We Praise You, Lord!

A Reflection on the Psalm for November 16th, 2025:
​Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Psalm 98

R. The Lord is coming to judge the peoples with equity.

Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody. With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord.

R. The Lord is coming to judge the peoples with equity.

Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who live in it. Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills sing together for joy at the presence of the Lord.

R. The Lord is coming to judge the peoples with equity.

For the Lord is coming, coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.

​R. The Lord is coming to judge the peoples with equity.

​Pause. Pray. Reflect.

A while ago, I attended an evening Mass. The homily was beautiful and the hymns brought me great joy and a sense of connectedness as I sang along. 

The day before that Mass, someone at work had done something that deeply offended me, and I believed I was within my rights to feel the way I did. I thought to myself, “This act has to be addressed appropriately,” so you had better believe that I typed up an email, with details. Rather than send it immediately, I chose instead to review the email on Monday just before sending it out. 

Now, toward the end of the Mass the choir sang the hymn “Summons.” I was hearing this hymn for the first time, and it brought to me an extra layer of joy I could not quite explain as I sang along to the lyrics on the slides. Then I read the words that asked in the most subtle but piercing way, “Would you let others see me through you?” The incident with my coworker came immediately to mind. I got upset and rolled my eyes toward heaven as I wondered how Jesus was seeing what had happened. I remembered how, during a workshop, the Holy Spirit had dropped my coworker's name into my heart so that I could pray for them. It occurred to me then that the offense was a distraction from this divine assignment to pray. I fought with myself to let praise break forth but, when I asked the Holy Spirit to teach me afresh, my heart melted. 

Psalm 98 describes God as a righteous judge. How quick I was to ask, “Lord, look how I was treated!” In other words, “Lord, are you judging this situation?” The Lord invites us to bare our minds to Him, irrespective of the situation (Isaiah 1:18). The earlier verses of Psalm 98 tell us how we should come into His presence and what to do when those unconscious questions and thoughts of revenge creep in: it says. “PRAISE!” That may not be what we would like to hear, but consider the earthly king for a moment. When an earthly king is in procession to the throne, the procession is accompanied with affirmations/praises for him, irrespective of who is feeling offended in their hearts. 

The King of kings, the righteous judge, calls us to break forth with praise, singing joyously in those moments when we are in a haste to judge the situation ourselves and whether we have been offended. Let us make a joyful sound before the King, the Lord!


Celia Omionawele

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