Psalms
The Psalms have always been an important part of Catholic liturgy. From earliest times until today, Christians view the Old Testament as prefiguring Christ. The evangelists put the words of the psalms on the lips of Jesus during his passion. Along these lines, ancient monks and nuns in the Egyptian desert heard Jesus' voice in all the psalms. They believed the psalms were written by King David, but they also believed that the pre-existent Christ inspired David to do the writing (Ps 110:1). For this reason, they prayed the whole Psalter daily. This tradition has grown and changed, but it still continues, faithful to the ancient practice. In Christian monasteries and many religious houses throughout the world, vowed men and women gather three to seven times daily to pray the psalms.
The Liturgy of the Hours is centered on chanting or recitation of the Psalms. Early Catholics employed the Psalms widely in their individual prayers also. Until the end of the Middle Ages it was not unknown for the laity to join in the singing of the Little Office of Our Lady, which was a shortened version of the Liturgy of the Hours providing a fixed daily cycle of twenty-five psalms to be recited.
Read more about this topic: Roman Catholic Prayer
Famous quotes containing the word psalms:
“Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.”
—Bible: Hebrew Psalms 51:5.
“They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters, these see the works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep.”
—Bible: Hebrew Psalms 107:23-24.