“THE PRAISE OF GOD IN THE FIRST PLACE”

“Tell me how I can worthily praise you.” — “Praise first the omnipotence of the Father, by virtue of which he acts in the Son and in the Holy Spirit according to his will, and whose immensity is beyond the grasp of any creature in heaven or on earth.” (Vision of St. Mechthild of Hackeborn).

St. Mechthild, a Cistercian mystic (1241-1299), had asked the Lord what practice would please Him most that she would offer Him. He replied, “Praise.”

What makes praise so valuable that the Lord places it in the first place? It is the praise that we will offer to the Triune God in heaven, along with all the angels and saints, in endless bliss. If we begin offering it to Him here on earth, we enter into the reality to which all creatures are called.

When we praise our Father, we recognize His goodness and thank Him. We give Him the glory He deserves and our hearts are inflamed with love for Him.

While we can honor God in various ways, the most beautiful gift the Church can offer Him is public worship through a worthy Holy Mass. When we participate in it with attention and love, we join the glorious praise of the Most Holy Trinity.

Our Father himself has deposited in our hearts this praise of His glory. If we put it into practice day by day—even when we are alone and at a loss for words—our Father will always welcome and respond to it.

Incidentally, some time ago, I wrote a hymn of praise to the Holy Trinity, you can find it at this link:

https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn%3Aaaid%3Ascds%3AUS%3A35fe913a-5f1d-4f45-b06f-772dbdfcc5b7&viewer%21megaVerb=group-discover

Harpa Dei set the Spanish version to music: