[fusebox_full_player featured_episode=”2″ ]

Hi and welcome to The Modern Psalmist podcast.

I’m Rebecca De La Torre and this weekend we’re celebrating the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle A.

The psalm for this Sunday is from chapter 103:

“The Lord is kind and merciful,
slow to anger, and rich in compassion.”

Let’s listen to the refrain:

I feel like the psalmist here is almost trying to convince us of this truth that we sing in the refrain. And then each verse serves as supporting arguments to the fact that our Lord is truly kind, merciful, patient and compassionate. I attempt to capture that persuasive tone in my performance as well as the composition.

Also, to help provide emphasis as well as variety, I composed the fourth verse like a bridge before building up to the final double response at the end.

Here’s the entire psalm:

That was my version of Psalm 103: The Lord is Kind and Merciful for the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year A. You can find the link to the psalm recording and sheet music online in the show notes or at TheModernPsalmist.com The recording has also been released on Spotify, Apple Music, and several other platforms.

The message from the readings for this Sunday is all about forgiveness and mercy, emphasizing how WE need to be as forgiving of the wrongs against us just as we receive forgiveness from our merciful Father.

The first reading, from the book of Sirach tells us:
” Forgive your neighbor’s injustice;
then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.”

And in the gospel reading from Matthew chapter 18, Jesus responds to Peter’s question about how many times to forgive his brother’s offense by saying:

“I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.”

When I meditate on these words,
I find that gratitude is the first emotion I feel,
because God *always* forgives us when we repent with a *truly* contrite heart.

Psalm 51, though not part of the readings this Sunday, really is the psalm of repentance; and one of the first psalms I ever composed was a Spanish version of the same. I want to share it with you today, titled “Lord Have Mercy”:

That was my song “Lord Have Mercy” a nearly-verbatim setting of Psalm 51. All music on this podcast can be found in the show notes or on TheModernPsalmist.com/podcast.

That’s it for this week! Tune in again next week for more original Catholic liturgical music and psalms.

If you are bilingual – or simply interested in Spanish liturgical music –
be sure to check out my sister podcast, El Salmista Moderna.

Until next week, may God bless you abundantly!

Show Notes:

The psalm for this Sunday is from chapter 103:
“The Lord is kind and merciful,
slow to anger, and rich in compassion.”

Music Featured in today’s podcast:

“Psalm 103: The Lord Is Kind and Merciful”