The Psalms

What comes to mind when someone mentions the Psalms to you? Do you immediately start to think about your favorite psalm? Maybe you start to think about the fact that a psalm is always read at mass or maybe you know OF the Psalms, but you don’t know anything ABOUT the Psalms. If you feel that way then I guarantee you are not alone! How often do we use all of our mental capacity to repeat the responsorial psalm at Mass, but never actually take the time or thought to really think and pray about what is being read? When I think about this, I realize that I actually find more satisfaction in being able to repeat the psalm than praying about it during Mass. How could I get this backwards?? 

The purpose of this next study is to dive deeper into the psalms and to take time to pray and reflect on them. The Psalms can be translated into the “Book of Praises” and is comprised of 150 songs, poems, and hymns that all point the reader back to God. Think about this for a moment, because the Psalms are known as the Book of Praises this means that we have 150 readings and opportunities to turn our eyes toward God and praise Him even on the toughest days. That is what the writers of the Psalms did as well! Even though they were experiencing difficulties in their lives they were still able to direct their thoughts toward God and His Majesty. Most people believe (at least I did) that King David wrote all 150 psalms, but in reality he only wrote about half of them. We often have misconceptions about the Bible so I encourage you to take at least five minutes to read about the history behind the Psalms in the next couple of days!

Something that is so mysterious and beautiful about the Psalms is that even though they were written thousands of years ago they are still very relatable to the reader today. I cannot tell you how many times I have opened up to the Psalms and have been able to find one that is exactly what I needed to hear in that moment and in my current state of life. My hope is that you have an experience similar to that during this next study. We are going to take time to go through some of the different psalms in order to reflect on them and relate them back to our own states in life. God desires for us to come close to Him through every section of His Word, let us use the Psalms to run into His arms and receive comfort and love while we praise Him.

Open your Bible and find your favorite Psalm. Take time to reread it and think about why it became your favorite Psalm in the first place. What is God trying to say to you through it? MaryKatherine Deschamp