“At that time Jesus exclaimed, ‘I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to little ones. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will'” (Mt 11:25-26).
Dear Marian Helpers and Members of our Marian Family,
Do you remember “word clouds”? A while back, they were everywhere. You could take a document or video, run it through a programme which measured how often each word or phrase appeared, and it would create a word cloud, a kind of word collage, with the most frequently-used words displayed in the largest font. They were all the rage ten or fifteen years ago, although I don’t seem to see them very often anymore.
Why do I bring up this little “blast from the past”? Well, because if we created a word cloud from this Sunday’s readings, I think the biggest word would almost certainly be “praise.”
When you pray, how often do you praise the Lord, giving Him glory and honour?
In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus Himself begins by praising His Father. If praise was at the heart of His prayer, perhaps it should be at the heart of ours, too. How often do you simply thank Him for all that He has done, is doing, and will continue to do for you?
Sometimes we think prayer is only about doing something: saying the Rosary, praying the Chaplet, reading Scripture, and so on. All of those are beautiful and important prayers, and we should certainly make time for them. But prayer is more than simply saying words or completing devotions. Prayer is lifting our minds and hearts to God.
God deserves our praise. He is God, after all! We praise Him not because He demands it, but because He is worthy of it. In praising Him, we are reminded of who God is and who we are. We begin to recognise the many ways He has accompanied us throughout our lives, and our hearts are drawn to love Him (and the Church He founded) even more deeply.
We give Him thanks and praise for the Good News of Jesus Christ, which has been revealed to us. Through accepting the Gospel, we become children of God and members of His Kingdom. That is certainly something worth praising God and giving Him thanks for!
During your times of prayer this week, I encourage you to include moments of thanksgiving and praise. Thank the Lord for all He has done for you and praise Him simply because He is the loving, caring, and merciful God that He is. As we grow in thanksgiving and praise, we not only deepen our love for God, but we also become more joyful in our outlook on life and in the way we treat those around us.
One of the best ways I’ve found to praise God is through song! The next time you’re at Mass and the congregation begins singing a hymn, don’t be shy! Join in and help make a joyful noise to the Lord!
May God bless you now and always!
Fr Alex Pumphrey, MIC
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Contact Father Alex at info@divinemercy.org.uk
Please send us your prayer intentions! (click here). We will place them at the foot of our altar in the Divine Mercy Apostolate’s Chapel here in West Ealing, London and will remember them in our daily Chaplets of Divine Mercy.
