Praise. Worship. Trust.

In Psalm 95, we take the acknowledgment of God as king of the Universe (Ps. 93) and the personal acknowledgment of “our God” in Psalm 24:23, uniting them in an invitation to praise God. This invitation to praise the Lord is then followed by a secondary invitation to worship the Lord for He is the God of his people. The Psalm concludes with an ardent warning that nothing should lead us away from God.

So as Catholics, how should we read this Psalm? We should read it as people seeking the Kingdom of God, which was fulfilled by Jesus Christ. Not only should we acknowledge God as Creator, but we should know that Christ is the Head of the Church. We should be prepared to listen to his voice today.

The word “today” is important since the psalmist is saying that the Lord is speaking at this very moment and that He wants our promise to be sincere and genuine. When we pray this psalm, today should be taken literally. We must hear the voice of God and act upon it today. Today, we must also reject false idols, the desire to rebel against God and to test Him.

I think it’s easy for us to get angry with the Israelites and ask – how can you be unfaithful to God? The Israelites had the presence of God right in front of them but they refused to hear his voice.

We realize that the story of Israel is really our story.  We have the presence of God in our lives on a daily basis, even more than the Israelites did because we have the Holy Eucharist in our churches and the other sacraments leading us to Christ and giving us His grace. In the end, what was in the heart of the Israelites often resides in our own hearts.

So, as we continue in our Lenten pilgrimage this year, let our disposition towards God be one of praise (“let us acclaim the rock of our salvation”), worship (“let us kneel before the LORD who made us”), and trust (“we are the people He shepherds, the flock He guides”).   

Let us ask the Lord to help us remain quiet so that we can hear His voice over our own – today.

Tom Perna is the Director of Family Catechesis at Saint Mary Magdalene Catholic Church in Gilbert, Arizona, where he oversees the curriculum for Pre-K through 5th Grade as well as the weekly parent sessions. Tom and his wife Megan are newlyweds, married on the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and attends the same parish Tom works. Website| Facebook | Twitter