Saturday, August 3, 2013
540. What is the importance of the Psalms in prayer? (part 1)
(Comp 540) The Psalms are the summit of prayer in the Old Testament: the Word of
God become the prayer of man. Inseparably both personal and communal, and
inspired by the Holy Spirit, this prayer sings of God’s marvelous deeds in
creation and in the history of salvation. Christ prayed the Psalms and brought
them to fulfillment. Thus they remain an essential and permanent element of the
prayer of the Church suited to people of every condition and time.
“In brief”
(CCC 2596) The Psalms
constitute the masterwork of prayer in the Old Testament. They present two
inseparable qualities: the personal, and the communal. They extend to all dimensions
of history, recalling God's promises already fulfilled and looking for the
coming of the Messiah.
To deepen and
explain
(CCC 2585) From the time of
David to the coming of the Messiah texts appearing in these sacred books show a
deepening in prayer for oneself and in prayer for others (Ezra 9:6-15; Neh
1:4-11; Jon 2:3-10; Tob 3:11-16; Jdt 9:2-14). Thus the psalms were gradually
collected into the five books of the Psalter (or "Praises"), the
masterwork of prayer in the Old Testament. (CCC 2586)
The Psalms both nourished and expressed the prayer of the People of God
gathered during the great feasts at Jerusalem and each Sabbath in the
synagogues. Their prayer is inseparably personal and communal; it concerns both
those who are praying and all men. The Psalms arose from the communities of the
Holy Land and the Diaspora, but embrace all creation. Their prayer recalls the
saving events of the past, yet extends into the future, even to the end of
history; it commemorates the promises God has already kept, and awaits the
Messiah who will fulfill them definitively. Prayed by Christ and fulfilled in
him, the Psalms remain essential to the prayer of the Church (Cf. GILH, nn.
100-109).
Reflection
(CCC 2587) The Psalter is
the book in which the Word of God becomes man's prayer. In other books of the
Old Testament, "the words proclaim [God's] works and bring to light the
mystery they contain" (DV 2). The words of the Psalmist, sung for God,
both express and acclaim the Lord's saving works; the same Spirit inspires both
God's work and man's response. Christ will unite the two. In him, the psalms
continue to teach us how to pray. [IT CONTINUES]
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