Psalms: Praying from the heart

Fifth in a Lenten series on Stewardship -- A Life of Prayer

	Stewardship Stewardship: A Way of Life is the diocesan thrust. It invites Catholics to acknowledge that all of life is a gift of God and to respond through prayer, service and sharing. This series will look at ways to do that.

How do you pray?

When I ask this question during faith-sharing gatherings, I hear a range of responses. Sharing in Eucharist and the sacraments, meditating on Scripture, saying the rosary, focusing on nature, daily journaling, and quiet reflection are some favorites.

One woman said that, at this time in her life, her prayer is poetry. Poetry would not have been my first response. As I thought about it, however, I realized the psalms are poetry! These powerful prayer poems give candid expression to inner movements of the human heart as we journey in faith.

Lent
• Lent-related articles  • 2003 Lenten Wish List (3/7 issue)  • Lenten rules (2/28 issue)

The psalms are the prayer book of the church and are significantly placed at the center of the Bible. They are used on occasions ranging from exuberant joy to devastating tragedy. The psalms also play a key role in supporting the focus and the message of the word at every liturgy.

Have you ever been at Sunday liturgy when the cantor with full voice and passion leads the assembly in the responsorial psalm? The people seem to be taken up and connected in a most prayerful way as they sing their response to God's word. The impact of such a psalm is so powerful for me that it can echo within me inspiring confidence or challenge during the entire week.

Even though the psalms are poetry from an ancient Jewish culture they continue to be relevant. They voice grateful praise and deep lament, as well as the dark tendencies that lurk in all of us. The 150 psalms have an amazing and wide emotional scope, as do the stirrings in our own heart. Psalms dare to name what modern culture would rather deny or dismiss. They bring divine wisdom to our particular life experience.

People can be turned off by the psalms because of the vengeance, violence and destruction found in some of them. Walter Brueggemann, an internationally known Old Testament scholar, says when we pray those psalms, the outpouring of inner rage is addressed to God and not the enemy. The one who prays has honestly expressed his or her anger. The desire for vengeance, given over to God, is transferred from that person's heart. Vindictiveness surrendered to God's wisdom and providence brings freedom and new energy to the individual who had been enraged by the raw realities of life.

One of my favorite psalms is the penitential Psalm 51. "Create in me a clean heart, O God. Cleanse me. Wash me. Renew me." As we pray this psalm, we appeal to the goodness and compassion of God. We ask for a new heart, new life. Repentance rejuvenates the heart and prompts us to share God's forgiveness and bring new life to others.

Psalm 23, a psalm of trust, is probably the best known and most often prayed. "The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want." The psalmist speaks with a servant's heart and compares God to the shepherd who provides for the daily needs and safety of the flock. The image of God as shepherd, host and constant companion generates great confidence. Particularly today as the world struggles for peace, Psalm 23 calls us to be solicitous for all our brothers and sisters, especially the least of them.

Do open your Bible to the psalms. These powerful prayer poems are a treasure trove for the human heart.

(Sr. McCormick is the consultant for administrative development in the Green Bay Diocese's Department of Total Catholic Education. She also coordinates the annual Gathering of the Diocese of Green Bay, scheduled this year Oct. 3-4 at St. Norbert College, De Pere.)

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