Psalm for Sunday, February 2, 2020

Reflections

Psalm 24:  7, 8, 9, 10  (Read)

“Lift up, O gates, reach up,
that the king of glory may come in!”

Scripture tells us that even the heavens 
cannot contain Him, yet our Lord is
content to build a house within our
hearts.  Our own bodies become temples
of the Lord, and we must throw open
the gates of our hearts and let Him enter.
He is the king of glory!

The psalm celebrates Christ's ascension into
the holy city of Jerusalem, and reminds us
that He is 'mighty in battle,' able to defeat
whatever dark forces are present within us.
We herald His coming, our gates our lifted,
'that the king of glory may come in.'  He is
'strong and mighty' and will protect us from
all our enemies, external and internal.

The psalm reminds us we are to prepare
to receive our Lord.  We must be clean of
hand and pure of heart; we must 'reach up
our portals' to a higher level if we are truly
to become a temple of God.

The Psalm is guiding us to prepare ourselves
from within, so that we are made ready to
receive Him when He comes.  Our psalmist
tells us that those who love the Lord and those
who seek God's face will receive Him.  Just as
Jesus is consecrated to the Lord in this Sunday's
Gospel, just so must we be consecrated before
we can receive Jesus in our hearts.  When we are
ready, we can join with the psalmist and say
confidently, 'It is the Lord!'

Amen

 
Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.  The Psalm twice urges us to lift up our gates that the king of glory 
may come in.   What are you doing to prepare a place for the Lord 
in your heart?

2.  Our Lord will build a house within our hearts if we allow Him to do so.  
Once your body becomes a temple of the Lord, how will this change 
your behavior?

Psalm for Sunday, January 26, 2020

Reflections

Psalm 27:  1, 4, 13-14   (Read)

“The Lord is my light and my salvation.”

The Psalm is about trusting the
Lord and our desire to spend
the rest of our days in His
presence. The Psalm says,
"One thing I ask of the Lord;
this I seek: to dwell in the 

house of the Lord all the days
of my life.”

Perhaps this desire to be with
the Lord is what inspired Simon
Peter and his brother Andrew
that day by the Sea of Galilee,
when they left their father and
their nets to follow Jesus and
be his disciples (Sunday's Gospel).
Surely, Peter and Andrew recognized
Jesus as their own personal light
and their own personal Savior. 
As the Psalm says, "The Lord is
my light and my salvation."

As we grow older, we too take steps
on our journey to be with the Lord,
to enter His house.  Recall that Jesus
said, “My house has many mansions.” 
It is no accident that older people
want to go to daily Mass and be with
the Lord as much as possible.  They
are called to that promise of eternal
joy when they may “gaze on the
loveliness of the Lord” all the days
of their lives.

Amen

Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.  Two verses of the Psalm assure us that we should not fear, or be afraid
of anyone, so long as the Lord is our refuge and our salvation.  How do you
apply these verses to your daily life?

2.  Our psalmist asks, "To dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life
that I may gaze on the loveliness of the Lord."   Where is the house of the Lord,
and how do you believe you will get there?

Psalm for Sunday, January 19, 2020

Reflections 

Psalm 40:  2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10   (Read)

“He put a new song into my mouth.”

Our psalmist David waits for the Lord,
to reach out to Him, to make God hear 
his cry.  We are like that.  We are weak 
on our own; we need the Lord’s strength 
to be delivered from our sinful ways.

As the prophet Isaiah says, God is our
strength (Isaiah 49:5).  We put our trust
in Him.  Our God is an awesome God.
“Many shall look on [our God] in awe
and trust in the Lord.” We are called to be
God's holy people, as St Paul tells us 
(1 Corinthians 1:2).

Our psalmist says, “He put a new song into
my mouth.” In response we sing a new song
unto the Lord.  For us, having waited for
the Lord, it is no longer the same old tune
or the same old us.   We are in fact a new
creation, singing out the good news.
Where does our joyful spirit come from?
It comes from the Lord, and we are called
to share what He has given us and to do
His will.

We are called to follow Christ.
Obedience isn’t an unpleasant chore for us;
instead, as the Psalm tells us,
“To do your will is my delight.”

Amen

 
Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.  The Psalm Response this Sunday is, "Here am I, Lord;
I come to do your will."  Speak of how you discern God's will
in your life, and tell how you are carrying out what God wants 
you to do.

2.  Our psalmist David says, "God put a new song into my mouth."  
Have you too had a conversion in your walk with the Lord?  Tell of 
your own experience.

Psalm for Sunday, January 12, 2020

Reflections

Psalm 29:  1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10   (Read)

“The God of glory thunders.”

The Psalm is about the splendor and the 
power of God.  “Give to the Lord the glory 
due God’s name.  Bow down before the 
Lord’s holy splendor.”  The Psalm speaks 
of the voice of the Lord “thundering” over 
the waters.   “The voice of the Lord is 
power; the voice of the Lord is splendor.”

God's awesome voice was heard over the 
Jordan River that day when the heavens 
were torn open and the Holy Spirit descended 
upon Jesus just after He was baptized.  What 
could be more powerful than the voice of God 
declaring, “This is my beloved Son, with whom 
I am well pleased.” (Gospel, Matthew 3:17)

What happened at the Jordan River that day 
was to fulfill what God said to the prophet Isaiah – 
“Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen 
one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have 
put my spirit.”  (Isaiah 42:1)

The baptism of our Lord may have happened 
over 2000 years ago, but on that day God 
anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and power, 
the power to serve the faithful (people like us), 
and to do battle on our behalf with the 
devil. (Acts 10:38)

From that time forward we too became eligible 
to serve the Lord as His chosen ones.   Isaiah 
tells us what our spiritual mission is to be:  
like Jesus, we are to be a light to the nations, 
and open the eyes of the blind (those who do 
not know the Lord).  (Isaiah 42:6-7)
And imitating Jesus, we are to bring out 
prisoners from confinement (those who may 
be imprisoned by sin).  What better way 
would there be for us to serve the Lord?

Amen


 Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.  The Psalm's verses speak of the power and splendor of the voice 
of the Lord, thundering over the waters.   Have you heard God's powerful 
voice speaking to you, anointing you as one of His chosen ones? 
Explain.

2.  Our psalmist encourages us to give God the glory due His holy name.  
Tell of how you give God the glory in your activities and your everyday life.