In his Apostolic Constitution entitled Divino afflantu, Pope Saint Pius X wrote:
“The collection of psalms found in Scripture, composed as it was under divine inspiration, has, from the very beginnings of the Church, shown a wonderful power of fostering devotion among Christians as they offer to God a continuous sacrifice of praise, the harvest of lips blessing His name. Following a custom already established in the Old Law, the Psalms have played a conspicuous part in the sacred liturgy itself, and in the divine office. Thus was born what St. Basil calls the voice of the Church, that singing of psalms, which is the daughter of that hymn of praise (to use the words of our predecessor, Urban VIII) which goes up unceasingly before the throne of God and of the Lamb, and which teaches those especially charged with the duty of divine worship, as St. Athanasius says, the way to praise God, and the fitting words in which to bless him. . . The Psalms have also a wonderful power to awaken in our hearts the desire for every virtue. St. Athanasius says: Though all Scripture, both old and new, is divinely inspired and has its use in teaching, as we read in Scripture itself, yet the Book of Psalms, like a garden enclosing the fruits of all the other books, produces its fruits in song, and in the process of singing brings forth its own special fruits to take their place beside them.”
In order to foster a deeper love for the Psalms, we have begun a new spiritual program here at St. Mary’s. Every Wednesday evening at 6:00 pm, we will sing the Psalms in the Divine Office. This time of prayer together, which is known as Vespers, will greatly enhance our love and knowledge of the treasure that is the Psalms.
Please consider joining us, whether you can sing or not, in this new spiritual exercise of prayer.
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Wayne