February 2010

Stories Seldom Heard Archive

Stories Seldom Heard

126^th Edition

Why Use the Psalms for Prayer?

Psalm 62

Welcome to Stories Seldom Heard.   I would especially like to welcome the parishioners of St. Gregory’s Parish in San Mateo, CA and the Single/Single Again group from the Raleigh Diocese.

Lent begins this month.  As we approach it, we question ourselves.  What am I going to give up?   What spiritual practice do I want to renew?  We often hear ourselves say:  “I would like to be more faithful to prayer and make it a part of my daily practice.”  But how do we do this?  Many of us can’t get to Mass each day because of work schedules, responsibilities or distance.  So I would like to suggest two other practices.  First, increase our prayer time each day by 5 minutes.  If we pray three minutes throughout the day add five minutes.  If we pray 30 minutes, make it 35 minutes.  Perhaps the last five minutes could be used for journaling.  Second, I would like to suggest that we choose one psalm a day as our prayer.  We don’t have to read the whole psalm.  Just read it slowly.  When some image or line touches our hearts or catches our attention, stop.  Reread the line.  Stay with that line for a while.  Perhaps we could use that line, image, word or idea that strikes us as a mantra for the day.  If one psalm doesn’t lead us to prayer, move on to the next.  There are 150 psalms from which to choose.  On the other hand, if one psalm speaks to us we can stay with that psalm for a week or all of Lent.

To help us pray with the psalms this article has been divided into two parts.  Part I gives some background on the psalms.  It reminds us of why we use the psalms for private prayer, Eucharistic celebrations and many of our sacramental services.  Part II has some reflections on Psalm 62.  Hopefully they will help us in our private prayer.  If we only have ten minutes, we might want to begin by reading Psalm 62 even before we read this article and trust that the Word of God speaks to us when we are open to surprises.

Part I

Why choose to read a psalm each day?  The psalms are one of the oldest collections of prayers that we Christians have inherited from our Judeo roots.  They are the foundation from which many of our Christian prayers have evolved.  Also, they are powerful examples of profound faith and even though they were written centuries ago they still express some of our deepest thoughts and desires.  Their vibrant images and emotional phrases influence our own thoughts and feelings about God. 

The psalms give us words when our words falter or fail.  They inspire hope when we feel unsure or filled with doubts.  In other words they not only teach us how to pray, but also become our own personal prayer expressing our sentiments, our hopes and joys and expressions of distress.  Because the psalms are poetry it takes time to understand them and wisely Hebrew poetry has a tendency to repeat itself.  If we don’t understand what the psalmist is saying in the first or second line the author gives us another chance because the same idea will be repeated in the next two lines.  Praying the psalms, poetry, also slows us down and helps us become more reflective.  There are 150 psalms.  Some of them are prayers of thanksgiving others are laments or hymns that express joy and confidence in God.

Part II                   Psalm 62

Recently at a reception after a funeral, I met some long time friends who had just returned from making their annual private retreat.  Each year for the last eleven years this group of eight or ten women and men take a few days in January to go to a monastery in northern California for some time of quiet reflection.  They all live busy lives.  Most of them have grown children.  Like us they have had their ups and downs in business and family relationships.  In fact, it is because of their life experiences that they decided to make this annual retreat. 

When they were talking with me of their experience, they all spoke of their gratitude for being able to spend some quiet time reflecting on their lives and how God has guided them through many different phases.  They also agreed that the simplicity of the monastery, the contemplative prayers and the beauty of the three hundred acres of redwoods, pines and wild life help them hear God’s reassuring and loving voice.  “In the midst of all of this,” one man said, “it’s not hard being silent.”  He sounds like the psalmist.  “For God alone my soul waits in silence.”  This waiting of which we’re speaking, however, is a different type of waiting than we usually do.  This is not a waiting for a stop light to turn green or wishing the grocery line would move more quickly.  This waiting implies attentiveness mixed with a sense of expectation.  It’s like putting our ear to the ground of our being and listening for the Spirit.  The image that comes to mind is that of Native Americans putting their ears to the ground to listen for the pounding of horse hoofs from approaching visitors.  It’s a sensitive listening that takes years to develop because it is a matter of the heart.

Thomas Merton describes this waiting as a contemplative stance that doesn’t prepare our minds for a particular message that we want or expect to hear.  Rather it is a waiting to hear a Word of great power full of the voice of the One “who is steadfast love” (Ps 62:12).   This waiting requires of us a Gospel waiting: the patient silence of Simeon and Anna who went to the temple each day filled with expectation.  “Will this be the day I will meet the promised One?”  It’s the unsettling silence that pulled at Mary and Joseph as they waited for the Word to be birthed.  “How will this all come about?”  It’s the empty silence of the desert that was finally pierced with Jesus’ prophetic voice that proclaimed hope to an oppressed people who sought relief.

In scripture and in our lives silence is the backdrop for the Word to be heard.  It’s not just a vacuum to be filled, but a mystery to be leaned into where miracles can happen because for us it’s our holy of holies.  I’m sure my friends who go on their yearly retreat wouldn’t quite say it in these words, but miracles have happened in the silence of the thousand year old redwoods and fragrant pines.  Unanswered questions have found resolution.  Worries about the future have not been resolved, but the fretting about them has stirred them to deeper prayer and trust in the steadfast love of God.  Special moments in life – anniversaries, the birth of a child, another year of good health-  these celebrations of joy, have been deepened and enriched by the realization that everything is undeserved, not earned, sheer gift. 

The waiting in silence that the psalmist invites us to today and each day of our lives is a silence that can transform our lives.  It’s a place where our broken hearts are made whole; forgiveness is received even before we ask for it, our weary spirits are healed and comforted, our restlessness is given direction and our willing hearts experience joy. 

The psalm is rich with images.  God is “my rock, my stronghold, my fortress; I shall not be moved.”  Sturdy images of steadfast love!  However, some of us might describe God’s steadfast love and support for us in a different way.  If that’s true for you, how would you describe God standing with you, helping you get through difficult times?  Is God like a mother hen protecting her young from harm?  In the wisdom books of the Bible God is seen as Lady Wisdom directing us at the crossroads our lives.  When there are decisions to make, she is there.  When we are in need of a guide, her steady hand reaches out to us.  When we are not sure which way to turn, God reminds us that God knew us before we were knit together in our “mother’s womb” (Ps 139:13).

After you have prayed with this psalm for a day or two you might want to write your own psalm.  Make it simple: four or six lines might be a way to start.  The following is a poem by Duncan.  It’s not religious poetry as such, but if we think of the voice in the poem as being God’s, it might reinforce what the psalmist expresses in Psalm 62.

ALL THAT I NEED

You needn't bring me store-bought flowers

Bring me a leaf or twig or stone

Bring me the earth in a blade of grass

Bring me the sea in a broken shell

Bring me the sky in a fallen feather

Bring me a mountain or bring me a lake

Bring me a forest woven with song

Bring me a heart, no matter how troubled

Bring me your hand, let it rest in mine

Bring me yourself; that's all I've ever needed -

Bring me yourself, that's all I need

                                      Duncan

Special thanks to Mary Ellen Green, Maria Hetherton and Jeanne Keating  who have helped in editing this article.

"Stories Seldom Heard" is a monthly article written by Sister Patricia Bruno, O.P.  Sister is a Dominican Sister of San Rafael, California.  This service is offered to the Christian community to enrich one's personal and spiritual life.  The articles can be used for individual or group reflection.  If you would like "Stories Seldom Heard" sent to a friend, please send a note to "purple115@juno.com".   If you would like to support this ministry, please send tax deductible contributions to Dominican Sisters of San Rafael, c/o Sister Patricia Bruno, O.P., 1520 Grand Avenue, San Rafael, CA,   94901

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