Praying the Communion Antiphon Series Tuesday First Week of Lent Ps 4

 Praying the Communion Antiphon Series

Praying the Communion Antiphon Series

A Time Set Apart – Tuesday First Week of Lent

In the Silence of the Heart

Communion Antiphon (Psalm 4:4)

When I called, the God of justice gave me answer;

from anguish you released me; have mercy, O Lord, and hear my prayer.

 

Thinking About the Words

“When I called…”

This is not a theoretical prayer. It is remembered experience.

The psalmist is not asking in abstraction. He is recalling: I have called before and I was heard. It also reminds us that we have a loving Father and He is ready to listen when I call.

Lent often exposes anguish not always dramatic suffering, but interior tension, restlessness, things we would rather not face.

“From anguish you released me.”

The word suggests being widened after constriction. Anguish narrows us. It traps us within our own spirals of thought. Anguish can be at a physical, emotional and spiritual level. Release is spaciousness again. This phrase can become our prayer throughout the day and throughout Lent.

There is also something important in the title “God of justice.”

Justice here is not punishment. It is right-ordering. God restores what is disordered. He sets things straight within us.

And notice: this antiphon is prayed at Communion.

The One we receive is the One who has already heard our cry.
We do not approach unheard.
We approach remembered and loved so much that He died and rose again for us so that we could have eternal life..

 

Reflection

• When have I called on God and truly experienced His answer?
• What anguish currently narrows my heart?
• Do I allow myself to remember past release or do I live only in present tension?
• Do I remember to thank God from past releases or do I accept them as gifts and not the giver?
• What would it mean to trust God as the One who restores right order within me?

 

There is something very gentle about this Antiphon.  It is not dramatic repentance or heavy instruction. It is just honest calling.

How do you experience this Antiphon today?

Prayer

God of justice, hear my prayer.
Release what is constricted within me.
Restore my heart in Your mercy.

 

Want to know more:

“God of Justice” — Old Testament Tone

In Hebrew Scripture, justice (Hebrew mishpat) is not merely legal fairness. It means:

• Setting things right
• Restoring what is disordered
• Defending the vulnerable
• Acting faithfully according to covenant

You see it constantly in:

• Psalms (e.g., Ps 7:11; 9:8; 50:6)
• Isaiah (“The Lord is a God of justice” — Is 30:18)
• The Prophets calling Israel back to right order

So as a title, it feels strongly Old Testament.

 

Does the Gospel speak this way?

The Gospel in the New Testament does not usually use  the phrase “God of justice.”

However, the theme is everywhere.

The Just Judge

In Lent especially, we hear:

• Matthew 25 (Sheep and Goats) — Christ judging the nations.
• The parable of the unjust judge (Luke 18) — where Jesus contrasts human injustice with God’s true justice.

Even when the word “justice” is not highlighted, the concept is central.

 

The Father Who Sets Things Right

Think of:

• The Prodigal Son — justice and mercy meet.
• The cleansing of the Temple — restoring right order.
• “Seek first the kingdom and his righteousness” (Matt 6:33).

Righteousness in Greek (dikaiosynē) carries the same family meaning as justice — right relationship, right order.

 

What Changes in the Gospel?

In the Old Testament, Justice often appears majestic, covenantal, kingly.

In the Gospels Justice becomes incarnate.  Jesus does not merely speak about justice. He embodies it.

In Lent, especially, we see Justice and mercy are not opposites. They converge at the Cross.

 

Why the Antiphon Keeps the Title

The Communion Antiphon using “God of justice” reminds us:

The One we receive in the Eucharist is the same covenant God of Israel.

Lent is not keeping the rules of fasting, almsgiving and prayer out of obligation. No, Lent is a season of Love. It is covenant renewal at a personal level.

God’s justice is not harshness. It is restoration.  The psalm calls Him “God of justice” — a title rooted in Israel’s prayer. In the Gospel, that justice becomes personal in Christ, who sets hearts right rather than merely judging them.

 

If you wish to understand more about Psalm 4 you may wish to read my post here. There is the second part to the series for Psalm 4.

Let us pray again the Communion Antiphon.

Communion Antiphon (Psalm 4:4)
When I called, the God of justice gave me answer;
from anguish you released me; have mercy, O Lord, and hear my prayer.