Daily Reflections From Higher Things®

Today's Reading: Introit for Trinity 8 (Psalm 48:1, 3, 11, 14; antiphon: v. 9-10) Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 17:1-19; Acts 26:1-23 Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised… (From the Introit for the Eighth Sunday after Trinity) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I once heard an atheist make the snide remark, "Your God must have a low self-esteem, as much as He needs you to praise Him!" That misunderstanding reduces praise of God to cheap flattery. The Lord God does not require anything from us. When the Lord's saints in heaven and on earth praise Him, it is not because He needs us to, but because we need to praise Him! We can't help ourselves. Let's say you lost your phone and couldn't afford a new one. When your friend Gabriel heard, he decided to upgrade to a brand new phone so he could give you the one he was using. What would you do? Of course, you would thank Gabriel and tell him how much you appreciate his kindness. Thanksgiving is a very important kind of praise. But you would probably go beyond that