A Good Friday meditation on the Gradual Psalms

Today, I want to provide some comments on these psalms from St Fulgentius of Ruspe, a contemporary of St Benedict, that seem to me particularly apposite for the day:

Just as one who returns to his homeland [Psalm 119] always has more of the trail ahead of him until he arrives, so we also, as long as we are in this mortal body, are away from the Lord.  For us in the present life is a road in which we always have room for being able to make progress, until, with God leading us, we are able to reach that eternal homeland of blessed immortality.

Therefore it is a great blessing in the present age to love in such a way that each member of the faithful applies himself to spiritual progress but not, however, at any time proudly attributing this to his own power.  Rather, with humble heart he asks God for a ceaseless guarding of the gift received [Ps 122], from whom emanates not just the beginning but also the perfecting of every good will....

There is no period in this life in which the enemy does not set a trap for people; no one can escape his snares with his own strength except that one whom God has deigned to free by his grace through Jesus Christ our Lord...So the prophet too proclaims that his feet will be freed from the snare not by his own power but by the divine gift..in another text, whom the Lord has deigned to transfer to safety and happiness for eternity, it is said:'Our soul has escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare has been broken are we have escaped'. [Ps 123] ...

Here we overcome the adversary if we fight with tears and prayers and continuing humility of heart.  It is written that 'The prayer of the humble pierces the clouds...and it will not desist until the Most High responds'.  Therefore the weeping of the humble contributes greatly to the destruction of carnal concupiscence.   The tears which come from compunction of heart both conquer the enemy and gain for us the gift of triumphal happiness.  For those 'who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves' [Ps 125].  

How well does the holy prophet teach that the seeds of good works must be watered by a river of tears!  No seeds germinate unless they are watered; nor does fruit come forth from the seed if deprived of the aid of water.  Accordingly, we too, if we wish to keep the fruits of our seeds, let us not stop watering our seeds with tears which must be poured out more from the heart than from the body.  Therefore it is said to us through the prophet that we need to rend 'our hearts and not our clothing'; something we can do when we recall that we ourselves, even if not in deed, frequently sin in thought.  Because the 'earthly tent burdens the thoughtful mind' and our land does not cease to produce thorns and thistles for us.  We are unable to get to eating our bread, unless we will have been worn out by weariness and the sweat of our brow...

Therefore although we have reason to thank God, because by his free mercy, he has subjected us to himself so that we are humble, still we have reason to have to beseige the divine ears with continuous prayers; because as long as we are in this mortal body, just as we cannot be without sin, so we are not yet able to show forth perfect humility to the divine commands...(trans Robert B Eno, in Fulgentius Selected Works).

And you can find the final part in this series here. 

The Gradual Psalms and the Triduum

As we enter the last few days of Lent, and start the sacred Triduum, I thought I would end this series by providing a few sources to stimulate meditation that pull the whole set of psalms together in various ways.

To start with, here is Cassiodorus' summary of the fifteen steps represented by each psalm (I've inserted notes on which hour they are said at in the Benedictine Office):

Terce

On the first step he denotes loathing of the world, after which there is haste to attain zeal for all the virtues.

Secondly, the strength of divine protection is explained, and it is demonstrated that nothing can withstand it.

Thirdly, the great joy of dwelling with pure mind in the Lord's Church is stated.

Sext

Fourth, he teaches us that we must continually presume on the Lord's help whatever the constraints surrounding us, until He takes pity and hears us.

Fifth, he warns us that when we are freed from dangers, we must not attach any credit to ourselves, but attribute it all to the power of the Lord.

In the sixth, the trust of the most faithful Christian is compared to immovable mountains.

None

In the seventh, we are told how abundant is the harvest reaped by those who sow in tears.

In the eighth, it is said that nothing remains of what any individual has performed by his own will; only the things built by the sponsorship of the Lord are most firmly established.

In the ninth, it is proclaimed that we become blessed through fear of the Lord, and that all profitable things are granted us.

Monday Vespers

In the tenth, he inculcates in committed persons the patience which he commands through the words of the Church.

Tuesday Vespers

In the eleventh, as penitent he cries from the depths to the Lord, asking that the great power of the Godhead be experienced by the deliverance of mankind.

In the twelfth, the strength of meekness and humility is revealed.

In the thirteenth, the promise of the holy incarnation and the truth of the words spoken are demonstrated.

In the fourteenth, spiritual unity is proclaimed to the brethren, and to them the Lord's benediction and eternal life are shown to accrue.

Compline

In the fifteenth, there is awakened in the course of the Lord's praises that perfect charity than which nothing greater can be expressed, and nothing more splendid discovered. As the apostle attests: God is love.  So let us continually meditate on the hidden nature of this great miracle, so that by ever setting our gaze on such things, we may avoid the deadly errors of the world.

The number of these psalms contains this further mystery: when the five bodily senses, by which human frailty incurs all sin, are overcome by the power of the Trinity, this leads us to the fifteenth height of the psalms of the steps; thus the body's weakness is eliminated, and eternal rewards are bestowed on those who conquer it.

And for the next part in this series, continue on here.