Psalm for Sunday, June 3, 2012 (Holy Trinity)

 
Reflections
 
Psalm 33:  4-5, 6, 9, 18-19, 20, 22

“The eyes of the Lord are upon
those who fear him ...
to deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.”

We have been chosen by God
to be his people.
God is all powerful --
“By the word of the Lord
the heavens were made.”
“For he spoke, and it came to be.”

Our 1st reading (Deuteronomy) reminds us
we are to keep his commandments.
And we do this because we hold Him in awe.  

Like a Good Shepherd He protects us from harm;
He puts up a hedge around us
and provides us with armor
in our battle against death and the evil one;
He feeds us when we go through
periods of spiritual hunger.  
He nourishes us and gives us
our daily spiritual bread.  

“Our soul waits for the Lord,
who is our help and our shield.”
It is said that even people who have no faith
have a longing in their hearts for God.
There is something missing in their lives.
For us who are believers,
we are dependent on the Lord –
we openly seek his help and his protection.
He is our shield in the spiritual battle
that we all have to fight.

We would be dead in our sins
without the Lord's protection,
defeated by the evil one
without the Lord's armor.
And when our hearts
are starved for God's presence,
when our bones are dry,
he nourishes us
and breathes life into our dry bones.
“Lord we have put our hope in you.”


“ Our soul waits for the Lord ….”
We are delivered from death,
kept alive in times of spiritual famine.
We can expect to receive his grace.
And for this, we praise the Lord.
As the psalmist says,
we know he will fill the earth with kindness
and that his kindness will be upon us.

“We have put our hope in the Lord.”
Jesus, in turn, puts his hope in us,
commanding us to go out
and make disciples of all nations.
As God's children (2nd reading),
we must be submissive
and abandon ourselves to his Plan,
just as Jesus tells us in the Gospel.

We have been given to Jesus
so that we may proclaim
the good news of salvation.
In this way we carry out the Lord’s works
and celebrate what the Psalm says:
“The Lord loves justice and right.”

Amen

Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.  Our Psalm Response this week is,
'Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.' 
Do you believe that you have been chosen by God
to be one of His children?   Explain.

2.  Our psalmist speaks of preserving us in spite of 'famine.' 
Have you gone through periods of spiritual hunger?  
How has your faith enabled you to regain your strength
and obtain nourishment?