Psalm for Sunday, October 25, 2026

 

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 

our psalmist 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, 

the horn of my salvation, 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 descendants,

“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?

Psalm for Sunday, October 18, 2026

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 this Sunday's first 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.
 

Psalm for Sunday, October 11, 2026

 

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.