Reflections
Psalm 23: 1-3, 3-4, 5, 6 (Read)
“Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”
The Psalm's words are a source of peace
for us, a source of strength, a source of healing.
The Lord provides for us,
“There is nothing I shall want.”
The Lord restores us, for we tend to go astray
like sheep. We belong under the care of
the Good Shepherd, who is guardian of our souls.
Jesus assures us that we who enter the sheepfold
through Him will be saved and will find pasture.
Jesus promises to raise us up and to destroy death,
our biggest enemy. Our psalmist promises that
we are to be anointed by the Lord, “You anoint my
head with oil, my cup overflows.” We are made
ready to go forth on our journey of eternal life
with the Lord.
Like a Good Shepherd, Jesus says He should
not lose anything of what the Father has given Him,
but that He should raise it on the last day. (John 6: 39)
We lack nothing when we trust in the Lord.
We fear nothing. Having been rescued by our Savior,
and now counted among His obedient sheep,
we are groomed to enter the Kingdom
and dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. The Psalm promises a heavenly banquet at a time when we
are faced with our greatest enemy, death. "You spread the table
before me in the sight of my foes." Speak of how you are
comforted by the Psalm's verses.
2. Our psalmist assures us that our Lord is the guardian of our
souls and that we shall have eternal life with Him. Explain how
confident you are that you will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Reflections
Psalm 18: 2-3, 3-4, 47, 51 (Read)
“The Lord Lives!”
The Psalm is saying that the Lord
is present to us, here and now, just as
He was when He delivered David
from his persecutors.
The really key revelation for us is
that the Lord lives. He lives among us;
He is present in the Word. Jesus is
in fact the Living Word; He is present
on the inside of us through the holy
Spirit. He is alive in the Eucharist.
He humbled himself to share in our
humanity, so that we might have a
share in His divinity!
So Jesus is alive and well, standing
by us as our “rock of refuge, our
shield, our saving horn.” We join
with David in praising God and loving
Him with all our heart and all our mind,
as Jesus reminds us to do in the Gospel.
(Matthew 22: 37)
How do we apply the Psalm's verses to
our lives? We turn to our Lord to equip
us for the battles that we fight against the
evil one. Jesus becomes our fortress!
In this Psalm we hear David, crying out
to the Lord, as one cries out to his savior.
“My God, my rock of refuge, my shield,
my saving horn, my stronghold.” David
has just emerged after being saved
by God from his enemies. David has been
rescued by that same God of compassion
and mercy that is present to us.
David praises his savior in language that
is familiar to us as his spiritual descendents,
“The Lord lives! Blessed be my rock!
Exalted be God my savior!”
For David has been delivered from the
forces of evil that surrounded him.
And that same deliverance is available to
us, so long as we surrender ourselves
to God and love God with all of our heart
and soul and strength.
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. The Psalm affirms for us that our Lord lives! Tell of how
the Lord is present to you in your daily life. How does He
reveal
Himself to you?
2. Our psalmist extols God our savior, and speaks of the Lord
as the horn of salvation. When and how do you turn to the Lord
as your rock of refuge?
Reflections
Psalm 96: 1, 3, 4-5, 7-8, 9-10 (Read)
“Awesome is He; give to the Lord
the glory due His name!”
The Psalm is a message to Israel’s
neighbors, and to the rest of the world, that there is one true God. “Tell God’s glory among the nations; among all peoples, God’s marvelous deeds.”
The Israelites have returned from exile and have been brought back
from near death as a people. The
remnant has survived, and the
Israelites have been delivered by
the one and only God.
And so they sing a “new song,” celebrating the
“newness of God” that comes with the joy of
praising Him as sovereign. “Sing to the Lord a
new song; sing to the Lord, all you lands.”
As the Psalm says, we are all summoned to
adoration of our sovereign. We are called
to give Him glory and praise.
In the 1st reading the prophet Isaiah confirms
there is no other God besides Him. (Isaiah 45: 5)
The gods of other nations are mere idols, and they
all do nothing, says our psalmist. But our God made
the heavens; He is to be praised and feared.
And how do we praise Him?
How do we give the Lord the glory due His name?
We engage in works of faith; we undertake a labor
of love for Him, as St. Paul tells us in today's
2nd reading. (1
Thessalonians 1: 3)
All peoples are invited to recognize our God,
and pledge to obey Him. “Say among the nations,
“The Lord is King; the world will surely stand fast,
never to be shaken.”
And having acknowledged that God is sovereign,
how should we and all the nations behave?
The Gospel tells us how -- Jesus says,
“Repay to God what belongs to God.” (Matthew 22: 21)
And we understand our calling,
“Give to the Lord the glory due His name!”
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. The Psalm exhorts us to "Sing to the Lord a new song."
How does your song go when you sing praise to God? What
do you have to say to the Lord?
2. Our psalmist encourages us to "Give the Lord glory and
honor."
We are called to give glory to God in the works of
faith that we do.
Speak of how you give God the glory in what
you do.
Reflections
Psalm 23: 1-3, 3-4, 5, 6 (Read)
“I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life.”
It is said that this wonderful prayer was written
at the end of King David’s life. We are with
David as he passes from death to life
on God’s holy mountain.
Isaiah says the Lord will provide a feast of
rich food and choice wines on His holy mountain. (Isaiah 25: 6) Our psalmist tells us,
“The Lord prepares a table before me; He anoints
my head with oil, my cup runneth over.”
Isaiah says that God wipes away our tears. (Isaiah 25: 8)
King David tells us, “Even though I walk through
the valley of death, I shall fear no evil, for you are
with me.” What greater companion would we want as
we face death? St. Paul agrees -- his strength comes
from the Lord, through Jesus, who empowers him. (Philippians 4: 13)
This is the same Lord who shepherds us in the Psalm.
“He restores my soul.”
David sets the tone for what is to come -- Jesus
becomes the good Shepherd, leads us beside
still waters, guides us along the right paths.
With the Good Shepherd as our guide,
if we walk with him, we are sure to be among
the chosen ones, and we are sure to be clothed
in the right clothing when we arrive on
God’s holy mountain.
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. King David, our psalmist, is confident that he will
dwell in God's house for all the days of his life. What draws
you to God's heavenly mansions and what gives you confidence
that you will live there?
2. The Psalm's verses reassure us that we are God's sheep and
our Lord is our good shepherd. Are you one of His sheep, and
in what way are you gaining repose in His pastures?
