Oblate Program at Belmont Abbey, NC

Work of God rss

Articles related to the first work of God: Prayer. These include both the public prayer of the Church, private prayers, and methods of praying.

How to Pray Like Jesus

During a recent talk, Fr. Thomas Richter explained that praying like Jesus requires one thing: to desire for God to have his way in your life. As the vocation director for the Bismarck diocese, it would seem that Fr. Tom knows about answered prayers. Bismarck has the second highest per capita vocations in the country,… Read More ›

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The secret of the psalter

The secret of the psalter is that when we apply ourselves to it it transforms us into the poor, the anawim. It was the anawim who wrote it, adding one collection of psalms to another on their return from Exile. The communities of the poor have handed it down through the centuries. Only the truly… Read More ›

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Psalm 147:1-11(146): “Praise the Lord!”

1. The Psalm just sung is the first part of a composition that also includes the next Psalm, n. 147[146], that the original Hebrew had kept as one. It was the ancient Greek and Latin versions which divided the song into two different Psalms. The Psalm begins with an invitation to praise God and then… Read More ›

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Psalm 146(145): Praise the Lord, O my soul!

Commentary:  1. Psalm 146[145] that we have just heard is an “alleluia”, the first of five which complete the entire collection in the Psalter. The Jewish liturgical tradition formerly used this hymn as a morning song of praise; it culminates in the proclamation of God’s sovereignty over human history. Indeed, the Psalm ends with the… Read More ›

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The “Te Deum”

ROME, JULY 13, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university. The Te Deum, an ancient Latin hymn in rhythmical prose, is probably a compilation of three sources. In fact, there are triple rhythms and three distinct melodies within the one piece. In many ways… Read More ›

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Psalm 100(99): In prayer we abandon ourselves to God’s embrace

1. In the spirit of joy and celebration that continues in this last week of the Christmas season, we want to resume our meditation on the Liturgy of Lauds. Today we reflect on Psalm 99[100], just proclaimed, which is a joyful invitation to praise the Lord, the shepherd of his people. Seven imperatives are scattered… Read More ›

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Psalm 145(144) 13- 21: “The Lord is faithful in all his words’

Commentary:  1. Following the liturgy that divides it into two parts, let us return to , a wonderful hymn in honour of the Lord, a loving King who is attentive to his creatures. Let us now meditate upon the second part of the Psalm:  they are verses 14 to 21, which take up the fundamental… Read More ›

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Padre Pio’s Christmas Meditation

Far into the night, at the coldest time of the year, in a chilly grotto, more suitable for a flock of beasts than for humans, the promised Messiah – Jesus – the savior of mankind, comes into the world in the fullness of time. There are none who clamor around him: only an ox and… Read More ›

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Psalm 145(144) 1-13: I will give you glory

Commentary: 1. We have just prayed Psalm 145[144], a joyful song of praise to the Lord who is exalted as a tender and loving King, concerned for all his creatures. The liturgy presents this hymn to us in two separate parts that also correspond to the two poetical and spiritual movements of the Psalm itself…. Read More ›

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Psalm 67(66): “the earth has yielded its fruit” (v. 7)

1. “The earth has yielded its fruit”, exclaims Psalm 67[66], one of the texts inserted into the Liturgy of Vespers that we have just proclaimed. The sentence calls to mind a hymn of thanksgiving to the Creator for the gifts of the earth, a sign of divine blessing. This natural element, however, is closely interwoven… Read More ›

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