Monday Morning Meditation #59: Make a Joyful Noise unto the Lord

"Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye earth!" Now, there is a well-known phrase! It begins a well-known psalm. While many of the psalms are psalms of praise, often combined with entreaty and repentance, this is one that resounds with uncompromised, untainted praise. It is definitely one of my favorite psalms. Perhaps it especially caught my attention because I attended an SFO (Secular Franciscan) meeting this afternoon, and those meetings have at least moments of joy and praise. This one was no different. (The greatest moment of joy was the installation of our new spiritual advisor: a spiritually strong nun of whom I am quite fond -- but that is an aside.)

Reading: Psalm 66

Meditation: The theme is one I have discussed before: praise as an important part of our communication with God. It seems that it is easier to beg for something, complain about something, or even to express repentance, than it is to tell God that we are in awe of the power, glory, compassion, and love that God shows to us at every turn. I suspect it is not because we do not notice this -- although in some cases and at some times that might be true -- but somehow it does not seem necessary or important to tell God what God already knows. Or, perhaps we think that God knows how we feel so there is no need to say anything.

That kind of thinking reminds me of the line in Love Story (remember the Ali McGrawn-Ryan O'Neal tear jerked?): "Love means never having to say you're sorry."

I think the film got it wrong. In reality, IMHO, love means always wanting to say you're sorry.

In the same way, also IMHO, I think that a healthy relationship with God means always wanting to say "how great Thou art!" how can one ever want to keep quiet in the presence of such glory? Just thinking about it makes me want to throw myself before God and remain there forever and ever. Unfortunately, however, my mundane (well, not always quite so mundane) life soon intrudes: I must go to work.

Contemplation: That is far as I can go with you this Monday morning. I now retire to private prayer, repenting for times that I have restrained my lips when I should have made a joyful noise until the Lord. I will praise God for all that he has given me to share, thank him for the opportunities to experience the kind of glory which calls forth spontaneous praise, and ask God to nudge me when I have been slow to praise. Then I will move on to contemplation, my favorite part of the day, letting God take over the direction in which my relationship with Him moves.

I will leave you now to your prayer and contemplation. First, though, I would like to bring to your attention a Monday morning prayer post that you might enjoy:

Fr. Austin Fleming, priest of the Archdiocese of Boston and pastor in Concord, Massachusetts, posts a prayer each Monday morning that he calls "Monday Morning Offering." I enjoy his prayers very much. I hope you also will find them inspirational. He has graciously given me permission to include a link to his blog on my Monday Morning Meditation posts. (During the week, he also posts great homilies and other thoughtful discussions. I enjoy reading those, too.)


For additional inspiration throughout the week, I would point out two sets of blogs: (1) the list of devotional blogs on my sidebar and (2) my blogroll, where I am following a number of inspirational priests and writers about spiritual matters. I learn so very much from all these people. I highly recommend them to you.