Psalm for Pentecost Sunday, May 31, 2020

                                                                                 
Reflections                                                                                    

Psalm 104:  1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34   (Read)

“When you send forth your spirit, 
they are created.” 

Animated by the Spirit, the divine 
breath, we who are His creatures 
sing of the glory of our Creator.

“When you send forth your Spirit, 
you renew the face of the earth.” 
God our Creator is the source 
of all natural life. So also the 
Holy Spirit is the source of all 
supernatural life.  We are nothing 
without the divine breath -- 
“When you take away their breath, 
they perish and return to their dust.”

It is this same creative breath that came down
on the disciples in that locked room St Luke
speaks of in our 1st reading (Acts 2: 1-11).
The Holy Spirit empowered the disciples to 
go forth and proclaim the Gospel boldly to 
men of all nations, speaking different tongues.

We too are called to be baptized in the Spirit,
and to receive the divine breath of the Lord.
Having been baptized in the Spirit, we are a
new creation, and are called to glorify the Lord
in what we do.  In this way, as the Psalm says,
“May the Lord be glad in His works.”

Fortunately, for us too, the Spirit is manifested
in each of us for some benefit, as St Paul reminds
us in our 2nd reading (1 Cor 12: 3-7, 12, 13).
All we have to do is accept Christ and believe in him.

Without the breath of the Holy Spirit, we have
no spiritual life.  But thanks to God's gift, we are
a new creation; we are baptized into Christ,
and we share in the divinity of our Lord.
And that alone gives us reason to praise God.
As our psalmist says, “Pleasing to Him be my theme;
I will be glad in the Lord.”

Amen


Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.  The Psalm affirms that the Lord sends out His Spirit to renew 
the face of the earth.   Tell of how you are affected by your having
received the Holy Spirit that is living on the inside of you.

2.  Our psalmist prays that the Lord will be glad in His works!   What 
works are you doing that makes you one of those who are pleasing 
to the Lord?

Psalm for Sunday, May 24, 2020

Reflections

Psalm 47: 2-3, 6-7, 8-9   (Read)

"God mounts his throne

amid shouts of joy."

This Sunday we celebrate the 
Ascension of our Lord, who was 
taken up to heaven to be seated 
at the right hand of the Father, 
far above every principality, with 
authority over every nation.  
(Ephesians 1:21)

With such an awesome God on 
his throne, what hope do we have 
as mere human beings that we will 
ever be able to approach Him?
How far above us can this Jesus be,
if He is taken up to heaven and has 
all things put beneath his feet?

The words of a popular song say, 
“Our God is an awesome God, He reigns 
with power and love.”
Power is often associated with arrogance
and brutal treatment, but our God uses his 
power to work miracles, and bring about 
healing.  And his power is expressed by 
his love, by which we are raised up with 
Jesus.

Fortunately for us humans, Jesus has a plan 
for us – we can feel his power and presence 
within us, so long as we repent from our sins 
and believe in Him.  He is risen, and is seated 
at the right hand of the Father in heaven.
Knowing this, we shout with joy, and we praise 
Him.   He leaves with us a way to share 
in his divinity, through the Holy Spirit which He 
sends to us.  That same promise Jesus made 
to his disciples is available to us – the promise 
of the Father, the gift of the holy Spirit.  (Acts 1:8)

After Jesus' Ascension, the disciples begin
their active ministry empowered by the Holy Spirit.
That same power is given to us so long as we believe.
We too are called to ministry.  And for that we are 
inspired to praise the Lord.  As the psalmist says, 
“Clap your hands, shout to God with cries of gladness, 
sing praise to God!”

Amen

Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.  Over and over our psalmist calls for us to shout to God 

and sing praise to God, as God mounts his throne.  Tell of how 

you personally praise the Lord with 'cries of gladness.'

2.   The verses of our psalm for this Ascension Sunday place 

our Lord in his kingship and on his throne, and make it seem 

that God is so far above us that we may not be able to approach 

Him easily.   How do you handle this apparent dilemma?  

How do you approach our  Lord?

Psalm for Sunday, May 17, 2020

Reflections

Psalm 66: 1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20   (Read)

“Say to God, “How tremendous are your deeds!”

The Psalm celebrates the awesome power of God, manifest in “His tremendous deeds among the children 
of Adam.” Our psalmist recalls the dividing of the Red Sea, which delivered Israel from the Egyptians, by the favor 
of God.  That same awesome power 
that split the Red Sea became available to the early apostles of the Church, as they went about healing and doing signs and wonders.

Where does that power come from to heal 
the lame and drive out unclean spirits?   
It comes from the Holy Spirit, who accomplishes 
in each of us a spiritual resurrection.

No wonder those early believers in Samaria 
were eager to have St Peter and St John lay 
hands on them so they could receive the Holy 
Spirit (Sunday's 1st reading, Acts 8: 14,17). 
In response, they cry out to God with joy, as our 
psalmist says, “Let all the earth cry out to God 
with joy.”

We too cannot help but sing praise to God 
when we feel His presence within us.  In Sunday's 
Gospel (John 14:16-18) our Savior promises that 
He will not leave us spiritual orphans.  Rather, 
He assures us that we are in Him and He is in us.
We proclaim His glorious praise, and we on earth 
worship Him.  We want all the earth to know what 
God has done for us; as the Psalm says, we shout 
joyfully to God and proclaim His glorious praise.

Amen


Discussion Questions for Reflection  

 1.  The Psalm urges us to say to God, "How tremendous are your deeds!" 
Speak of the Lord's awesome works in your life and how you go about 
praising Him.

2.  Our psalmist blesses God who "refused me not."  Tell of how your petitions 
and prayers have been answered by the Lord.
 

Psalm for Sunday, May 10, 2020

Reflections                                                                              

Psalm 33: 1-2, 4-5, 18-19   (Read)

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

The Psalm says that the Lord's eyes are 
upon us because we hold Him in awe, 
we praise Him.  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.

Where else would we turn for deliverance from
death, the kind of death which is a consequence
of sin?  Remember,  “The wages of sin is death,”
and we are all afflicted.  Fortunately for us, Christ
destroyed death and brought life to us

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.

It is through His Plan that we are saved.  Our
own feeble efforts count for nothing. We must be
submissive and abandon ourselves to His Plan.
Our Savior himself tells us in today's Gospel,
"I am the way and the truth and the life," and He
teaches us, "Whoever believes in me will do the
works that I do." (John 14: 1-12)

Because Christ humbles himself for our sake,
becomes a slave to our sin, there is hope for us,
even in our time of spiritual famine.  That is the
meaning of the response, “Lord, let your mercy
be on us, as we place our trust in you.”

Amen

 
Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.  Our psalmist speaks of holding the Lord in awe and knows that the eyes 
of the Lord are upon us.  Describe how you react when the eyes of the Lord
are upon you and you are in His presence.

2.  The Psalm Response today inspires us to place our trust in the Lord and 
await His mercy.  Tell of how your trust in the Lord has strengthened you 
and inspired you to do His will.