A Symphony of Prayer

When I was a seminarian, it was customary for third-year students to give a sermon at Evening Prayer every Thursday during the spring semester. Most students chose to preach on the short two or three-verse reading from one of the epistles that is part of the Liturgy of the Hours. Since the Liturgy of the Hours is organized on a four-week cycle, we would listen to three or four sermons on the same passage every spring. Truthfully, after going through this exercise for several years, it got pretty dull as one of the students tried to develop a unique reflection on the same passage. 

I'm not terribly creative, but when it came to my turn during my third year, I wanted to shake things up, so I decided to preach on one of the psalms we recited that evening. I forgot which one and what I said about the Psalm, but my fellow seminarians and the faculty congratulated me for at least doing something new. They were so relieved to hear a different approach. 

I don't preach on the Psalms very often, and I can't say I've heard many other priests do so, either. Other than verses from the 23rd Psalm, most people aren't familiar with them. That is too bad because a person can find great comfort in the Psalms when we face fear, distress, sadness, and oppression. 

Pope Francis called the Psalms a symphony of prayer composed by the Holy Spirit in his catechesis during a recent Wednesday audience on June 19. He invited the faithful to pray with them in preparation for the 2025 Holy Year. Francis said the Psalms address many emotions. They cover the full range of poetic inspiration. He also pointed out the need for readers to remember that the Psalms reflect their times, historical situations, and religious mentality, which don't always reflect our own today. Sometimes, the psalmist spoke rather brutally about wanting God to attack his enemies. Still, they are the inspired Word of God. 

Pope Francis said the Psalms are particularly appropriate for Christian prayer because they were the prayers of Mary, Jesus, and every Christian generation. They make up most of the prayers 

in the Liturgy of the Hours or Breviary that are part of the daily prayer of the clergy, religious sisters and brothers, and many of the laity. The four-week cycle of the Breviary includes almost all of the Book of Psalms. 

I encourage parishioners to consider using the Psalms as part of their prayer, especially when feeling deep emotions. When feeling adoration and joy because of God's goodness, pray Psalm 136, 8, 19, 139, or 104. Try Psalms 1, 19, 49, and 119 in a meditative mood. When experiencing sorrow for sin, Psalms 51 and 90 are excellent companions. If you feel abandoned by God, Psalms 34, 19, and 22 could be helpful. 

In his reflection, Pope Francis said, "The Psalms help us to open ourselves to a prayer that is less focused on ourselves: a prayer of praise, of beauty, of blessing, of thanksgiving; and they also help us give voice to all creation, invoking it in our praise. As Catholics prepare to celebrate 2025 as a Holy Year, consider shaking up your prayer life by using the Psalms as your preferred prayer form. 

Fr. Sullivan's CECH Walk-A-Thon 

Fr. Sullivan is planning his personal 5-mile CECH Walk-A-Thon for Tuesday, August 6. He will walk five miles from the church to Sam Ryder Road and back by way of the Bike Path. He'll gladly sign you up after Mass if you would like to sponsor him for any amount. If you would like your own sponsor sheet, he'll also have some of those. 

Sunday is the 4th World Grandparents Day, as proclaimed by Pope Francis. In his message for the day, Francis laments how many grandparents and the elderly generally can be made to feel lonely and marginalized. The elderly feel loneliness resulting from separation from family because offspring have had to move away for employment. He said that the elderly often get left behind in times of war because they lack mobility or want to cling to their homes. In various ways, the elderly are accused of "robbing the young of their future" because of the high cost of social and medical care. Francis deplores the disruption of the unity of the different ages of life, which is the point of reference needed to understand and value human life in its entirety. Honor older people every day.