“Praise is the form of prayer which recognizes most immediately that God is God. It lauds God for his own sake and gives him glory, quite beyond what he does, but simply because HE IS. It shares in the blessed happiness of the pure of heart who love God in faith before seeing him in glory. By praise, the Spirit is joined to our spirits to bear witness that we are children of God, testifying to the only Son in whom we are adopted and by whom we glorify the Father. Praise embraces the other forms of prayer and carries them toward him who is its source and goal: the “one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist.”” Catechism of the Catholic Church # 2639.
Father Levi of PraiseNation PGH and the Diocese of Pittsburgh was recently on EWTN. I saw one snippet of what he said, Catechism of the Catholic Church # 2639.
His chat made me think. “What is Praise?” The book answer is awesome. And, I guess when I sit to ponder what praise is to me, the Catechism captures it. Praise “recognizes most immediately that God is God. It lauds God for his own sake and gives him glory, quite beyond what he does, but simply because HE IS”, “By praise, the Spirit is joined to our spirits”.
Simply put, when I praise, I lose myself and more fully unite my soul with God, and in doing so, I recognize God for Whom He is…God. When I meditate on this thought, it becomes clearer to me of why I can find myself in tears during immersed praise. I close my eyes, lift my face and hands to God, my God and let myself get lost, so often I find my eyes full of joyful tears – I guess a form of ecstasy at a basic level.
Ask yourself and maybe considering sharing in comments, what is praise to you?
Lift in Joy the song of your soul…let it flow in pure praise as we sing ALLELUIA!!!
See the joy brimming within Fatther Levi – he is fighting to hold himself to the floor
Praise God!!! ALLELUIA!!! ALLELUIA!!! ALLELUIA!!!