Psalm Reflection: The Sixth Sunday of Easter - Cycle C

“O God, let all the nations praise you!” - Psalms 67

Matt from Malta.

That is what is written on the top of my backpack from World Youth Day in Sydney Australia in 2008. It is surrounded by dozens of other names, signatures, and messages written by other pilgrims who I met from all over the world. Despite our different languages, cultures, and the geographic distance between us, we were all gathered together in a crowd of one million people to do one thing: to praise God.

In the several days leading up to the pilgrimage walk and our final Mass together, pilgrims flooded the streets, restaurants, and public transportation in Sydney. When we did not speak the same language, we found ways to communicate without words  by playing soccer, chanting hymns, and trading flags, pins, or other trinkets depicting our native countries. It struck me how many of these people I would have never met or interacted with if it were not for this unified desire to worship the Lord together.

As we gathered in large fields and public plazas, we were all worshiping the same God, while waving the flags of our vastly different countries. It was the best visual representation I can think of on this side of Heaven of, as the Responsorial Psalm says, all the nations praising God.

In reflecting on that pilgrimage and the others I have been blessed to participate in, I realized that the same reality is possible in our daily lives. Every single day, we walk past people we would not ordinarily stop and talk to, or who we might have nothing in common with, yet, we are all searching for the same thing. Every single person is looking for God, whether they realize it or not. In our desires for love, relationship, belonging, pleasure, answers, experiences, achievement, etc., what we are really looking for is what only God can give us.

“The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself. Only in God will he find the truth and happiness he never stops searching for.” - CCC 27

“You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you." - Saint Augustine, Confessions

We are more similar than we realize, and the similarities we have with others vastly outweigh our differences. The Enemy wants to make our differences seem like insurmountable giants that cannot be overcome. The Enemy knows that the universal longing we have for God will lead us to our fulfillment in the Lord so long as we are not distracted by other things. So, he seeks to distract, derail, and discourage us long enough to make us place our hope in something other than God, or to keep us fighting with one another long enough that we fail to notice that what unites us is far greater than what divides us.

This Psalm reminds us that praise is the answer. Praise is the language of the heart crying out for the only person that can fulfill it. It is a universal language that connects every single human being, and it is something every single person can do no matter their age, knowledge, background, status, or ability. 

We praise God by turning our gaze toward Heaven and lifting our hearts to the Lord. 

We praise God by being the people He created us to be.

We praise God by letting go of our attachments and turning away from sin.

We praise God seeking Him and putting Him first in our lives.

We praise God when we recognize Him in one another, no matter our differences.

There is a song called Praise by Elevation Worship that describes what this looks like and calls us to live it out:

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord

I'll praise in the valley, praise on the mountain

I'll praise when I'm sure and praise when I'm doubting

I'll praise when outnumbered, praise when surrounded

'Cause praise is the water, my enemies drown in

As long as I'm breathing, I’ve got a reason to praise the Lord

I'll praise when I feel it and I'll praise when I don't

I'll praise 'cause I know you're still in control

Because my praise is a weapon, it’s more than a sound 

My praise is the shout that brings Jericho down 

As long as I'm breathing, I’ve got a reason to praise the Lord

I won't be quiet, my God is alive, so how could I keep it inside?

Praise the Lord

I'll praise 'cause You're sovereign

Praise 'cause You reign

Praise 'cause You rose and defeated the grave

I'll praise 'cause You're faithful

Praise 'cause You're true

Praise 'cause there's nobody greater than You

Praise the Lord

What would the world look like if everyone lived and prayed this way?

What would your life look like if you lived and prayed this way?

Praise can and will change hearts and change the world, but it begins with one heart at a time. So, brothers and sisters, praise the Lord today and every day after. Soon enough, all the nations will be praising Him together.

I am praying for you, please pray for me and my family, and I will see you in the Eucharist.

Matt

This reflection is based on the Responsorial Psalm for this Sunday, May 25th, 2025, The Sixth Sunday of Easter - Cycle C: Psalms 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8.