Reflections
Psalm 86: 5-6, 9-10, 15-16 (Read)
“Turn toward me, and have pity on me,
give your strength to your servant.”
We pray, as does our psalmist David,
for the Lord to attend to the 'sound of
our pleading.' We take refuge in the same
heavenly Father that Christ did. Even
when we are far away, the Lord has pity
on us. Even though we forget Him, He
does not forget us. He searches our hearts;
He gathers us into His mansion
at the end of the age.
He empowers us to fight a good fight.
God saves us from our enemies, and also
from ourselves. All we have to do is
open our hearts to Him and do His will
by striving to be saved. For God gives
His children good ground for hope, and
He permits repentance for their sins.
(Wisdom 12:19, 1st reading)
Our Psalmist never stops asking,
and He is rightly sure,
that God could never stop giving.
God could scarcely resist our prayers.
Even though we do not know how to pray
as we ought, as St Paul says, the Holy Spirit
Himself intercedes with inexpressible
groanings. (2nd reading, Romans 8:26)
The Lord is present to us;
He listens; He pardons; He saves.
God's goodness overwhelms us.
Even nonbelievers will come to worship
God and glorify His name.
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. Our psalmist is overwhelmed with the goodness of our
merciful Lord. Give an example of how God has attended
to the sound of your pleading and done a wondrous deed
in your life.
2. The Psalm is a prayer that God will strengthen and
empower His servant. Speak of how the Lord has empowered
you to do His will.
Reflections
Psalm 65: 10, 11, 12-13, 14 (Read)
“The Lord has visited the land and watered it;
greatly has He enriched it.”
Water is so critical for a place like the Holy Land,
as it is here in the arid climate of Southern
California. Without water we could not produce
any crops. We are blessed that “God's
watercourses are filled,” and He provides us with
an abundant harvest.
We also depend upon the Lord to supply us with
what Jesus calls the living water that satisfies our
spiritual thirst. Jesus is the Word that drenches us,
adorns our year with plenty.
How else could we bear fruit?
With His showers He softens the land, blessing its
young sprouts (that is us). We are like untilled meadows
without His word and His grace. How else could
we expect our pastures to be blanketed with grain?
The Lord prepares the earth; our paths overflow
with fruitful rain. The hills are robed in joy.
God’s Word is showered down upon us, and
does not return to Him void;
we do His will; we are His witnesses;
we keep the faith.
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. Our psalmist speaks about the Lord having visited
the land and watered it. Tell of how the Lord has drenched
you with His living water that yields a fruitful
harvest.
2. The Psalm assures us that the Lord breaks up the clods
of the land and softens it with showers. Give an example
of how God's Word has softened you up spiritually and led
you to do His will.
Reflections
Psalm 145: 1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13-14 (Read)
“The Lord lifts up all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.”
We may question why God allows us to suffer,
why he allows bad things to happen to good people.
We may ask, as the early believers probably did,
“Why is it necessary to undergo such hardships
to enter the kingdom of God?”
Scripture tells us that afflictions are to be expected
in our walk with the Lord. We may not understand
what God is up to, but we can be sure that our faith
will be strengthened if we stand fast in the face of
suffering. We will become better witnesses for Christ
if we are humbled; we become better servants
if we bear up with our difficulties and trust in the Lord,
as our psalmist tells us.
And as the Gospel says, we are raised up by getting
'yoked to Jesus.' That is how our burdens are made light,
by helping Jesus to carry His cross, as Simon did that day
on the road to Calvary. Despite what we may think,
"His yoke is easy and His burden light."
Remember that endurance is a Godly quality and will
help us to get yoked to Jesus. Having done that, we,
like our psalmist David, join with the faithful and
speak of the glory of God's reign and bless his name.
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. Our psalmist assures us that the Lord will lift us up
when we are falling. Speak of a time when you have
undergone hardship and how your faith has been strengthened.
2. The Psalm says that the Lord is "good to all and
compassionate toward all his works." Tell how this verse
inspires you to be more compassionate toward those in
your life who may not always be lovable in your sight.
Reflections
Psalm 34: 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 (Read)
“When the poor one called out, the Lord heard,
and from all his distress He saved him.”
Just as the Lord delivers St Peter from his
captors (1st reading), so He delivers us from
whatever sinful habits hold us captive.
“Let my soul glory in the Lord; that the poor
may hear and be glad.” The word poor is
said to apply to one who depends completely
on God for his deliverance and his very life.
That’s where St Peter stood also in the early
stages of his apostolic journey, totally dependent
on God for the strength to walk the walk that
was planned for him (1st reading, Acts 12: 1-11).
And if the truth is to be known, that’s where
we stand even today, when we are short of
endurance along our spiritual journey.
Fortunately, God provides the inner strength
we need to complete our own spiritual journey
when we get bogged down.
Our psalmist David recounts for us how he gained
deliverance, “I sought the Lord, who answered me,
and delivered me from all my fears.” Despite the
anguish in David’s voice, the Psalm's verses speak
of a promise of joy, “Look to God that you may be
radiant with joy, and your faces may not blush with shame.”
In Sunday's 2nd reading St Paul is rescued from the lion's
mouth and is empowered by the Lord to finish the race, to
keep the faith, to complete the proclamation. In his own words,
“The Lord stood by me and gave me strength.” (2 Tim 4: 6-8, 17-18)
The Psalm assures us that our prayers are heard if we have
a right relationship with the Lord, “The angel of the Lord will
rescue those who fear him.” This verse is David's affirmation
of total confidence. The angel of the Lord will be sent to deliver
the poor one who cries out. Both Saints Peter and Paul
know how weak they really are, but given their trust in God's
strength, both saints know the happiness of taking refuge in God.
We follow in their footsteps, “Blessed the man who takes
refuge in the Lord.”
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. The Psalm's verses speak of the comfort that we
obtain by taking refuge in the Lord. Speak of how
you have tasted and seen how good the Lord is when
you seek His deliverance.
2. Our psalmist prays that his soul will glory in the Lord,
that the lowly will hear him and be glad. Tell of how you
have given witness to those who are struggling spiritually.
Reflections
Psalm 147: 12-13, 14-15, 19-20 (Read)
“With the best of wheat he fills you."
God has been a provider to His people
ever since He created us. But the beauty
of His providence is that He provides for us
spiritually as well as physically. During the
Liturgy of the Eucharist, as the gifts are
being prepared, the priest says,
“Through your goodness we have this bread
to offer, which earth has given, it will become
for us the bread of life.”
We are nourished by the Eucharist, by the body
and blood of our Lord Jesus. And that is where
our life comes from, our hope, our salvation.
All we have to do is receive Him with a clean heart
and avoid partaking of the “table of demons” (1 Cor 10: 20).
Our Lord's body is real food, and when we eat it
we are given a share in the divine life. During
the Mass the celebrant prays, “By the mystery
of this water and wine may we come to share in
the divinity of Christ, who humbled Himself
to share in our humanity.”
St Paul says in our 2nd reading we all “partake
of the one loaf” (1 Cor 10: 17). We share in
the bread of life, and our Savior's body is a
source of nourishment for us. This Sunday's
Gospel reminds us that Jesus is the living bread
from heaven. Praise God!
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. The Psalm speaks of our Lord as being a good provider; He fills
us with the best of wheat. Speak of how you are
nourished by the real
food of the Eucharist.
2. Our psalmist declares that God's word runs swiftly as the
Lord sends
forth His command to the earth. These verses allude
to the power of
God's word in our lives. Tell of how you
receive the word of God and how
it affects you.
Reflections
Daniel 3: 52, 53, 54, 55, 56 (Read)
“Blessed are you, O Lord, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.”
This week's Psalm is taken from the book of Daniel.
The verses are an excerpt from the songs of Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego who have been thrown into
the fiery furnace by king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
These three young Jewish men refuse to worship the god
of Nebuchadnezzar,
nor will they worship the golden statue
that has been set up by the King. As a consequence they
are cast into a white hot furnace by the King.
But these brave young men are seen walking about in the
flames, singing to God and blessing the Lord, using the words
in this week's Responsorial. An angel of the Lord goes down
into the furnace and makes the inside of the furnace as though
a “dew laden breeze were blowing through it.” So the fire in
no way touches or causes them pain or harm.
These three in the furnace with one voice sing, glorifying and
blessing God. The unwavering faith of the three makes a
strong impression on King Nebuchadnezzar when he sees
that these three young servants of God have trusted in God
and yielded their bodies, rather than serve or worship the
Babylonian god or a golden statue. The King himself is so
overwhelmed that he undergoes a conversion and exclaims,
“Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.”
The verses of the Psalm affirm the power of God's love for us.
We too are inspired to respond with the words of the three
young Jewish men in the fiery furnace. Each day we
encounter our own trial by fire and emerge unscathed.
“Blessed are you, O Lord, praiseworthy and exalted above
all forever.”
Just as the men in the furnace were in awe of the glory
of the Lord, who sent an angel to rescue them, we too
stand in awe of the loving presence of our God. Helpless
without the strength of God in our lives, we focus not on
our own predicaments, but on the greatness of our God,
“Blessed are you O Lord. Glory and praise forever!”
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. The verses of the Responsorial are songs of Shadrach,
Meshach,and Abednego, who are rescued from the fiery furnace.
We all encounter trial by fire when we live our faith. Speak of your
own rescue by the power of the Lord.
2. Daniel relates the story of King Nebuchadnezzar's conversion
after he observes the inspiring witness of the three young Jewish men.
Tell of how your own witness inspires others to become people of faith.
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?
