Tag: psalm
My Bickering Spirit
I need to admit that I struggle with the ‘Spirit of Bickering’. I try not to. However, in my pride, I think I am above it, which is based on a deep-seated arrogance that I see deeper than others, or that I am better than they are. That is a sin since it is based… Read More ›
Psalm 110(109) God himself enthrones the king of glory
Today I would like to end my catechesis on the prayer of the Book of Psalms by meditating on one of the most famous of the “royal Psalms”, a Psalm that Jesus himself cited and that the New Testament authors referred to extensively and interpreted as referring to the Messiah, to Christ. It is Psalm… Read More ›
Psalm 63(62): My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord
Psalm of mystical love, which celebrates total adherence to God based on an almost physical yearning and reaching its fullness in a close and everlasting embrace. Prayer becomes longing, thirst and hunger, because it involves the soul and the body. As St Teresa of Avila wrote: “Thirst, I think, means the desire for something very necessary… Read More ›
Psalm 62(61): In God alone be at rest!
1. The gentle words of Psalm 62[61] have just resounded; it is a hymn of trust that opens with what appears to be an antiphon, repeated halfway through the text. It is like a peaceful and strong ejaculatory prayer, an invocation that also becomes a programme of life: “In God alone is my soul at… Read More ›
Gregorian chant will make your life better
Rome, Italy, Jun 3, 2015 / 04:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Benedictine Monks of Norcia spend their lives in prayer and labor – “ora et labora” – chanting the psalms and producing crafts to support themselves. This week, they also released an album meant to share their prayer with the world – music, they say,… Read More ›
Psalm 49(48):1-13: In his riches, man lacks wisdom!
1. Our meditation on Psalm 49[48] will be divided into two parts, just as it is proposed on two separate occasions by the Liturgy of Vespers. We will now comment in detail on the first part in which it is hardship that inspires reflection, as in Psalm 72[71]. The just man must face “evil days”… Read More ›
Psalm 46(45): God “our refuge and strength”
1. We have just heard the first of the six hymns to Zion that are contained in the Psalter (cf. also Ps 48[47]; 76[75]; 84[83]; 87[86]; 122[121]. Like the other similar compositions, Psalm 46[45] celebrates the Holy City of Jerusalem, “the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High” (v. 5), but above… Read More ›
Psalm 72 (71): 11-20– He shall save the poor!
1. The Liturgy of Vespers, which we are following through its series of Psalms, presents to us in two stages Psalm 72[71], a royal and messianic hymn. After meditating on the first part (cf. vv. 1-11; [ORE], 8 December 2004, p. 11), we now have before us the second poetic and spiritual movement of this hymn… Read More ›
Psalm 47(46): Praise the Lord, King of all the Earth
In Psalm 46 (47), which we just prayed. It is designed as a hymn to the sovereign Lord of the universe and of history: “God is king over all the earth … God rules over all nations” (vv. 8-9). Like other similar compositions in the Psalter (cf. Ps 92; 95-98), this hymn to the Lord, the king… Read More ›
Psalm 27(26):7-14: Confidence in God in times of tribulation
1. The Liturgy of Vespers has divided Psalm 27[26] into two parts, following the text’s structure which is similar to a diptych. We have just proclaimed the second part of this hymn of trust that is raised to the Lord on the dark day of the assault of evil. Verses 7 to 14 of the Psalm open… Read More ›