Reflections
Psalm 46: 2-3, 5-6, 8-9 (Read)
“There is a stream whose runlets gladden the
city of God, the holy dwelling of the most High.”
The Psalm speaks of a life giving stream that
keeps the city of God undisturbed and viable.
And the prophet Ezekiel affirms there are life giving
waters flowing out from the sanctuary of the temple,
which is the Church. (Ezekiel 47:9) This holy water
brings life and fruit to areas where nothing could
have grown before.
It is the same for us. The Church is the source of our
baptismal waters where we receive God's grace and
are called to spread hope and encouragement and the
Good News wherever we go. For us, Christ is the
source of that living water that flows from the temple
of His body.
The Psalm speaks of the holy waters that flow round
the Church and round us personally. These waters
gladden us. These waters are a source of blessing for us.
They spring forth and nourish our inner being, purify us,
and are a source of healing. We are after all the holy
dwelling of the Most High, the holy temple of God,
as St Paul tells us. Our body is a temple of the Holy
Spirit that resides inside us. (1 Corinthians 3:16)
Our psalmist says God is in the midst of His holy dwelling.
We understand this verse to mean—so long as God is
in our midst we shall not be disturbed. “The Lord of
hosts is with us.” He is our stronghold. The divine
presence in the temple of our body assures us of our
security, despite a world around us that is falling apart.
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. The Psalm assures us there are holy waters all around us.
Speak of how you are gladdened by these holy waters and how
these waters give you the grace you need to proclaim the Gospel.
2. Our psalmist affirms that the Lord of hosts is with us.
Tell of
how you are made whole and given power by the presence of the
Holy Spirit living within you.
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?
Reflections
Psalm 80: 9, 12, 13-14, 15-16, 19-20 (Read)
"O Lord, take care of this vine."
The Psalm is a prayer to restore the Israelites to God’s vineyard.
The chosen people have lost God’s protection; God has removed
the hedge that He put up around them.
“God brought a vine out of Egypt and planted it.” But what kind
of fruit did God’s vineyard bear? The prophet Isaiah says in
our 1st reading that despite all of God’s efforts, nothing but wild
grapes was produced. (Isaiah 5:2) And so God broke down the
vineyard’s walls, letting, “The boar strip the vine, and the beast
feed upon it.”
There is a message here for all of us who do not bear fruit or
use our resources wisely. We could lose God’s protection,
and we may not be able to defend ourselves from the evil one
that prowls around like a roaring lion.
We, like the psalmist, need to beg for God’s mercy.
“Turn again, O Lord of hosts, attend to this vine.”
If we’re not careful, the kingdom will be taken away
from us, as it was in the Gospel, and given to a people
that will produce its fruit. (Matthew 21: 43)
We, like the Israelites, need to be restored. The Psalm's
verses pray, “Give us new life, and we will call on your name.”
Where does our hope for revival come from?
It comes from our Savior, sent by the Lord, our cornerstone,
“The son of man whom God himself made strong.”
In Him we are restored. As the Psalm says, “Lord of hosts
restore us; let your face shine upon us,
that we may be saved.”
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. The Psalm says, “Lord, take care of this vine; then we will
no more withdraw
from you. Give us new life, and we will call
upon your name.” Have you noticed
at times when we stray off
His path how the Lord tugs at each of us so that
we return to
His ways. Give an example from your own experience.
2. Our psalmist is writing about the scattered people of
Israel, but his words may
apply to each of us in our separation from
God. In what way are you inspired by the
Psalm's verses to
repent and seek renewal?
Reflections
Psalm 25: 4-5, 8-9, 10, 14 (Read)
“Good and upright is the Lord, who shows sinners the way.”
We are blessed to have a God who does not
disregard us. On the contrary, He is a caring,
compassionate God, willing to humble Himself
to share in our humanity, so that we might share
in His divinity. Who else would have such regard
for sinners, for believers who disobey Him?
The Lord is talking to all of us here; we are all
sinners. Jesus was criticized for consorting
with sinners, but He replied that the sick (people
like us) are the ones who need a physician.
We are all able to benefit from the healing power
of Jesus.
Our psalmist says, “Make known to me your
ways, Lord; teach me your paths.” The prophet
Ezekiel, in our 1st reading, tells us that if we follow
the Lord's way, we will be able to turn away from
sin and avoid death (Ezekiel 18:31). The psalmist
prays to God, “Remember no more the sins of my
youth; remember me only in light of your love.”
And in the Gospel, Jesus tells us how a young man
became right with God after having disobeyed
Him (Matthew 21:31).
And where does the power come from to turn away
from sin? It comes from the Lord, “He shows sinners
the way.” It is He who encourages us when our tongues
confess, “The Lord guides the humble rightly,
and teaches the humble the way.”
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. As the Psalm says, our Lord shows us sinners the way; we pray that
He will teach us His paths. What leads you to follow
the Lord's truth?
2. Our psalmist petitions God to remember not the psalmist's
frailties or
the sins of his youth. How is the Lord's
compassion shown in your life?
