Let Us Go Rejoicing, to the House of God

Psalm 122 is sung by the pilgrims arriving at the gates of Jerusalem in obedience to the command of the Most High to gather in worship three times a year. The singers can barely contain their joy as they wait to join the procession into the house of God. Here is where they will encounter the presence of the Most High. As this liturgical year comes to a close, this is the final scene in a year spent journeying with Jesus to Jerusalem. The Church gathers with the hope of gaining entry into the place where we join Jesus, the prophets, saints and all who have gone before us in faith.

I rejoiced when they said to me, “Let us go to the houses of God!”

And now our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem!

Jerusalem, built as a city bound firmly together,
to which the tribes go up, the tribes of our God,
as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to your holy name.

There, thrones for judgment were set, the thrones of the house of David.

[verses from People’s Companion to the Breviary © 1997 by the Carmelites of Indianapolis]