Praying the Psalms
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Authors
Alexander, Andy, S.J.
Waldron, Maureen McCann
Issue Date
2000-01-01
Type
Text
Language
en_US
Keywords
Ordinary Time , Prayers
Alternative Title
Abstract
Text from the first four paragraphs of "Praying the Psalms"|Using the Psalms is a great way to pray. These wonderful examples of Hebrew poetry come from worship services, important celebrations and historical events, songs of thanksgiving, deeply felt prayers of petition, and powerfully moving expressions of sorrow and even despair, which end up in professions of hope and trust. They can be a tremendous help to us in our own journey. And, since there are 150 of them, they can be a good "go to" prayer, when we are feeling dry and looking for something with powerful faith and emotion, to get us started. They are intimate with God, full of feelings and concrete reality, which we can easily relate to and adapt to our own situation.|We might want to use the Psalms from our own Bible and bookmark our favorite ones to return to frequently. We may want to go online and find Psalms in our own faith tradition's translation and print out our favorites.|Of course, the Psalms are central to the public prayer of the Church, known as the Liturgy of the Hours, and a Psalm is used in every Mass, after the First Reading. As we start to listen to the Psalms more carefully, we will notice themes and particular Psalms which express emotions and prayers which help us in our growing intimate relationship with God.|We may, at first, be surprised at the emotion, and, at times, we might even be shocked at what the psalmist sings. We must remember that the Psalms are first and foremost songs. And, as songs can do, they carry deeply felt and memorable lines which capture important meaning. At times it is deep joy and moving faith. At other times, it expresses fear or anger or even condemnation. The closer we get to the Psalms, the more we will expreience them as carrying our own prayer and as being very close to the kind of honest expressions we want to make to our God.
Description
Citation
Publisher
Creighton University, Online Ministries
License
Feel Free to "cut and paste" any of these texts for Parish Bulletinss or Worship Aids. Simpy add this reference: "Taken from Creighton University's Online Ministries web site: www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/online.html. Used with Permission."