The Psalms as a Source of Peace

The psalms will work their special magic as they bring equanimity and peace into the lives of those who are plagued by impatience and subject to wild mood swings. This kind of conversion is illustrated by a story from the desert fathers.

It seems that a young and fervant young monk was becoming very impatient with his apparent lack of progress in the spiritual life. and so he went to a venerable and holy abba [father] to seek advice. He told the old man that he was careful to say all one hundred and fifty psalms each day as good monks are supposed to do. However, he was finding it more and more difficult to enter into the spirit of the joyful psalms on those days when was feeling depressed, just as it was hard to pray psalms like the Miserere [Psalm 51] when he was himself in a jubilant mood.

The old man nodded his head in recognition of the problem. The young monk then presented his own ingenious suggestion for dealing with this difficulty. He wondered if it would be better to say the seventy-five basically upbeat psalms twice during the week when he was in a buoyant mood and, conversely, the seventy-five basically downbeat psalms twice during the week when he felt sad and lonely. In this way, he explained, he would be able to say one hundred and fifty psalms each week and could also enter with more conviction into the spirit of the psalms he was reciting.

The old abba smiled and assured the young monk that, though he admired his ingenuity, it was obvious that he was very inexperienced in matters of the spirit. The old man went on then to pointout that it is precisely when we are feeling low that we should be saying the "Alleluia," as a reminder that many people in the world are rejoicing in their recognition of God's blessings in their lives. And we should also realize that it is precisely when we are feeling joyful that we should be saying the more sober psalms to make us aware of the many people who that day are saddened by grief or illness.

The young monk was thus reminded by the wise abba that a faithful praying of the psalms will enable us to escape from a dangerously self-centered view of life as we are made aware of the reality of our place in the community of all men and women. In this way, the peaks and valleys of our moods will be leveled out and we will begin to acquire that peace and equanimity that is the hallmark of true holiness as well as a basis for psychic good health.

From Demetrius Dumm, O.S.B., Cherish Christ Above All: The Bible in the Rule of Benedict (p. 6).

August 15: St. Mary, the Mother of Our Lord

In their prayers and thoughts, many Christians make mention of St. Mary, the mother of Our Lord, both indirectly and directly. Perhaps in your journey, you too have a special place for St. Mary. If your Evening Prayer includes "The Song of Mary," perhaps better known as the Magnificat, you are praying Mary's prayer-song, joining your heart-felt with her heart-felt song of praise. You are with Mary in spirit--quietly, indirectly. So also you may be with Mary quite explicitly. For example, in our home after our thanksgivings and intercessions in our Evening Prayers, June and I conclude up our daily petitions with these words:

In communion with the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of Our Lord, and with all the saints, let us rejoice and commend ourselves, one another, and our whole life to Christ, our Lord.

Near the conclusion of Evening Prayer, we remind ourselves that we are with Mary because she is with Christ and we are with Christ. Inasmuch as our ever-present Lord Christ is the Head of the Church, the Body of Christ, the whole Church of all times and all places is always with us too, along with all the angels and archangels, the seraphim and cherabim. As a consequence, we never ever pray alone. Always and always--and especially in prayer--we are surrounded with a great cloud of witnesses, as the New Testament Letter to the Hebrews tells us.

In our Christian faith, we give Mary special honor because she said Yes to God as a very young woman and nurtured within her body the growing fetus of the Son of God. On the night we call Christmas, she labored to deliver Jesus as our Savior. She nursed the Creator of the world at her breasts and changed his diapers. She cooked breakfast for him and made sure his clothes were washed. She home-schooled Jesus and taught him to read and write. She showed the little boy Jesus how to pray the Psalms. She introduced Jesus to synogogue worship and took him annually the great feasts held in the temple at Jerusalem. Later in life, she listened to him teach and preach. She watched him die. And she was there with the apostles after the Resurrection. We can well imagine the respect and honor the Apostles gave to her during their meetings after the Ascension.

Timothy George, a Southern Baptist theologian and senior editor of Christianity Today, has written an exellent essay, "Evangelicals and the Mother of God," that you may wish to read about the place of St. Mary in the life of the Church and in the prayer lives of Bible-believing evangelical, orth0dox and catholic Christians.

During your prayers on Wednesday, you may wish to thank God for St. Mary's life and witness with a prayer or prayers something like this one:

Grant, we humbly pray, O Lord,to your servants the gift of your heavenly blessing that, as the Son of the virgin Mary has granted us salvation, we may daily grow in your favour; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

13 August

On this day the Lutheran Calendar of Saints asks us to remember and give thanks to God for the witness and lives of two women:

Florence Nightingale, 1910, and Clara Maass, 1901, Renewers of society.

You may wish to add these prayers to your morning and/or evening office:

Almighty God, we praise you for the women you have sent to call the Church in her tasks and renews her life, especially Clara Maass and Florence Nightingale. Raise up in our day teachers, prophets, and healers inspired by your Spirit, whose voices will give strength to your Church and proclaim the reality of your kingdom; we pray through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever.

O God, by whose grace your servants Clara Maass and Florence Nightingale, kindled with the flame of your love, became burning and shining lights in your Church: Grant that we also may be aflame with the spirit of love and discipline, and walk before you as children of light; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.


On this day you may also wish include in your prayers doctors, nurses, hospitals, nursing homes, and others who work and support the healing arts.