“It has been such a comfort for us Brothers, in these unsettled and tense days, to maintain our practice of praying the Psalms in the Daily Office. This week we invite you to join with us in diving into this reach treasury for prayer. The Psalms poetically reflect the fullness of the human experience: from praise, exultation, and celebration to anger, disdain, and vengeance to utter desperation, resignation, and helplessness – and everything in between. Because of this range of expression, the Psalms have an incredible ability to allow us to express whatever we are feeling in the moment, while also lifting us out of our current circumstances to listen for the eternally-speaking voice of God.”
The Psalms express every human experience and emotion. In this way, they invite us to share with God the unfiltered reality of our emotions and our experiences – even those parts of our lives and selves we might not want to pray. The Psalms invite us to let it all out. Find a Psalm that speaks to your soul’s true state this week, or simply bless God with your unvarnished truth in prayer.
This week, try singing your prayers. Pick a favorite hymn and sing it aloud to God. Chant the Psalms along with one of the Brothers’ services, available online. Remember, as Br Jonathan encourages, that it doesn’t have to sound pretty; God welcomes our “noise.” Focus on your breath, bringing your whole body into your prayer.
For Reflection
Br. Sean shares how he resists some of the language of the Psalms, as an encounter with his own humanity that he does not want to face. What do the Psalms that you love – or loathe – have to teach you about yourself?
Consider your own personal “vocabulary of prayer”? What words and phrases come back again and again? Where does this familiar language come from chiefly? Are there lines of hymns, scripture, books, or other teachers that work their way into your prayer? Consider how this familiar language tells the story of God’s action of grace in your own life.