Regis College, Toronto – Windows on Theology 2023

The Psalms: Why do they continue to be a significant source of Christian prayer?


Presented by Michael Kolarcik, SJ

Second Saturday of October 2023 through May 2024 (Oct 14, Nov 11, Dec 9, Jan 13, Feb 10, Mar 9, Apr 13, May 11), 10:00am-11:50am.

The Psalms have long been a major source of prayer for the Jewish and Christian communities alike. Why do they remain so contemporary and relevant? What makes them so moving and at times unnerving as well? This 8-week online course delves into the mysteries, the challenges, and the beauty of the Psalms as a source for prayer and theological reflection.

We constantly encounter the Psalms in our daily and weekly prayer lives: in the Eucharist, in the liturgy of the hours, and in many religious hymns, both new and old. Yet, so often their imagery strikes us as foreign and maybe even a little odd. We may  be surprised and embarrassed at particular images of violence and the anger of God. So why does the Church continue to hold up the Psalms as a significant source of Christian prayer? How do they help us speak to God and form words of our ambiguous desires and self-understanding? And above all how do they help us listen to the voice of God in our lives?

This series will explore the peaceful and compelling language of the psalms as they call us to place our trust in God, to cry out our deepest desires and needs, to express gratitude and to surrender to the One who creates and sustains life.

Oct   14th                    
The Psalms – the prayer book of the Bible  // Speaking to God – Listening to God 
// Ed Block on memorizing a few Psalms
A  Introductory remarks
B  A brief history of  reception history and methods for reading the psalms
C  The Dynamics of  Movement in the Prayers of the Psalter
D  Psalms Outline and Brief Description

Rabbi Nosson Scherman, The ArtScroll Siddur: A new translation and anthologized commentary,  Brooklyn, NY: The Rabbinical Council of America, 21990.  

Rabbi Avrohom Chaim Feuer, Tehillim: with a commentary anthologized from Talmudic, Midashic and Rabbinic sources, 2 volumes,  Brooklyn NY: Mesorah Publications, Ltd., 1985-2001.

C.S. Lewis, Christian Reflections, "The Psalms," pp. 114-176, Grand Rapids, MI: WB Eerdmans,1997.
Nov 11th         
Laments – Courage to speak in complaint - anger / Pss 22, 7, 17, 56. 
Laments – Facing one’s dark side – revenge / Pss  5, 35, 51, 57, 140--143.
// A  Notes on the movement of prayer in the laments.  
   B  Praying to God even with the curses - expressions for revenge in the presence of God
   C  Praying to God in the face of darkness as Christians

An article which may help considerably towards an appreciation of the strong and subversive language of lament is Walter Brueggemann's,
"The Costly Loss of Lament," first published in JSOT 36 (1986) 57-71, and reprinted in  The Psalms: The Life of Faith, edited by Patrick D. Miller, Minneapolis: Fortress, 1995, pp. 98-111.

Hens-Piazza, Gina . “Learning to Curse.” Review for Religious 53 (1994): 860-865.
Dec 9th
  Psalms of Trust – Listening to God in our life stories  / Pss 23, 27, 46, 62, 121, 125, 131.
 see again   The Dynamics of  Movement in the Prayers of the Psalter

Examples of Psalms of Trust (simply the text - NRSV)   11,  23,  27, 46;  Psalms of Ascent: 121, 126, 127, 128
Jan 13th Psalms of Thanksgiving – Courage to speak of the praise of God in our lives  /  18, 30, 34. 
//  notes on the Psalms of Declarative Praise -- Thanksgiving
Psalms of Thanksgiving – Listening to the work of God in our lives  and in the lives of others / 116, 118, 124, 138.
Examples of  Declarative Thanksgiving (simply the text - NRSV) 18, 34, 116.
Feb 10th 
Psalms of Praise – Praising the Glory of God in Creation
// notes on the Psalms of Descriptive Praise -- Hymns
Psalms of Praise – Praising the Glory of God in History
// Psalm 117 Music Score

Examples of Descriptive Praise (simply the text - NRSV)  Selected Psalms 8, 48, 103, 117, 135, 147, [136]
Mar 9th

 Psalms with the Exodus motif and the Covenant of Commitment
 // notes on the Exodus motif in the Psalms
 // notes on the Exodus and its relationship to the Sinai Covenant      This file is a chapter in my introductory notes to Covenant in Sacred Scripture. The part most relevant to appreciating the references of  the Exodus in the Psalter is  "The Context of the Exodus for the Sinai/Horeb Covenant," pp. 29-37.  I will begin the lecture exploring this relationship between Exodus and Sinai before examining the references of the Exodus in the Psalter.
// Psalm 107 - Exodus and Promised land - Praise
Apr 13th
Apr 6th
Apr 20th
 Psalms with the Royal motif and the Covenant of Promise 
// notes on the Royal motif in the Psalms
// notes on the Abrahamic Covenant of Promise, pp. 13-28 in Covenant in Sacred Scripture. // notes on the Davidic Covenant , pp. 47-62  in Covenant in Sacred Scripture.  
[I will be in Istanbul from April 10th - 14th, with no access to zoom for the Royal motif session in the Psalms. So I am hoping to switch this lecture to Apr  20th, a week later.]
Texts: 2 Sam 7:1-22, royal psalms, enthronement psalms, Zion psalms


May 11th

The Psalms of Wisdom – Recognizing the hand of God in creation and in our life stories
// notes on the Wisdom Psalms.

An adaption of Psalm 63 in contemporary language with stress on interpersonal qualities. This re-working of Psalm 63 is a sign of the way in which we are called to address God in our own words. Just as a parent takes delight in the way a child learns to repeat words the mother or father or siblings speak to them, so too does the parent take even more delight when the child formulates their own words with their own particular characteristics. 



Contemporary Psalms Composed by Participants in Windows On Theology - The Psalms 2009

I normally use the NRSV (New Revised Standard Version) An excellent version of this translation is the Oxford Annotated Bible  with Apocrypha 5th edition. Feel free to use your own Bible. There are three books I  recommend, choose one if you like.

Stuhlmueller, Carroll. The Spirituality of the Psalms. Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical, 2002.
Murphy, Roland E.  The Gift of the Psalms. Peabody. Mass.: Hendrickson, 2000.

Brueggemann, Walter. Psalms and the Life of Faith, Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1995.