Responsorial Psalm & Second Reading

Responsorial Psalm

Sing a joyful song unto the Lord! As the General Instruction of the Roman Missalstates, “After the First Reading follows the Responsorial Psalm, which is an integral part of the Liturgy of the Word and which has great liturgical and pastoral importance, since it fosters meditation on the Word of God” (General Instruction of the Roman Missal, no. 61). (The “P” in the word “Psalms” is silent, so it sounds like “Salms.”)

According to the Glossary in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, a Psalm is “A prayer in the Book of Psalms of the Old Testament, assembled over several centuries; a collection of prayers in the form of hymns or poetry. The Psalms have been used since Jesus’ time as the public prayer of the Church.” There are 150 Psalms altogether, varying in length from very short (Psalm 117 has only two verses) to incredibly long (Psalm 119 has 176 verses!).

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal indicates that the Responsorial Psalm should be sung, and that if “the Psalm cannot be sung, then it should be recited in a way that is particularly suited to fostering meditation on the Word of God” (GIRM, no. 61). We typically repeat a refrain in between the verses. The refrain gives a brief line for meditation, summarizing a theme of a particular Psalm. Speaking of the Psalms, the Catechism states, “Prayed and fulfilled in Christ, the Psalms are an essential and permanent element of the prayer of the Church. They are suitable for men of every condition and time” (CCC, no. 2597).

Speaking of the use of Psalms in earlier times, the Catechism notes, “The Psalms both nourished and expressed the prayer of the People of God gathered during the great feasts at Jerusalem and each Sabbath in the synagogues. Their prayer is inseparably personal and communal; it concerns both those who are praying and all men” (CCC, no. 2586). The Psalms still have great value for us as well. “Whether hymns or prayers of lamentation or thanksgiving, whether individual or communal, whether royal chants, songs of pilgrimage or wisdom-meditations, the Psalms are a mirror of God’s marvelous deeds in the history of his people, as well as reflections of the human experience of the Psalmist [the person writing the Psalm]. Though a given psalm may reflect an event of the past, it still possesses such direct simplicity that it can be prayed in truth by men of all times and conditions” (CCC, no. 2588).

Second Reading

On Sundays and Solemnities, after the Responsorial Psalm, we always hear the proclamation of the Second Reading, which is taken from the New Testament books (other than the Gospels) and is generally continuous from one week to the next. While St. Paul is the most prolific of the New Testament writers, we also have readings from St. John, St. Peter, St. James, and others. Although the sentences in these readings are sometimes long and a little awkward (because they were originally written in Greek, not English), they are packed with great wisdom and directives for Christian living. As Edward Sri writes, “Though often selected independently of the First Reading and the Gospel, these New Testament writings reflect on the ministry of Jesus Christ and his saving work and the meaning it has for our lives. They also draw out the practical applications of our life in Christ and exhort us evermore to ‘put on Christ’ and turn away from sin” (A Biblical Walk Through the Mass, p. 64).

As we look through the books of the New Testament, we see how each writer was addressing a person or particular community with their own strengths and weaknesses. The writer knew his audience and, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, taught these people what God asks of us and how to live in Christ every day. These readings call us to faithfulness and generosity in loving one another. Sometimes we hear joyful words of truth: “Beloved, see what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are” (1 Jn 3:1). We also hear words of consolation: “We always pray for you” (2 Thes 1:11). At other times, we will hear exhortations to holiness, such as, “Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Cor 3:16) and “do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh” (Gal 5:13).

These writings are beneficial to us because St. Paul and the other writers were all helping early Christians understand how to live in an anti-Christian world (recall that Christianity was illegal in the Roman Empire during the first centuries of the Church). The writers provided answers to difficult questions, gave explanations for why we do certain things and not others, and exhorted the people to holiness and fidelity even in the midst of daily struggles and persecutions.

A couple of very common questions today are: “How do I really live as a Christian in the world? How do I make what I do on Sunday last all through the week?” Thanks to these New Testament Readings, we have answers to these questions. Look through the readings for any Sunday, and what do you see? “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Cor 11:1); “For you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28); “For he is our peace” (Eph 2:14); “Seek what is above” (Col 3:1); “that you may not grow weary and lose heart” (Heb 12:3); “Be doers of the word and not hearers only” (Jas 1:19); “Compete well for the faith” (1 Tim 6:12); “Children, let us love…in deed and truth” (1 Jn 3:18); “He will wipe every tear from their eyes” (Rev 21:4); “Always be ready to give an explanation…for your hope” (1 Pet 3:15). Does it feel like we could keep going and going? We really could! At every Sunday Mass and on Solemnities, the Second Reading is packed with wisdom from the saints to help us become saints, too!

Source: eucharisticrevival.org