The Song of the Church

Today's Office of Readings has a wonderful passage from St Pius X - whose feast day is toda - on the Psalms. In Carmel we say Psalms every day and that connects us to the remote history of the people of Israel. We often think of the Church as 2000 years old, but of course it is much older than that because we worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the God of the Psalms. In praying the psalms we are not just offering praise to God but learning about God as we do so. The Office of Readings quotes a passage from St Augustine: 'God praised himself so that man might give him fitting praise: because God chose to praise himself man found the way in which to bless God.' Sometimes I tire of repeating Psalms but then I remember that God made me to praise Him. My lips, my mouth, my voice are given me so that they can be used to give glory to God.

Incidentally, St Pius X was the second of ten children of the village postman. A lovely example of how God chooses his leaders from among ordinary folk.