Sing joyfully to the Lord

Sing joyfully to the Lord, all you lands; serve the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful song. 

Every weekend, hundreds of millions of Catholics around the world gather to celebrate Mass.   They come from different backgrounds and ages, and they bring countless gifts, burdens, hopes, and needs with them.   Together they form the body of Christ that Paul describes in the first reading.   And together they embrace the call to worship contained in psalm (Psalm 100:1-2).

Sing joyfully to the Lord.   The psalm (Psalm 100:1-2) starts out as the people gather in joy and gladness.   Everyone is invited to sing and celebrate.   When you’re at Mass, and you see the cross coming down the aisle, be sure to sing that opening hymn!   Imagine yourself joining brothers and sisters of every race in praising and glorifying the Lord.

Know that the Lord is God.   What better way to know the Lord is God than through the Liturgy of the Word?   Listen as God reveals himself through the Old and New Testaments.   Imagine that Jesus is saying these words to you, and let the message of his goodness and faithfulness lift your heart up to heaven.

Give thanks to him;   bless his name.   You aren’t entering the Temple in Jerusalem, but you are entering the courts of heaven itself.   From the offertory procession through the Eucharistic prayer, imagine that the angels are coming down to accept your gifts and prayers and to give you God’s choicest blessings in return.

For he is good.   The psalm ends by proclaiming how good, faithful, and kind God is.   It’s this goodness that you are receiving in Communion, and it’s this goodness that you can now take with you as you leave church.  Hold onto that goodness.   Savor it, and let it change your heart.

Mass is never meant to be routine.   How can it be when the body of Christ gathers and the angels and saints join in worship?   With a little bit of imagination and a lively faith, you can be caught up in this beautiful prayer.   You can be caught up to heaven, where Jesus, your great high priest, is offering himself to you.

Word Among Us