The Psalms as a Basis for the Prayer of the Church

The purpose of this paper is to share with you, the reader, where I was with my faith relationship through the Psalms and their role in my prayer life. How, through education in the background, exegesis and relevance of the Psalms coupled with a functional practice of praying them regularly, I have cultivated my faith and strengthened my gratitude for them. Lastly, I wish to offer some advice to others who have not found value in the Psalms (where I once was). These insights are offered in the hope that they (the Psalms) will add more meaning to the prayer life of those seeking to enhance their spiritual life.

As little as five years ago, whenever I attempted to read Scripture I would often “flip” open the Bible and proceed to read a couple of paragraphs or a short chapter looking for inspiration from the Holy Spirit (Lectio Divino). Often my “flipping” would land me in the Psalms. I shamefully admit that I would quickly re-flip to something I deemed more suitable. It is a sad fact; I had almost no relationship with the Psalms. Worst still, I had no desire to develop a relationship. To me the Psalms seemed cryptic, chaotic, and incoherent. They were boring and irrelevant with little to no connection to the modern world.

Education, in no small way, was responsible for opening my eyes to much of the value that the Psalms hold for me today. The historical background was a foundation on which to build that knowledge. For as stated in the book, The School of Prayer, “Israel’s history is the church’s history”. From Israel’s history we see that the Psalms were developed over a long period of time extending from King David’s dynasty until deep into the Babylonian exile (over 500 years). The Catechism of the Catholic Church confirms this...

... middle of paper ...

...ld Testament. Lastly, we become the recipients of the greatest joy known on earth, pleasing God by cooperating with his divine will.

Works Cited

Anderson, Bernhard W. understanding the Old Testament. 4th. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1983.

Boadt, Lawrence. Reading the Old Testament, An Introduction. 2nd. Edited by Richard Clifford and Daniel Harrington. New York/Mahwah, New Jersey: Paulist Press, 2012.

Brook, John. The School of Prayer, An Introduction to the Divine Office for All Christians. Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1992.

Merton, Thomas. Praying the Psalms. Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1956.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition. Washington D.C.: USCCB Publishing, 2000.

Wikimedia Foundation. "Divine Office".Wikipedia. n.d. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_Office (accessed March 18, 2014).