Speak Lord: that we may give fresh praise

The Lord is close to all who call him.

I will bless you day after day
and praise your name for ever.
The Lord is great, highly to be praised,
his greatness cannot be measured.

The Lord is close to all who call him.

The Lord is kind and full of compassion,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
How good is the Lord to all,
compassionate to all his creatures.

The Lord is close to all who call him.

The Lord is just in all his ways
and loving in all his deeds.
He is close to all who call him,
who call on him from their hearts.

The Lord is close to all who call him.

Responsorial Psalm for the 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Psalm 144:2-3,8-9,17-18

The Psalmist begins by promising to bless and praise God: a noble ambition. He proceeds to do just this simply by recounting the goodness and good works of God.

Too often we can take these for granted, until we are maybe taken by surprise by goodness where the opposite might be expected; beauty manifest where we might otherwise have found ugliness; truth where lies may have been common in the past. In a moment we can glimpse something of the awesome quality of the Creator and Redeemer – and that glimpse of the more than we are can sustain us in faithful living, even for a lifetime.

• For what of God might you give praise today?

Donegal. (c) 2002, Allen Morris.