Even though David was an adulterer and 

a murderer, he knew that he could call upon the Lord to restore him and create 

for him a clean heart.   Does this give you confidence that no matter how serious 

your sins may be, you can call upon God to be thoroughly cleansed?   Explain.

2.  As our psalmist implies, it is not enough to call upon God to create a clean 

heart within us.  We must also ask for a steadfast spirit, for the Holy Spirit to be 

sustained within us.  Tell how the Holy Spirit is working within you and what you 

are inspired to do through the gifts of the Spirit.

Psalm for Sunday, March 10, 2024

Reflections

Psalm 137: 1-2, 3, 4-5, 6   (Read)

“How could we sing a song of the Lord in a foreign land?”

This Sunday's Psalm is a prayer of the Jewish people 
in exile in Babylon.  As Sunday's 1st reading tells us,
the Lord became angry with the people of Judah
because of their many infidelities.  (2 Chronicles 36:14-16)
And when they mocked the messenger of God, 
God allowed them to be carried off to Babylon as slaves. 
“By the rivers of Babylon, we sat mourning and weeping.” 

But God's chosen people could not forget Jerusalem
and the covenant God had made with them.  “If I forget 
you Jerusalem, may my right hand wither.  May my tongue 
stick to my palate if I do not remember you.”   And more 
important, God did not forget them. 

It is the same way with us.  We sin against God and He 
allows us to be carried off into a kind of self imposed exile,
where we separate ourselves from Him for a time. 

“How could we sing a song of the Lord in a foreign land?”
When our hearts are hardened by sin, how can we sing 
a song of the Lord?   When we are in the darkness because 
we prefer the darkness, how can we sing a song of the Lord? 
When we are separated from the Lord and indulging in things 
of the world, how can we sing a song of the Lord? 
It is only when we are in the light, then can we sing a song 
of the Lord.

As Sunday’s 2nd reading tells us, “Even when we are dead in our 
transgressions, God brings us to life with Christ.” (Ephesians 2:5)

And the Gospel reminds us in a powerful way that although we 
are a wicked people who hate the light, God sent His Son not to 
condemn us, but to save us and lead us into the light. (John 3: 17-21)
That is how we free ourselves from our own spiritual exile. 
It is only when we are in the light, when we become a light unto 
the world, then can we sing a song of the Lord!

Amen


Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.  This Sunday's Psalm Response is, "Let my tongue be silenced, 
if I ever forget you!"  When you are separated from God because of sin, have you noticed how it becomes difficult to praise and worship Him?  In a way your tongue becomes silenced for a time.  Explain how you can get your voice back and start again singing a song of the Lord.

2.  Our psalmist tells us that it was difficult for the Jewish people captive in Babylon to sing the songs of Zion in a foreign land.  Is it sometimes difficult for you to speak of your faith in the company of non-believers?    If you are being persecuted by a world that does not acknowledge you as one of its own, how do you overcome your reticence and speak boldly of your faith?