Can we praise God outside the church?
Our thoughts in this present life should be focused on praising God, because we will rejoice forever in the life to come in praising God, and no one can be ready for the next life unless he trains for it now. So, we praise God during our earthly life, and at the same time we make our requests to Him.
Our praise is expressed with joy, our petitions with longing. We have been promised something that we do not yet possess, and because the promise was made by the One who keeps his word, we trust him and rejoice; but insofar as possession is delayed, we can only long and yearn for it. It is good for us to persevere in longing until we receive what was promised and the longing is over, then only praise remains.
There are these two periods of time: the one that is now, burdened with the trials and tribulations of this life, and the other that is yet to come, a life of eternal serenity and joy. Thus, we are given two liturgical seasons, Lent and Easter. Lent signifies the trials in which we live here and now, while Easter signifies the happiness that will be ours in the future. What we practice in Lent is what we experience in this life; what we celebrate at Easter points to something we do not yet possess. That is why we observe Lent with fasting and prayer; but when the fast is over, we dedicate Easter to praise. This is the meaning of the Alleluia that we sing.
Both these periods are represented and demonstrated for us in Christ our Head. The Lord’s Passion depicts for us our present life of trial; Lent shows how we must suffer and be afflicted and finally die. The Lord’s resurrection and glorification show us Easter, the life that will be given to us in the future.
We must praise God. But not only with our lips and voices, but with our minds, our lives, and all our actions.
We praise God when we are gathered in the church; but when we go to our ordinary profession, it seems as if we stop praising God.
But as long as we do not stop living according to God's will, we will always be praising God.
We only stop praising God when we turn away from a clean life and from what is pleasing to God. If we never turn away from it, our tongue may be silent, but our actions will cry out loudly, and God will know our intentions; for as our ears hear one another's voices, so God's ears hear our thoughts.
Excerpts from Saint Augustine, The Easter Alleluia.
Torreciudad: The Assumption of Mary. Fruit of the 4th Glorious Mystery: Trust in Mary’s intercession. True Devotion to Mary.
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