Psalm for Sunday, July 12, 2026

Reflections 

Psalm 65: 10, 11, 12-13, 14   (Read)

“The Lord has visited the land 

and watered it; greatly has He 

enriched it.” 

  

Water is so critical for a 

place like the Holy Land, 

as it is here in the arid 

climate of Southern 

California.  Without water 

we could not produce any fruit.   We are blessed that “God's watercourses are filled” and He provides us with an abundant harvest.

We also depend upon the Lord to supply us with what 

Jesus called the living water

that satisfies our spiritual thirst. 

Jesus is the Word that drenches us, 

adorns our year with plenty.  

How else could we bear fruit?  

With his showers He softens the land, 

blessing its young sprouts (that is us). 

We are like untilled meadows without 

his word and his grace.  How else 

could we expect our pastures 

to be blanketed with grain? 

The Lord prepares the earth;

He adorns our paths with fruitful rain. 

The hills are robed in joy.

God’s Word is showered down upon us, 

and does not return to God void; 

we do his will;

we are his witnesses; 

we keep the faith. 

Amen

Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.  Our psalmist speaks about the Lord having visited the land and watered it.   

Tell of how the Lord has drenched you with His living water that yields a fruitful 

harvest.

2.  The Psalm assures us that the Lord breaks up the clods of the land and 

softens it with showers.  Give an example of how God's Word has softened 

you up spiritually and led you to do His will.

Psalm for Sunday, July 5, 2026

 

Reflections                                      
 

Psalm 145: 1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13-14   (Read)  
 
“The Lord lifts up all who are falling 
and raises up all who are bowed down.” 

We may question why God allows us to suffer, 
why he allows bad things to happen to good people. We may ask, as the early believers probably did, “Why is it necessary to undergo such hardships to enter the kingdom of God?”

Scripture tells us that afflictions are to be expected in our walk with the Lord.  We may not understand what God is up to, but we can be sure that our faith will be strengthened if we stand fast in the face of suffering.  We will become better witnesses for Christ if we are humbled; we become better servants if we bear up with our difficulties and trust in the Lord, as our psalmist tells us. 

And as the Gospel says, we are raised up by getting
' yoked to Jesus.'   That is how our burdens are made light, 
by helping Jesus to carry His cross, as Simon did that day 
on the road to Calvary.  Despite what we may think, 
"His yoke is easy and His burden light."

Remember that endurance is a Godly quality and will 
help us to get yoked to Jesus.   Having done that, we, 
like our psalmist David, join with the faithful and 
speak of the glory of God's reign and bless his name.

Amen


Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.  Our psalmist assures us that the Lord will lift us up
when we are falling.   Speak of a time when you have 
undergone hardship and how your faith has been strengthened.

2.  The Psalm says that the Lord is "good to all and 
compassionate toward all his works."  Tell how this verse 
inspires you to be more compassionate toward those in 
your life who may not always be lovable in your sight.

Psalm for Sunday, June 28, 2026

 

Reflections

Psalm 89: 2-3, 16-17, 18-19     (Read)

"The promises of the LORD I will sing forever."

Whatever our circumstances, 

we are encouraged to sing 

to the Lord of His goodness.

Just as Elisha promised the 

woman of Shunem that 

she would bear a son

(this Sunday's first reading),

so does the Lord reach out

to us in unlikely 

circumstances.

The Lord surprises us when 

we are barren; He renews us 

when we are spent; He grants us a share in the life of 

the Messiah even though 

we are unworthy and sinful.

All we have to do is bear our cross and praise Him, 

sing of His promises forever, as our psalmist says. 

There may be interruptions in our joy, and there 

will be times when we will question, “How could 

the Lord allow this to happen to me?” But so long 

as we bear our cross with dignity and die to sin, 

then we are living for God in Christ Jesus, 

as St Paul reminds us. (Romans 6:11)

Jesus says in today’s Gospel that we are not worthy

of Him if we do not take up our cross.  We must lose

our life for Christ in order to find it.  (Matthew 10: 38-39)

Despite the setbacks we face, we must endure;

for as St Paul tells us, endurance produces character

and character produces hope, which does not

disappoint. (Romans 5: 3-5)

Whatever it takes, our psalmist tells us, “Through

all generations my mouth shall proclaim your 

faithfulness.” Our job is to know the joyful shout;

to walk in the light of God’s countenance; and to 

sing the goodness of the Lord forever.

Amen

 

Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.  Are you able to sing of the promises of the Lord even when you have been disappointed or are suffering?  Explain

2.  Are you one of the blessed people who walk in the light of the Lord’s countenance?  Speak of how His countenance is reflected in your own face.

Psalm for Sunday, June 21, 2026

 

Reflections

Psalm 69: 8-10, 14, 17, 33-35    (Read)

"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?

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.
 

 

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.

Psalm for Sunday, May 31, 2026

Reflections

Daniel 3: 52, 53, 54, 55, 56   (Read)

“Blessed are you, O Lord, praiseworthy

and exalted above all forever.”

  

 

This week's Responsorial is taken from the book 

of Daniel. The verses are an excerpt

from the songs of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego 

who have been thrown into the fiery furnace 

by king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.

These three young Jewish men

refuse to worship the god of Nebuchadnezzar,

nor will they worship the golden statue

that has been set up by the King.

As a consequence they are cast into

a white hot furnace by the King.

But these brave young men are seen 

walking about in the flames, singing to God 

and blessing the Lord, using the words 

in this week's Responsorial.

An angel of the Lord goes down into the furnace and 

makes the inside of the furnace as though a

“dew laden breeze were blowing through it.”

So the fire in no way touches or causes them pain or harm.

These three in the furnace with one voice sing, 

glorifying and blessing God. The unwavering faith of

the three makes a strong impression on King Nebuchadnezzar

when he sees that these three young servants

of God have trusted in God and yielded their bodies,

rather than serve or worship the Babylonian god or

a golden statue. The King himself is so overwhelmed

that he undergoes a conversion and 

exclaims, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach,

Meshach, and Abednego.” 

The verses of the Responsorial affirm the power of God's 

love for us.  When we encounter our own trial by fire
and emerge unscathed then we too are inspired to respond
with the words of the three young Jewish men in the fiery
furnace, “Blessed are you, O Lord, praiseworthy and 

exalted above all forever.”

Just as the men in the furnace were in awe of the glory 

of the Lord, who sent an angel to rescue them, we too 

stand in awe of the loving presence of our God.  Helpless 

without the strength of God in our lives, let us not focus on 

our own predicaments, but on the greatness of our God, 

“Blessed are you O Lord. Glory and praise forever!”

Amen

 
Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.  The verses of the Responsorial are songs of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who are rescued from the fiery furnace.  We all encounter trial by fire when we live our faith.  Speak of your own rescue by the power of the Lord.

2.  Daniel relates the story of King Nebuchadnezzar's conversion after he observes the inspiring witness of the three young Jewish men.   Tell of how your own witness inspires others to become people of faith.