Monday, June 15, 2026

Psalm for Sunday, June 21, 2026

 

Reflections




"You who seek God, may your hearts revive!"

  
Like Jeremiah, our psalmist cries out to the Lord and seeks relief from suffering. The psalmist bears
insult for the sake of God as a consequence of his zeal for the Lord. 

Yet the verses are a plea to God and a remedy for the distress into which the psalmist has sunk. 
Crying out to God with trust in God’s great love is the only answer for those lowly ones who are cast down and persecuted. Seek the Lord and your hearts will revive! The Lord hears the cry of the poor. 

The Gospel echoes the confidence of the psalm's verses. Jesus affirms that we are to proclaim the Gospel from the housetops and fear not our 
enemies who are powerless to kill the soul.  
(Matthew 10:27-28)

As the psalm says, even if we are in bonds the 
Lord  will not spurn us. For the Lord in his great 
love will answer us. The psalmist stands on firm 
ground though he was cast out by family and friends.
In the Gospel Jesus confirms that He is on the side 
of those who acknowledge Him as Lord.

Are we bearing insult for our God; do our brothers 
cast us out because of the our faith; have we become a stranger to our children because zeal for the Lord consumes us? If so, we are in good company because Jesus suffered the insults of those who denied him.

What is our remedy? There is only one way to turn,
as our psalmist says. Pray to the Lord, that in His 
great love He will answer us, that He will favor us, 
and that He will help us. No one else is merciful like the Lord; no one else has unlimited amounts of kindness; no one else has the power to revive us from the inside out. We are His own and His
own who are in bonds He spurns not. 

Amen 


Discussion Questions for Reflection


1.  Have you been spurned by family or friends because of your faith?
How do you respond?

2.  Have you born insult for the sake of the Lord?  How did you handle it?



Monday, June 8, 2026

Psalm for Sunday, June 14, 2026

 

Reflections 


Psalm 100: 1-2, 3, 5   (Read)


"We are God's people,
the sheep of his flock." 

The Psalm begins with a call for us to 'sing joyfully to the Lord.' And as our psalmist says, we are called to 'worship the Lord with cries of gladness; come before Him with joyful song.' 

But after all, we are like sheep, 
and we need someone to look 
after us so that we don't go astray.  
What could be better than to have Jesus
as our Good Shepherd?   We are his 
lambs; we hear his voice; He knows 
us; and we follow Him. 

As our psalmist says, we belong to God.
And God has given us to his Son. No one 
can take us out of his hand.
We are a well tended flock indeed. 

As our Lord's sheep, we hear his voice, 
we follow Him, and we praise Him because,
'Good indeed is the Lord, his love endures 
forever, his faithfulness lasts through every 
generation.'

Amen


Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.  There is something comforting about being shepherded by our Lord Jesus.  Our psalmist says we are 'the flock He tends.'  Speak of how you feel to be one of His sheep.

2.  The Psalm tells us to 'serve the Lord with gladness.'   Give an example of how you are serving Him with a joyful spirit.
 
 

Monday, June 1, 2026

Psalm for Sunday, June 7, 2026


Reflections

Psalm 147: 12-13, 14-15, 19-20   (Read)

“With the best of wheat he fills you."         

God has been a provider to His people
ever since He created us.  But the beauty 
of His providence is that He provides for us 
spiritually as well as physically.  During the 
Liturgy of the Eucharist, as the gifts are 
being prepared, the priest says, 
“Through your goodness we have this bread 
to offer, which earth has given, it will become 
for us the bread of life.” 

We are nourished by the Eucharist, by the body 
and blood of our Lord Jesus.  And that is where 
our life comes from, our hope, our salvation. 
All we have to do is receive Him with a clean heart.

Our Lord's body is real food, and when we eat it
we are given a share in the divine life.  During 
the Mass the celebrant prays, “By the mystery 
of this water and wine may we come to share in 
the divinity of Christ, who humbled Himself 
to share in our humanity.”

St Paul says in our 2nd reading we all “partake 
of the one loaf” (1 Cor 10: 17).  We share in 
the bread of life, and our Savior's body is a
source of nourishment for us.  This Sunday's 
Gospel reminds us that Jesus is the living bread 
from heaven.   Praise God!


Amen

Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.  The Psalm speaks of our Lord as being a good provider; He fills 

us with the best of wheat.  Speak of how you are nourished by the real 
food of the Eucharist.

2.  Our psalmist declares that God's word runs swiftly as the Lord sends 
forth His command to the earth.  These verses allude to the power of God's word in our lives.   Tell of how you receive the word of God and howit affects you.