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Brother Tomás
@brother_tomas
Prayer

Praying a psalm that isn't mine

At the Office this morning we had Psalm 88, the darkest one in the whole psalter. It doesn't even end in hope. The last line is 'darkness is my closest friend.'

And I felt wonderful. Good sleep, sunny morning, the bread came out well. Singing it felt almost dishonest.

Afterward I asked our novice master about it. He said: 'You aren't praying it for yourself today. Somewhere right now someone is living that psalm and can't pray at all. You're lending them your voice.'

I've thought about little else since. Every psalm I don't feel is someone else's psalm. I just have to show up and sing it for them.

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Replies

4 replies
  1. Ellen Okafor

    Hospice nurse here. Some days I'm the one breathing calmly in the room for someone who can't. Your novice master is very wise.

  2. Grace Adeyemi

    We do this in choir too, without ever saying it out loud. Thank you for putting words to it.

  3. Fabienne Joseph

    In our sosyete, when someone can't sing, the rest of us carry the song for them. Same truth, different drum.

  4. Sam Whitaker

    'Every psalm I don't feel is someone else's psalm.' I don't even pray and this one got me.

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