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Pentecost Season · Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time · Year A

Psalm 131:1, 2, 3

I Have Calmed and Quieted My Soul

November 1, 2026

Baby’s First Caress, Mary Cassatt
Baby’s First Caress, Mary Cassatt, 1890Wichita Art Museum, Wichita
Cassatt painted mothers and children for thirty years without sentimentality, treating the hold between them as a compositional problem as much as a subject.I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother. Psalm 131 chooses that image, and Cassatt is its best painter.Mary CassattAn American who settled in Paris, exhibited with the Impressionists at Degas's invitation, and persuaded wealthy Americans to buy them.Wichita Art Museum, WichitaA Kansas museum founded on a newspaper heiress's bequest, with a strong collection of American art.Wichita Art Museum, Wichita
Roman Lectionary
GospelMatt. 23:1-12Mt 23:1-12
Second Reading1 Thess. 2:7b-9, 131 Thes 2:7b-9, 13
First ReadingMal. 1:14b–2:2b, 8-10Mal 1:14b–2:2b, 8-10
Responsorial PsalmPs. 131:1, 2, 3Ps 131:1, 2, 3

Overview & Insights

“I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother.” (Psalm 131:2)

Though one of the shortest of psalms, Psalm 131 is one of the most profound. Its image of tranquillity we readily admire, but its advice we all too readily dismiss as impractical. When things go wrong, the temptation is to make ambitious plans and redouble our efforts. Such was clearly the case for Judah in the hardships of the early postexilic period. But this psalm of ascent counsels God’s people to engage in contemplation before action.

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Take it further: Psalm 131:1, 2, 3

Commentary

Psalm 131 verse by versePs 131 verse by verse Enduring Word · David Guzik

David Guzik's verse-by-verse commentary on the psalm.

Psalm 131:1 commentariesPs 131:1 commentaries BibleHub

A stack of classic commentaries gathered at the psalm's opening.

Psalm 131 commentariesPs 131 commentaries StudyLight

A second aggregator carrying a different set of classic commentators.

Background & Word Study

Psalm 131 in HebrewPs 131 in Hebrew Sefaria

The Hebrew text with traditional Jewish commentary alongside.

The Church Fathers

Psalm 131 in the FathersPs 131 in the Fathers Catena

What the Church Fathers wrote on this psalm, gathered in one place.

Questions preachers ask

What is Psalm 131?

A short Song of Ascents of childlike humility: the psalmist does not occupy himself with things too great, but stills his soul like a weaned child, and calls Israel to hope in the Lord.

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