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00:00When the compilation of the 150 psalms that currently make up this book of the Hebrew Bible was carried out,
00:15This was divided into five parts, from which Jewish tradition deduced the following conclusion.
00:23Just as Moses gave Israel the five books of the law, so David also gave Israel the five books of psalms.
00:35Meanwhile, the Christian tradition accepts three major divisions, focusing primarily on the study of literary forms,
00:44Although this general division gives rise to just as many subdivisions, resulting in the following division.
00:54Hymns, supplications or psalms of suffering and thanksgiving.
01:04Let's look at the characteristics of each of these groups.
01:07The hymns
01:37Thanksgiving
02:07Gratitude is the essence of the wisdom of the people.
02:13They are rarely of a collective nature.
02:17They also urge the faithful to praise God.
02:21The final part of these serves as an introduction to educational topics.
02:25Most Bible translations have two numbers from Psalm 10 to Psalm 146.
02:40This is because in the Septuagint translation, Psalms 9 and 10 constituted a single psalm.
02:48but the Bulgarian translation divided it into two parts.
02:53So from then on, Bibles had a double numbering system as shown below.
03:01The number in parentheses corresponds to the numbering of the Greek Bible,
03:10followed at this point by the Bulgarian version, which, if we recall, is the translation from Greek to Latin.
03:18The psalm prayer is the oldest form of prayer not only for the church, but for the people of God.
03:28and it is the model of what is known as vocalic prayer.
03:32From ancient times we can say that the Jewish people are and have been an eminently prayerful people,
03:40who has sought by many means to communicate with the God of salvation.
03:45In this endeavor, throughout its history, it discovered, on the one hand, the presence of God in all the events of its history,
03:56And on the other hand, he discovered that music is charged with man's deepest feelings,
04:02since it is capable of expressing what our language cannot because it is extremely limited.
04:10These two situations came together and from there the psalms were created.
04:15These are sung prayers that express the mood that the people are experiencing.
04:22in the different activities and situations of his life and history,
04:28in which God makes himself present to save him, comfort him, and lead him to fullness in love.
04:35That is why in these prayers we can find prayers for each of the moments in a man's life.
04:45The psalm prayer is and has been throughout the ages the prayer of the church.
04:51In this regard, His Holiness Benedict XVI instructs us with the following words.
04:58This prayer book, therefore, although multifaceted and complex,
05:06with its diverse literary genres and its articulation between praise and supplication,
05:12It is ultimately a book of praise, which teaches how to give thanks.
05:17to celebrate the greatness of God's gift, to recognize the beauty of his works, and to glorify his holy name.
05:24This is the most appropriate response to the manifestation of the Lord and the experience of his goodness.
05:33Teaching us to pray, the psalms teach us that even in desolation, even in pain,
05:40The presence of God remains. It is a source of wonder and comfort.
05:47One can cry, plead, intercede, lament,
05:52But with the awareness that we are walking towards the light, where praise can be definitive.
06:01As Psalm 36 teaches us,
06:04In you is the source of life and your light makes us see the light.
06:09Even in the early centuries of the church, monks spent the entire day repeating the 150 psalms.
06:20Over time, they themselves divided these psalms into days
06:25and then in weeks until monastic and ecclesial prayer became as we have it today
06:32and which is called the liturgy of the hours.
06:36Many lay people share this way of praying according to their abilities.
06:42However, everyone can pray with the psalms.
06:46Here we present a simple method.
06:51First, discover the text.
06:53After a careful reading, I can underline with a pencil what catches my attention.
07:02We are looking for the literary genre of this psalm.
07:05Praise?
07:06Appeal?
07:07Thanksgiving?
07:09Second, pray with the people.
07:13We ask ourselves the question,
07:14What do I have in common with what the psalmist expresses?
07:19Their situation, their joys, their struggles.
07:24What does this psalm tell me about God?
07:27Their actions, their names, their attributes.
07:31What does this psalm tell me about the people of God or the community?
07:37Regarding their situation, their history, their festivals, their faith.
07:43Third, pray with the church.
07:45The psalmist's situation may resemble mine or that of the person or communities I know.
07:54I bring to the church what is said about Israel, about the community, and I address myself to God.
08:01I begin by naming God as Savior, Creator, Lord, my God, Merciful, Good, etc.
08:10Every time I name him in a specific way, I acknowledge what he is and what he is worthy of praise for.
08:20Then I reveal what's in my heart.
08:23I take the time to acknowledge the feelings that the psalm awakened in me.
08:29Of pain, of hope, of joy, of repentance.
08:34I thank God for helping me through the psalm to recognize what is inside me and what I may need to change or start practicing.
08:46I make a confident request to God regarding what I have identified I need to develop in order to be pleasing to him.
08:55I keep this moment in my heart in silence.
08:59The great richness of the psalms helps us find words to address God that we are often unable to find on our own.
09:11Sometimes we are afraid to approach Him because we don't know if what we express is correct or if God will listen through this or that word.
09:22Now, let us remember that because these are the word of God, they are inspired by his holy spirit, and it is he who will intercede for us so that our prayer may be heard.
09:38Let us end this class with the exhortation made by His Holiness Benedict XVI in the previously cited catechesis.
09:46Dear brothers and sisters, let us therefore take this holy book into our hands.
09:54Let God teach us how to approach Him.
09:58Let us make the psalter a guide that helps and accompanies us daily on the path of prayer.
10:05And let us also ask, like the disciples of Jesus, Lord, teach us to pray, opening our hearts to receive the prayer of the Master, in whom all prayers reach their fullness.
10:21Thus, being children in the Son, we will be able to speak to God, calling him our Father.
10:35Thank you!