September 16, 2026

By Father William Muench
NCC columnist

As a retired priest, my only ministry is to celebrate the Mass in this parish. There are no other real demands, and that is okay with me. I do continue to notice the power and glory of each Mass – the prayers and Scriptures of each Mass. However, I am constantly amazed at the unique surprises of our Catholic liturgy. No matter how many times I celebrate Mass, I must tell you that I discover something new in each Mass.

Today, I want to call your attention to the unique prayer that is the response for the Responsorial Psalm at each Mass. Every Mass, Sunday and daily Mass, after the First Scripture reading, a Psalm is sung or read. The Book of Psalms is in the Old Testament. There are 150 Psalms; they are actually songs that were written to be sung at religious services. Each time the Psalm is sung at Mass, there is a response for the congregation to sing after each verse of the Psalm. I think of these responses as terrific and powerful prayers. The message of the response is so good that I often think I should take a moment and comment about its message for the congregation.

Today, I would like to consider with you the Psalm Response at the last few Sundays this month. At the Mass, for the Twenty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time – the Psalm Response was, “If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts.” I believe that God reaches out to us often with his word. He reaches out to us each day – during prayer and even during an ordinary day – with His words of support and encouragement. We, followers of the Lord, must be open and ready to listen to each word of prayer. The Lord challenges us to open our hearts to listen. Never hardening our hearts with distractions or worries or such. We repeat the Psalm Response several times. May we recognize the Lord’s call that we keep our hearts open and attentive.

The next Sunday, the Psalm Response to Psalm 103, we were to say, “The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.” Our prayer is a moment to remind God just who He is. And we pray this to remind ourselves who our God is for us. Each time we stand before our God – especially in repentance – that our God is kind and merciful. We remember that our God is slow to anger. He is always deeply compassionate toward us. We are a loved people. We are a forgiven people. Each time we respond this prayer, we remember that God cares for us.

Then on the Twenty Fifth Sunday, the Psalm Response is “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him.” We respond to remind ourselves that our God is always near to us. We can call upon him to walk with us, to be closer to us right now. When we join in participating at Mass, as we respond to the Psalm, we call the Lord to stay near to all that we are doing at this Mass. Each day – in our ordinary day – we may realize that there is a time when we truly need the Lord’s presence. Jesus says, “Call upon me.” Our response tells us that Jesus wills stand with us now. He will be with us. Never forget to call upon the Lord.

So, I encourage you to notice this little prayer at each Mass. Listen and pray these simple Psalm Responses. They are so great – a magnificent prayer; they are truly the Lord’s message for today. This Psalm Response reminds us of who God is and who we are as His people. And I guarantee to you that often there will be magnificent surprises, surprises that will truly transform us.