Catholic Commentary on Psalm 122

"I rejoiced with those who said to me, let us go to the house of the LORD." (Psalm 122:1)

Joy at the Journey's End

Psalm 122 expresses the joy of arrival at Jerusalem after the pilgrim journey. I rejoiced with those who said to me, let us go to the house of the LORD. Our feet are standing in your gates, Jerusalem. The joy is communal, not solitary: it is shared with those who said, not with the internal voice that said. The pilgrimage is a journey made together, and the joy of arrival is a shared joy. Jerusalem is described as a city compactly built, where the tribes of the LORD go up to praise the name of the LORD.

The psalm ends with the command to pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels. The Church prays this psalm as a prayer for the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of God toward which we are always on pilgrimage. The Catechism describes the heavenly Jerusalem as our mother, the city of the living God, toward which every Eucharist is an anticipatory arrival (CCC 1090). Every Sunday Mass is the community saying together: let us go to the house of the LORD. Every Sunday is a Psalm 122 moment: our feet are standing in your gates.

Living the Word

Brothers and sisters, when did you last feel the joy of verse 1: I rejoiced when they said to me, let us go to the house of the LORD? If that joy has faded into routine or obligation, let Psalm 122 rekindle it. The house of the LORD is where the tribes go to praise his name. Join the procession with gladness.

Prayer

Lord God, we rejoice when we go to your house. May there be peace within your Church's walls and security within her courtyards. For the sake of our brothers and sisters, we will seek your good. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

122
Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem
A song of ascents. Of David.
 
1 I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the LORD.”
2 Our feet are standing in your gates,
O Jerusalem.
 
3 Jerusalem is built up
as a city united together,
4 where the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD,
as a testimony for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
5 For there the thrones of judgment stand,
the thrones of the house of David.
 
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you prosper.* 122:6 Or be secure
7 May there be peace within your walls,
and prosperity † 122:7 Or security inside your fortresses.”
8 For the sake of my brothers and friends,
I will say, “Peace be within you.”
9 For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,
I will seek your prosperity.

*122:6 122:6 Or be secure

†122:7 122:7 Or security

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