Praise

"Blessed be God forever." We say this at least twice at the Offertory each time we attend Mass, and during Lent, we are substituting, "Praise to you, O Lord Jesus Christ" for the Alleluia.
We are not foreigners to praise and that is good, for praise is a very important part of prayer, but certainly seems to take a back seat to our frequent "request prayers", or prayers of petition. Let's just take a look at the prayer of praise for a moment so that we might raise it to a higher level of priority in our daily prayer.
When we praise others, we show our recognition for them in themselves, their beauty, their goodness, their uniqueness. We also express admiration for their accomplishments, usually surpassing by far what we can do. The focus is on THEM, not us. It is a selfless act, one that lifts us out of our little worlds and puts us for a moment into another world, one that radiates perfection, at least in our perception. So, when we praise God, the focus is totally on God, we are absorbed into God's beauty, goodness and being. We forget our needs, our problems, and find joy and peace in dwelling on this Perfect Other. It is a moment of heaven, even here on earth. A visit to a monastery where the Psalms are chanted throughout the course of the day, helps us understand why men and women would dedicate themselves to such a life of praise. We can do it in our own homes or churches, simply by picking up the Book of Psalms in the Bible and using it to guide us in our prayer of praise: honey and butter on our slice of daily bread!
Bro. Rene