GIVING PRAISE TO GOD

20170609 GIVING PRAISE TO GOD

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Green.

First reading

Tobit 11:5-17 ©

Anna was sitting, watching the road by which her son would come. She was sure at once it must be he and said to the father, ‘Here comes your son, with his companion.’

  Raphael said to Tobias before he reached his father, ‘I give you my word that your father’s eyes will open. You must put the fish’s gall to his eyes; the medicine will smart and will draw a filmy white skin off his eyes. And your father will be able to see and look on the light.’

  The mother ran forward and threw her arms round her son’s neck. ‘Now I can die,’ she said ‘I have seen you again.’ And she wept. Tobit rose to his feet and stumbled across the courtyard through the door. Tobias came on towards him (he had the fish’s gall in his hand). He blew into his eyes and said, steadying him, ‘Take courage, father!’ With this he applied the medicine, left it there a while, then with both hands peeled away a filmy skin from the corners of his eyes. Then his father fell on his neck and wept. He exclaimed, ‘I can see, my son, the light of my eyes!’ And he said:

‘Blessed be God!

Blessed be his great name!

Blessed be all his holy angels!

Blessed be his great name for evermore!

For he had scourged me

and now has had pity on me

and I see my son Tobias.’

Tobias went into the house, and with a loud voice joyfully blessed God. Then he told his father everything: how his journey had been successful and he had brought the silver back; how he had married Sarah, the daughter of Raguel; how she was following him now, close behind, and could not be far from the gates of Nineveh.

  Tobit set off to the gates of Nineveh to meet his daughter-in-law, giving joyful praise to God as he went. When the people of Nineveh saw him walking without a guide and stepping forward as briskly as of old, they were astonished. Tobit described to them how God had taken pity on him and had opened his eyes. Then Tobit met Sarah, the bride of his son Tobias, and blessed her in these words, ‘Welcome, daughter! Blessed be your God for sending you to us, my daughter. Blessings on your father, blessings on my son Tobias, blessings on yourself, my daughter. Welcome now to your own house in joyfulness and in blessedness. Come in, my daughter.’ He held a feast that day for all the Jews of Nineveh.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 145(146):2,7-10 ©

My soul, give praise to the Lord.

or

Alleluia!

My soul, give praise to the Lord:

  I will praise the Lord all my days,

  make music to my God while I live.

My soul, give praise to the Lord.

or

Alleluia!

It is the Lord who keeps faith for ever,

  who is just to those who are oppressed.

It is he who gives bread to the hungry,

  the Lord, who sets prisoners free,

My soul, give praise to the Lord.

or

Alleluia!

It is the Lord who gives sight to the blind,

  who raises up those who are bowed down,

the Lord, who protects the stranger

  and upholds the widow and orphan.

My soul, give praise to the Lord.

or

Alleluia!

It is the Lord who loves the just

  but thwarts the path of the wicked.

The Lord will reign for ever,

  Zion’s God, from age to age.

My soul, give praise to the Lord.

or

Alleluia!

Gospel Acclamation

cf.Ps18:9

Alleluia, alleluia!

Your words gladden the heart, O Lord,

they give light to the eyes.

Alleluia!

Or

Jn14:23

Alleluia, alleluia!

If anyone loves me he will keep my word,

and my Father will love him,

and we shall come to him.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Mark 12:35-37 ©

At that time while teaching in the Temple, Jesus said, ‘How can the scribes maintain that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, moved by the Holy Spirit, said:

The Lord said to my Lord:

Sit at my right hand

and I will put your enemies

under your feet.

David himself calls him Lord, in what way then can he be his son?’ And the great majority of the people heard this with delight.

GIVING PRAISE TO GOD

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ TB 11:5-17; PS 145:2,7-10; MK 12:35-37  ]

The theme of today’s readings is that of joy and praise.  We can imagine the joy of Anna when her son returned home.  She “ran forward and threw her arms around her son’s neck.  ‘Now I can die,’ she said ‘I have seen you again.’  And she wept.”  Any mother who fears for the safety of her son would have felt the same way.   It was a great relief for her.  We all desire to be in union with those whom we love.  Her son was her own flesh and blood.  To see him alive and well gave her peace of mind, otherwise she would never be able to die in peace, worrying for the well-being of her son.

So too was the uncontrollable joy of Tobit when he heard that his son had returned.  Even though he could not see, he “rose to his feet and stumbled across the courtyard through the door.”   Above all, when he was healed of his blindness, he exclaimed, “’I can see, my son, the light of my eyes!’  And he said: ‘Blessed be God! Blessed be his great name! Blessed be all his holy angels! Blessed be his great name for evermore! For he had scourged me and now has had pity on me and I see my son Tobias.’”

Tobias too was also filled with joy at the recovery of his father’s sight and most of all, he also brought back his wife.  “Tobias went into the house, and with a loud voice joyfully blessed God.  Then he told his father everything: how his journey had been successful and he had brought the silver back; how he had married Sarah, the daughter of Raguel; how she was following him now, close behind, and could not be far from the gates of Nineveh.”

What is significant is that the joy they had could not be kept within themselves.  They spontaneously praised God, acknowledging His love and mercy.  It is the same sentiment of the psalmist. The responsorial psalm fittingly summed up the entire saga of Tobit and Tobias, from the beginning of the blindness till the return of Tobias with his wife.   “My soul, give praise to the Lord: I will praise the Lord all my days, make music to my God while I live.   It is the Lord who gives sight to the blind, who raises up those who are bowed down, the Lord who protects the stranger and upholds the widow and orphan.  It is the Lord who loves the just but thwarts the path of the wicked. The Lord will reign forever, Zion’s God, from age to age.”

Joy is also expressed in announcing the mercy of God to the world.  That was what Tobit did.  “Tobit set off to the gates of Nineveh to meet his daughter-in-law, giving joyful praise to God as he went.  When the people of Nineveh saw him walking without a guide and stepping forward as briskly as of old, they were astonished.  Tobit described to them how God had taken pity on him and had opened his eyes.”  When we have received God’s mercy, we desire the whole world to know so that they too can find hope in God when they are in trouble, just as we did.  Indeed, if we have found a good doctor or a good medication, we would naturally recommend them to our friends and loved ones.  No one keeps good news to himself or herself.

Joy is also expressed in blessing others with the blessings we have received.  Tobit shared the blessings with others, which he always did, even before tragedy struck.  “Then Tobit met Sarah, the bride of his son Tobias, and blessed her in these words, ‘Welcome, daughter! Blessed be your God for sending you to us, my daughter.  Blessings on your father, blessings on my son Tobias, blessings on yourself, my daughter.  Welcome now to your own house in joyfulness and in blessedness.  Come in, my daughter.’  He held a feast that day for all the Jews of Nineveh.”  Such is the nature of joy.   Joy is expressed in praise, announcement and the desire to bless others with the same blessings we have received.

For this reason, praise is the primary disposition of the Church.   From morning to night, the Church unceasingly gives praise and thanksgiving to God through the praying of the Liturgy of the Hours and the celebration of the Eucharist.  It is significant that the morning prayers of the Church is called “Lauds” that is praise and the evening prayers is called, “Vespers” that is thanksgiving.  So, in the morning, particularly on Sundays and feast days, the Church sings praise to God the creator.  And in the evening, the Church ends with thanksgiving to our Lord Jesus for winning victory over our enemies.  “David himself, moved by the Holy Spirit, said: The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand and I will put your enemies under your feet.”

The Mass is the highest sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to God for the salvation wrought by Christ.   In the Eucharist, which means, thanksgiving, we render our praise to God for what Christ has done for us.  Every Eucharistic celebration calls to mind the blessings and salvation won for us by Christ.  In the middle of the Eucharistic Prayer, we call to mind the mystery of our faith which is Christ’s death and resurrection and that He would come again.  Most of all, we thank Christ for giving Himself to us in person in the bread and wine.  Anyone who celebrates the mass with the right disposition of praise and thanksgiving would also be filled with great joy because of the gratitude in his heart.

Unfortunately, most Catholics do not focus on praise and thanksgiving in their prayers, or even in their lives.  Their relationship with God is one of a servant and a beggar, not a friend or a child of God.  Hence, our relationship with God is one of utility.  God is not someone whom we have a relationship with but one who is merely a supplier of our needs.  As such, the relationship is one of asking and begging for this and that.  Our prayer is always a monologue, telling God what we want and what we need.  It is not a dialogue.  It is always inward- looking.  The focus is not on praising and glorifying God but about ourselves.  There is no intimacy and no real encounter with God.

Even if Catholics do praise God, most of them do not praise God with their whole being, but only with their lips.  Some do celebrate the Liturgy of the Hours but often out of routine. It is merely a recitation, the moving of the lips but not the mind or the heart.  We do not make the sentiments and prayers of the psalmists our own.  Instead, we rattle through the psalms like the way we pray the rosary, without thinking and much less feeling.  Well, it is the same for those who attend daily mass as well.  Whilst it is a good practice, again, routine sets in.  It becomes a daily ritual; not an act of praise and thanksgiving to God.  This explains why many who pray the Liturgy of the Hours and attend daily mass do not experience any real change or transformation in their lives or their relationship with God.

Perhaps, we could take a page from those in the Charismatic renewal.  In worship, their prayers and songs mostly consist of praise and thanksgiving; just like the Liturgy of the Hours.  The only difference is that the psalms and biblical texts are re-casted in contemporary words and music.  The songs express the sentiments of the human person.  Hence, what they sing touch their minds and hearts because the songs and music bring out their deepest feelings of joy, sorrow, fear, guilt, etc.   In the process, the words and music give hope and encouragement to them, and move their hearts to repentance and gratitude.  This explains why those in the Charismatic renewal tend to be very much alive, vibrant and expressive of their faith, joy, and love.  What they feel they manifest in their body and spirit.

So let us never allow praise and thanksgiving to be absent from our lives or from our lips.   It reminds us of who we are; finite beings.  It helps us to focus on the power and mercy of God.  Praise in itself is healing for the body, the spirit and the mind.  When we praise and thank God, we learn to expect more from the Lord, who wants to bless us.  To praise God is an act of evangelization, for we are inviting others to come to know that He is indeed our Lord and Savior, the Son of David, the Christ of God.   What greater gift to give anyone than Jesus!

Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved