Weeve Ministry

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 143:1-2, 5-6, 7-8, 10

"O Lord, hear my prayer"

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Scripture text (World English Bible)

Hear my prayer, Yahweh. Listen to my petitions. In your faithfulness and righteousness, relieve me. Don’t enter into judgment with your servant, for in your sight no man living is righteous. I remember the days of old. I meditate on all your doings. I contemplate the work of your hands. I spread out my hands to you. My soul thirsts for you, like a parched land. Hurry to answer me, Yahweh. My spirit fails. Cause me to hear your loving kindness in the morning, for I trust in you. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness.

Themes

  • O Lord, hear my prayer
  • do not enter into judgment
  • thirsting for God
  • morning light after night
  • teach me your will

Reflection

Psalm 143 is the last of the Church's seven penitential psalms, and its presence in the funeral lectionary keeps the liturgy honest. The refrain — "O Lord, hear my prayer" — is the barest prayer there is, the one a grieving person can still manage when longer prayers fail.

The psalm's most striking line is its second verse: "Do not enter into judgment with your servant, for in your sight no one living is righteous." At a funeral this is the voice of the Church praying for the deceased exactly as she prays for everyone — not presuming sanctity, not despairing of mercy, but asking. Families who feel uneasy with eulogizing perfection often find this psalm the most truthful text of the day.

From that honesty the psalm turns to memory and thirst: "I remember the days of old... My soul thirsts for you, like a parched land." Grief is both of those things at once — remembering and thirsting — and the psalmist gives the congregation words for each.

It ends at dawn: "Cause me to hear your loving kindness in the morning... Teach me to do your will." The mourners' own road continues after the funeral; the psalm's last petitions are for them.

Best for

  • ·Families who want honest prayer for mercy rather than presumed praise
  • ·Funerals where grief is raw and simple words are needed
  • ·A deceased who would have asked for prayers, not a eulogy
  • ·Liturgies with a penitential, Lenten, or quiet character

In the liturgy

The Lectionary appoints verses 1-2, 5-6, 7ab and 8ab, and 10, with "O Lord, hear my prayer" as the customary response. A cantor should keep the tone spare; this psalm does not want ornamentation.

Pairs well with

Frequently asked questions

Is a penitential psalm too somber for a funeral?
It is somber the way a funeral honestly is. The Church includes it because praying for mercy is the funeral's central act — and the psalm ends in trust, morning light, and guidance for the living.
Does "no one living is righteous" imply something negative about our loved one?
No — it says something true about everyone, which is why the Church prays for all her dead without exception. Far from singling anyone out, the verse places the deceased where all the faithful stand: in need of, and offered, mercy.

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Other approved responsorial psalm options

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