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Introducing the Recital of the Psalms |
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The
lifting of one’s hands and hearts towards God in private morning prayer
unites the soul with the rest of the world in a public act of worship of the
Church. For this is an act which recalls the Eternal Liturgy which is
celebrated ‘before the throne and before the Lamb.’ |
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It
is indeed a good way to start off the day with the Church’s official prayer
said at Lauds and till now, the First Lesson of Matins from Scripture which
is often recited as part of the Divine Office during that hour. For in saying
the Office one prays in the name of the whole Church and in union with the
Spouse, knowing that one’s prayer of praise and adoration mingles with the
praise and adoration of the liturgy of Heaven. |
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Inasmuch
as private prayer prepares the soul for a better participation in liturgical
prayer by awakening that attention, recollection and intimate ardour which
give life and animation to our individual vocation, liturgical prayer said in
a community gives the right direction to private praise. |
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Being
a sinner, I lift up my heart to God like David did praying the Psalms which
he mostly wrote. There is no spatial limit where I can pray – it may be in
the inner chambers of my home with my wife, commuting to my workplace with a
PDA or sitting in front of a computer monitor at my office. |
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In
any case I know that in praying the official prayer of the Church, I am
sharing in raising the voice of the Bride to her beloved Spouse. It is the
same voice of the Living Christ addressing the Eternal Father. It is JESUS
himself who prays in the Church and by the Church, for HE is the principle of
its praise, its adoration and its satisfaction. |
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Jesus
prayed very privately on earth, encouraging even us to enter our rooms, shut
the door and the world behind us and pray in secret to the Father Who will
repay us. Even so, Jesus did not fail to recognize the need of union among
the faithful: "Where there are two or three gathered together in my
name, there am I in the midst of them." (Mt. 18, 20) |
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The
needs of our souls are manifold, and though some cannot be discerned or
satisfied except in private prayer, others must have the discernment,
inspired by the Father, of other souls around us. It is so in our
meditations, examinations of conscience, sharing of personal experiences and
private and public liturgies that we best study and know ourselves, our
personal dispositions, passions and wants. |
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Having
got to know ourselves, which is the principle by which early Christians
abided, there will be a day when we shall stand with "a great multitude
from every nation, from all peoples and tongues, before the throne and before
the Lamb, clothed in white robes, bearing palm-branches and crying out with a
loud voice ‘Salvation belongs to our God Who sits upon the throne, and to the
Lamb … Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and
power and might be to our God for ever and ever! Amen.’" (Rev. 7, 9-12) |
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Peace with you all! |
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