“Praise, you servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD.” – Psalm 113:1
This week, let’s focus on the Responsorial Psalm. Specifically for this Sunday, let’s focus on the exhortation in Psalm 113 to praise God. There are many Psalms that urge the faithful to praise God, but why, and just how can we do that in our daily lives? The Catechism teaches: “Praise is the form of prayer which recognizes most immediately that God is God. It lauds God for his own sake and gives him glory, quite beyond what he does, but simply because HE IS” (CCC 2639). Praise is a form of worship that recognizes God primarily for who He is: Creator; loving and merciful Father; all truth, goodness, and beauty. Praise actually aids other types of prayer, such as prayers of thanksgiving, contrition, and intercession: “Praise embraces the other forms of prayer and carries them toward him who is its source and goal” (CCC 2639). Think about the next time you are praying for God’s help. The praise you give Him can carry those prayers upward towards Him. It’s like incense rising with our prayers at Mass.
Some ways we can praise God consistently each day could include beginning the day by reading, reciting, or even singing a Psalm. If you pray Morning Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours, you probably already notice that the Canticles and Psalm choices are often full of praise for God. You can also simply choose one Psalm and say it out loud as a vocal offering to God: “Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name” (Hebrews 13:15). As you pray, notice one praise that stands out in the Psalm and jot it on a sticky note. You could even come up with your own praise based on that Psalm! Then come back to that specific praise at different times of your day, praising God again and again.
Here’s a list of just a few of the praises in the Psalms:
- “O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all.” (Psalm 104)
- “O Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” (Psalm 8)
- “Blessed be the name of the Lord both now and forever.” (Psalm 113)
- “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.” (Psalm 103)
- “All peoples, clap your hands; shout to God with a cry of joy!” (Psalm 47)
- “Come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.” (Psalm 95)
- “Praise the Lord! Praise his name; praise the Lord in his presence.” (Psalm 145)
- “Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in the firmament of his power.” (Psalm 150)
Here are some Canticles that offer God praise:
- Canticle of Daniel (Daniel 3)
- The Song of Moses (Exodus 15)
- The Song of Hannah (1 Samuel 2) Bonus – compare this with the Magnificat!
- Mary’s Magnificat (Luke 1)
- The Song of Zechariah – Benedictus (Luke 1)
- David’s Song of Thanks (1 Chronicles 16)
- The Prayer of Azariah (Daniel 3)
Another way you could seek to praise God each day is by looking for opportunities to praise God naturally in your everyday conversations. If someone tells you about something good happening in their life, you could say: “God is so good!” If someone is going through a difficult situation, you could pray: “God, we praise You even in the midst of this storm.” If you see a beautiful sunset: “Look at the beauty God has given us!” In a conversation with a friend: “I thank God for you.”
God, Heavenly Father, I praise You for who you are. I praise You because You are always good. I praise You for Your merciful love.