Holy week and the Benedictine Office pt 4 - Friday and the Triduum in the Benedictine Office

The quintessential psalm of the Passion is of course Psalm 21, not least because it was the start of the set of psalms Christ recited while on the Cross.

In the Benedictine Office it is the second psalm of Matins on Sundays: the first psalm of that hour recalls the Last Supper; the second the Passion.

Psalm 85 and Friday Matins

On ferial Fridays, however, the Office also recalls the Passion, not least through its opening psalm, Psalm 85, which is used on the feast of the Sacred Heart for that reason.

St Cassiodorus, in his commentary on the psalm, interpreted it as the prayer of Christ on the Cross: 

Let us ponder the humility of the prayer poured out to the Father by the Lord Saviour in His passion. He was wholly without sin, but in representing our weakness He asked to be delivered from the dangers of this world. So men's rashness should blush to be arrogant, for they have no doubt of their guilt. Christ prayed for His enemies, and patiently accepted death, whereas we wish to avenge our injuries if attacked by the comments of detractors. May He who afforded an example grant the gift of patience, so that by following His footsteps we may be able to avoid the errors which bring death.

St Alphonsus Liguori took the same view.  The psalmist, he said, 

...initiates us into the sentiments that filled the soul of Jesus Christ during his Passion, and he prophesies the conversion of the Gentiles. 

Psalm 85: Friday matins I, 1

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Oratio ipsi David.	A prayer for David himself.
Inclína, Dómine, aurem tuam, et exáudi me : * quóniam inops, et pauper sum ego.	Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear me: for I am needy and poor.
2  Custódi ánimam meam, quóniam sanctus sum : * salvum fac servum tuum, Deus meus, sperántem in te.	2 Preserve my soul, for I am holy: save your servant, O my God, that trusts in you.
3  Miserére mei, Dómine, quóniam ad te clamávi tota die : * lætífica ánimam servi tui, quóniam ad te, Dómine, ánimam meam levávi.	3 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I have cried to you all the day. 4 Give joy to the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, I have lifted up my soul.
4  Quóniam tu, Dómine, suávis et mitis : * et multæ misericórdiæ ómnibus invocántibus te.	5 For you, O Lord, are sweet and mild: and plenteous in mercy to all that call upon you.
5  Auribus pércipe, Dómine, oratiónem meam : * et inténde voci deprecatiónis meæ.	6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer: and attend to the voice of my petition
6  In die tribulatiónis meæ clamávi ad te : * quia exaudísti me.	7 I have called upon you in the day of my trouble: because you have heard me.
7  Non est símilis tui in diis, Dómine : * et non est secúndum ópera tua.	8 There is none among the gods like unto you, O Lord: and there is none according to your works.
8  Omnes gentes quascúmque fecísti, vénient, et adorábunt coram te, Dómine : * et glorificábunt nomen tuum.	9 All the nations you have made shall come and adore before you, O Lord: and they shall glorify your name.
9  Quóniam magnus es tu, et fáciens mirabília : * tu es Deus solus.	10 For you are great and do wonderful things: you are God alone.
10  Deduc me, Dómine, in via tua, et ingrédiar in veritáte tua : * lætétur cor meum ut tímeat nomen tuum.	11 Conduct me, O Lord, in your way, and I will walk in your truth: let my heart rejoice that it may fear your name.
11  Confitébor tibi, Dómine, Deus meus, in toto corde meo, * et glorificábo nomen tuum in ætérnum.	12 I will praise you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name for ever:
12  Quia misericórdia tua magna est super me : * et eruísti ánimam meam ex inférno inferióri.	13 For your mercy is great towards me: and you have delivered my soul out of the lower hell.
13  Deus iníqui insurrexérunt super me, et synagóga poténtium quæsiérunt ánimam meam : * et non proposuérunt te in conspéctu suo.	14 O God, the wicked are risen up against me, and the assembly of the mighty have sought my soul: and they have not set you before their eyes.
14  Et tu, Dómine, Deus miserátor et miséricors, * pátiens, et multæ misericórdiæ, et verax.	15 And you, O Lord, are a God of compassion, and merciful, patient, and of much mercy, and true.
15  Réspice in me, et miserére mei, * da impérium tuum púero tuo : et salvum fac fílium ancíllæ tuæ.	16 O look upon me, and have mercy on me: give your command to your servant, and save the son of your handmaid.
16  Fac mecum signum in bonum, ut vídeant qui odérunt me, et confundántur : * quóniam tu, Dómine, adjuvísti me, et consolátus es me.	17 Show me a token for good: that they who hate me may see, and be confounded, because you, O Lord, have helped me and have comforted me.

Several of the other psalms of Friday Matins are similarly pertinent to the events of Good Friday: Psalm 93 is used at Good Friday Tenebrae for this reason, while Psalms 86, 88, 92, 96, 96 and 100 are all relevant to its themes.

Friday Lauds

As for Thursday, the Friday canticle, from Habbakuk, has clearly been selected for its appropriateness to the day, as it has long been interpreted as referring to the Passion.

One of the longstanding puzzles of the Benedictine Office, though is why the two variable psalms of the day vary from those in the Roman secular Office.  

St Benedict, of course, specifically stated that he was using the variable psalms of the ancient Roman Office of his time, viz Psalms 75 and 91.  The Roman Office as it has come down to us though, has only one variable psalm each day not two, and for Friday it is Psalm 142, which is used on Saturday in the Benedictine Office.

The most obvious explanation (albeit contra the liturgists), is that the Lauds psalm allocation changed after St Benedict's time, most likely as part of St Gregory the Great's 'strengthening' of the antiphoner (as the Liber Pontificalis describes it); presumably in fact code for shifting the Roman Office to an entirely fixed weekly psalm cursus.

The rationale for the older psalm selection is surely straightforward: Psalm 75's verse 'terra tremuit' surely refers to the earthquake that occurred at Christ's death on the cross, while Psalm 91 was the psalm used at the sabbath sacrifice in Jewish tradition.

Prime

It is notable too, that Prime on Friday is similarly strongly connected to the Passion.

It opens with Psalm 15, which both SS Peter and Paul used in sermons reported in Acts (Chapter 2&13) to speak about Christ’s crucifixion, descent into hell, and resurrection. 

Psalm 16 is the intense prayer of the just man facing death, with verse 13 speaking of someone captured by his enemies and about to be killed.  

And the final psalm of the hour, the first half of Psalm 17, is generally interpreted as witnessing to Christ as the perfect sacrifice by virtue of his obedience.  The centrepiece of this part of the psalm is a dramatic theophany, a storm that shakes the earth with God’s anger, echoing the ‘terra tremuit’ verse in Psalm 75 at Lauds.

Vespers

 Earlier this Lent I provided notes on the first psalm of Friday Vespers, which has long been interpreted as relating to the themes of this day.

The hour ends though, on a note of triumph, singing of the Kingship of Christ both witnessed to on the cross, and central to his descent into Hades.

As we contemplate the Passion today, then, let us also look forward to his glorious Resurrection. Resurrection.

Holy week and the Benedictine Office pt 3 - Thursday and the Triduum in the Benedictine Office

 In my last post, I pointed to the first three psalms of Sunday Matins as recapitulations of the events of the Triduum, with Psalm 20 pointing us to the Last Supper.

Today I'd like to expand a little on the Thursday Office more generally as part of a 'mini-Triduum' each week.

Many of the psalms of the day arguably go the agony in the Garden, most notably Psalm 87 at Lauds (in the Benedictine, but not Roman Office), often thought to be the darkest of all the psalms, and Psalm 138 at Vespers.

But there is also a strong Eucharistic theme, most notably in Psalm 140 at Vespers, and in the psalms of Matins.

Matins psalms

In the Roman Office, Thursday Matins each week - and hence the Triduum Office - starts at Psalm 68.  

In the Benedictine Office, however, the variable psalms start with Psalm 73, and go up to 84 (Psalm 75 is omitted in the Benedictine sequence as it is used at Friday Lauds, and Psalm 77 is divided in two).

And Psalm 73 opens with a lament for the destruction of the Temple, which can be interpreted as a reference to Christ's prophesy that the temple will be destroyed, then rebuilt in three days, as Cassiodorus' commentary on the psalm points out:

"In this psalm there is lamentation for the destruction of the city, so that the Jews' extreme hardness of heart should at least feel fear at the disasters to their city. The good Physician has done all he could, if the sick man wished to recover his health. Let us remember, however, that the authority of the Church relates that Jerusalem was ravaged in the days when the most cruel people of the Jews crucified Christ the Lord, so that there can be no doubt what temporal evil that obstinate transgression sustained."

Psalm 74, the second psalm of Matins, takes us to the events of Jesus' arrest.  

The psalm starts its narrative with a reminder that we are God's people, members of his flock, and pleads for God to convert us, to rise up and save us:  above all, for the Messiah to come and 'visit' the 'vineyard' he brought out of Egypt:

9  Víneam de Ægypto transtulísti: * ejecísti Gentes, et plantásti eam.	9 You have brought a vineyard out of Egypt: you have cast out the Gentiles and planted it.
10  Dux itíneris fuísti in conspéctu ejus: * plantásti radíces ejus, et implévit terram.	10 You were the guide of its journey in its sight: you planted the roots thereof, and it filled the land...
15  Deus virtútum, convértere: * réspice de cælo, et vide, et vísita víneam istam.	15 Turn again, O God of hosts, look down from heaven, and see, and visit this vineyard:

The parable of the wicked servants of the owner of the vineyard, who murder first the servants, and then the son of the vineyard owner, points to these verses.  And the allusion is reinforced by the psalm's ending, which takes us to the saving role of the Son, whose name we know, and whose face we have seen:

16  Et pérfice eam, quam plantávit déxtera tua: * et super fílium hóminis, quem confirmásti tibi.	16 And perfect the same which your right hand has planted: and upon the son of man whom you have confirmed for yourself.
18  Fiat manus tua super virum déxteræ tuæ: * et super fílium hóminis quem confirmásti tibi.	18 Let your hand be upon the man of your right hand: and upon the son of man whom you have confirmed for yourself
19  Et non discédimus a te, vivificábis nos: * et nomen tuum invocábimus.	19 And we depart not from you, you shall quicken us: and we will call upon your name.
20  Dómine, Deus virtútum, convérte nos: * et osténde fáciem tuam, et salvi érimus.	20 O Lord God of hosts, convert us and show your face, and we shall be saved

Psalm 77

The key to the day, though, is arguably the festal canticle at Lauds, the Song of Moses, which celebrates the passing of the people through the Red Sea.  

The events of the Passover, and their eucharistic connotations, are alluded to in several of the psalms set for the day, above all in Psalm 77, the second longest psalm of the psalter, which is common to the Roman ferial Office, but doesn't appear in the Triduum Office because it stops after the first nine psalms.

Let me just highlight a few of the key verses for you:

16  Interrúpit mare, et perdúxit eos: * et státuit aquas quasi in utre.	13 He divided the sea and brought them through: and he made the waters to stand as in a vessel.
17  Et dedúxit eos in nube diéi: * et tota nocte in illuminatióne ignis.	14 And he conducted them with a cloud by day: and all the night with a light of fire.
18  Interrúpit petram in erémo: * et adaquávit eos velut in abysso multa.	15 He struck the rock in the wilderness: and gave them to drink, as out of the great deep.

22  Et male locúti sunt de Deo: * dixérunt: Numquid póterit Deus paráre mensam in desérto?	19 And they spoke ill of God: they said: Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?
23  Quóniam percússit petram, et fluxérunt aquæ: * et torréntes inundavérunt.	20 Because he struck the rock, and the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed.
24  Numquid et panem póterit dare, * aut paráre mensam pópulo suo?	Can he also give bread, or provide a table for his people?
25  Ideo audívit Dóminus, et dístulit: * et ignis accénsus est in Jacob, et ira ascéndit in Israël.	21 Therefore the Lord heard, and was angry: and a fire was kindled against Jacob, and wrath came up against Israel.
26  Quia non credidérunt in Deo: * nec speravérunt in salutári ejus :	22 Because they believed not in God: and trusted not in his salvation.
27  Et mandávit núbibus désuper: * et jánuas cæli apéruit.	23 And he had commanded the clouds from above, and had opened the doors of heaven.
28  Et pluit illis manna ad manducándum: * et panem cæli dedit eis.	24 And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them the bread of heaven.
29  Panem Angelórum manducávit homo, * cibária misit eis in abundántia.	25 Man ate the bread of angels: he sent them provisions in abundance.

May we, unlike those wanderers in the desert, always be grateful for the great gifts God has given us through Christ, as we celebrate the institution of the Eucharist on Maundy Thursday.

Holy week and the Benedictine Office pt 2 - The Easter Vigil and the weekly Sunday Resurrection Vigil

Over the next few days, we trace, in the liturgy, Our Lord's final days on earth, and above all, look forward to the Resurrection. But, as I suggested in my previous post, it is worth keeping in mind that the early Christians regularly retraced these events each week.  

The weekly cycle of the life of Our Lord

No where was this more true than in Rome, as Pope Innocent I (401/2 - 417), in a famous letter to Bishop Decentius of Gubbio, advocating for some of Rome's unique liturgical practices, makes clear:

...If in fact we celebrate the Lord's Day because of Our Lord Jesus Christ's resurrection - doing so not only at Easter but each week renewing the image of this feast - and if we fast on Friday because of the Lord's suffering, then we should not omit Saturday which appears to be enclosed between a time of sorrow and a time of joy. in fact, it is evident that during these two days the apostles were in sorrow and hid themselves, doing so because of their fear of the Jews. In any case, there can be no doubt that their fasting during these two days has been remembered to such an extent that, according to the Church's tradition, the sacraments are no celebrated during these two days.  This practice is to be observed each week so that the commemoration of this day be always observed....On Friday the Lord suffered his passion and went to the nether world in order to rise on the third day, thereby restoring joy after the sadness of the preceding two days...Those who rejoiced on the Lord's day, desired not only that this day be very festive, but also that it should be repeated each week...(trans Lawrence J Johnson, worship in the Early Church, vol 3).

The Divine Office also reflects this idea, particularly with the longer, more elaborate Vigil Office, or Matins, of Sunday.

Benedictine vs Roman Sunday Matins

It has long been argued that the Benedictine Office was largely based on the Roman Office.  

When it comes to Sunday Matins, however, the liturgists have long conceded that the more likely influence is the Jerusalem weekly 'Resurrection Vigil' first described by the fourth century Western pilgrim Egeria.

The Roman Sunday Office as it stood in the ninth century, it should be noted, consisted of an invitatory hymn (Ps 94) plus eighteen psalms, nine readings and nine responsories, with no hymns whatsoever.

The sixth century Benedictine Sunday Matins, by contrast, retained its standard form of two invitatory psalms and a hymn; and two nocturns consisting of six psalms each.  But it adds to that an extra Nocturn consisting of three canticles; as well as having four readings and responsories in each nocturn; the Te Deum; a Gospel reading; and the hymn Te decet laus.

There are indeed good reasons for thinking that many of these elements originated in the overnight vigil section of the extremely influential Jerusalem Resurrection Office (which had a set of rotating Resurrection Gospels): the psalms of Saturday Vespers in the Benedictine Office seems to mirror the 'antiphon' of psalms used at Vespers in the Jerusalem office; the use of canticles and the twelve psalm structure of Benedictine Matins are both features of the Jerusalem Office, as is the inclusion of a Gospel reading.

The psalms of Benedictine Sunday Matins

Perhaps the most intriguing feature of Benedictine Matins though, is that St Benedict starts the week at Sunday Matins with Psalm 20, not Psalm 1 as you would expect (and is the Roman practice).

Although most commentators have dismissed this oddity as not having any particular meaning, I want to disagree.

One of the key features of a Vigil is that they typically recapitulate the events leading up to the event being celebrated: at Easter, of course, the Vigil starts with an account of the creation of the world, and works forward through salvation history.

The first three psalms of the Benedictine weekly resurrection Vigil, I want to suggest, are a recapitulation of the Triduum.

In particular, verse 2 of Psalm 20 (see below) says, 'Thou hast given him his heart’s desire'.

The Fathers, using the standard technique of interpreting the psalms in the light of the rest of Scripture, saw this as a reference to Luke 22:15's description of  the Last Supper.  St Augustine for example, commented:

You have given him the desire of his soul: He desired to eat the Passover, (Luke 22:15: And he said to them: With desire I have desired to eat this pasch with you, before I suffer) and to lay down his life when he would...

The Fathers, in other words, interpreted Christ's words as a deliberate quotation of the psalm, and as pointing to its fulfillment in the Last Supper.

Psalm 21, the quintessential suffering servant psalm, takes us to the Passion.

And Psalm 22, The Lord is my shepherd, with its reference to walking in the midst of the shadow of death, and the shepherd leading his flock to bounteous pasture and water, can arguably be interpreted as appropriate to the harrowing of hell on Holy Saturday.

With the fourth psalm of the set we reach the Resurrection, with Psalm 23's 'Lift up your gates, O princes, and be lifted up, O eternal gates: and the King of Glory shall enter in'.

But more on this and some of the other Office connections to the Triduum anon. 

 Psalm 20

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem. Psalmus David.	Unto the end. A psalm for David.
1 Dómine, in virtúte tua lætábitur rex: * et super salutáre tuum exsultábit veheménter.	In your strength, O Lord, the king shall joy; and in your salvation he shall rejoice exceedingly.
2  Desidérium cordis ejus tribuísti ei: * et voluntáte labiórum ejus non fraudásti eum.	3 You have given him his heart's desire: and have not withholden from him the will of his lips.
3  Quóniam prævenísti eum in benedictiónibus dulcédinis: * posuísti in cápite ejus corónam de lápide pretióso.	4 For you have prevented him with blessings of sweetness: you have set on his head a crown of precious stones.
4  Vitam pétiit a te: * et tribuísti ei longitúdinem diérum in sæculum, et in sæculum sæculi.	5 He asked life of you: and you have given him length of days for ever and ever.
5  Magna est glória ejus in salutári tuo: * glóriam et magnum decórem impónes super eum.	6 His glory is great in your salvation: glory and great beauty shall you lay upon him.
6  Quóniam dabis eum in benedictiónem in sæculum sæculi: * lætificábis eum in gáudio cum vultu tuo.	7 For you shall give him to be a blessing for ever and ever: you shall make him joyful in gladness with your countenance.
7  Quóniam rex sperat in Dómino: * et in misericórdia Altíssimi non commovébitur.	8 For the king hopes in the Lord: and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved
8  Inveniátur manus tua ómnibus inimícis tuis: * déxtera tua invéniat omnes, qui te odérunt.	9 Let your hand be found by all your enemies: let your right hand find out all them that hate you.
9  Pones eos ut clíbanum ignis in témpore vultus tui: * Dóminus in ira sua conturbábit eos, et devorábit eos ignis.	10 You shall make them as an oven of fire, in the time of your anger: the Lord shall trouble them in his wrath, and fire shall devour them.
10  Fructum eórum de terra perdes: * et semen eórum a fíliis hóminum.	11 Their fruit shall you destroy from the earth: and their seed from among the children of men.
11  Quóniam declinavérunt in te mala: * cogitavérunt consília, quæ non potuérunt stabilíre.	12 For they have intended evils against you: they have devised counsels which they have not been able to establish.
12  Quóniam pones eos dorsum: * in relíquiis tuis præparábis vultum eórum.	13 For you shall make them turn their back: in your remnants you shall prepare their face.
13  Exaltáre, Dómine, in virtúte tua: * cantábimus et psallémus virtútes tuas.	14 Be exalted, O Lord, in your own strength: we will sing and praise your power.

Holy week and the Benedictine Office pt 1

I thought I might complete this Lent series on the psalms of the Benedictine Office with a few notes on on the events of Holy Week in the Benedictine Office.

The Triduum Office

From Thursday, of course, the monastic breviary adopts the Roman Office of the Triduum in its entirety, rather than following the order set out in the Rule.  

The psalms used during the Triduum, as I've previously argued, are very carefully selected for their relevance to the events of Holy Week.

But those themes - and indeed many of those same psalms - in the Benedictine Office to create a mini-Triduum in the Office each week, and for the next few days I want to briefly point to a few of those particular features.

Before I do that though, I want to say something briefly about the history of the Office of the Triduum itself, and particularly to the question of how far back the adoption of the Roman Office in this period by the Benedictines goes.

The Origin of the Roman Triduum Office

The Roman Triduum itself can be traced back to at least the ninth century, but like the rest of the Roman Office for which evidence is sparse before the ninth century, it almost certainly predates that.

Just how far it predates it by though, is impossible to say.

Some, for example, claim that its lack of hymns, chapters and doxologies are indications of its antiquity; of its origins at a time when the Roman Office had none of those things, and preserved as such because of the antiquity of the Office of these days.  

But as Amalarius and other medieval commentators pointed out, all of those features arguably have particular theological rationales - and the Office of the Dead after all, similarly omits all these elements, but almost certainly dates from no earlier than the eighth century.

Moreover, while silence is not absolute evidence, it is at least suggestive that a mid seventh century papal decree instructing the Benedictines to follow Roman practices such as the omission of  the alleluia in Septuagesimatide and the use of the Roman Easter octave, does not mention the Triduum.

When did the Benedictines adopt the Roman Triduum?

Assuming then, that the Office of the Triduum as we know dates from perhaps the late seventh or more likely first half of the eighth centuries, at what point the Benedictines decided to follow the Roman rather than their own Office for these days?  

In the late eighth and early centuries, the early Carolingian Benedictines strongly criticized the Roman influenced practices of Monte Cassino and others, including for not respecting the Rules insistence on saying all of the psalms each week.  One commentary specifically mentions the truncated (three psalm) Roman Easter octave Office in this regard, but none of the sources of criticism mention the Triduum.

But if the Benedictine Office was still followed during the Triduum (at least in most places) at this time, that certainly didn't last, as virtually all of the surviving manuscripts for the Office, which date from the tenth century onwards, show the Benedictines as following the Roman Office for these days. 

The one exception I'm aware of (Cistercian influenced monasteries aside, on which see below, is a tenth century manuscript from Limoges, early a centre of Benedictine influence, which provides twelve responsories, rather than nine, for Maundy Thursday, but then contracts down to the Roman nine for Friday and Saturday.

But even that evidence is ambiguous - while it may preserve a remnant of an earlier practice of twelve responsories for each of these days; but it equally it might just be because the addition of Thursday to the Roman Triduum was itself a relatively late event (since it uses the psalms of the day rather than special sets as for the other two days).

The Cistercians

The one point of resistance to the Roman Triduum came with the Cistercians, who, instead of adding three extra readings and responsories to make up the usual Benedictine three Nocturn Office (which would have been straightforward to do, there are several variant responsories in the repertoire of the time), instead made the three days of the Triduum ferial days, with only three readings and responsories, in order, they claimed to be consistent with the Rule.

They were heavily criticized for this, though, and in the period not long before Trent, finally adopted the Roman practice, only reverting to their original ferial Office in 1959.

The twentieth century

The other key changes to the Triduum Office came in the twentieth century, with Pius X's psalter revisions leading to changes to the psalms used at Lauds in particular, and then the trimming out of Psalm 50 from each hour in 1960.

The mini-Triduum in the weekly Office

Tenebrae is a wonderfully evocative feature of Holy Week, a tradition to be treasured and savoured.

Still, it is worth considering how we can maintain the remembrance of this special Office throughout the year in our practice, and so more on that in my next post.

The Last Psalms of Vespers - Psalm 128

St Benedict's decision to make Psalm 128 the last psalm of Monday Vespers took some considerable contrivance.  

The placement of Psalm 128 on Monday

In order to achieve it, he makes Monday Vespers one of the longest of the week, by dint of not dividing one of the longest psalms used at the hour, and one that falls naturally into two parts (indeed it is listed as two separate psalms in the Maseoretic Text), Psalm 113; and has two combine two others, Psalm 115 and 116 under one doxology.

And on the face of it, it is a particularly odd decision, since it takes it out of the sequence of the rest of the Gradual Psalms that starts at Tuesday Terce and continues through Tuesday Vespers. 

There are, I think, several reasons for this.  The first is to do with his humility theme in the Office: the seven blocks of  Psalm 118 said over the day hours correspond, I think, to the first seven steps of humility set out in Chapter 7 of St Benedict's Rule, and this hour as a whole has links to to the eighth step, of following the common rule of the monastery.

Through those stripes and his cross, Christ has confounded the devil

Psalm 128 is one of the more difficult psalms to interpret just by reading the words literally. 

A simple Christological interpretation of it is that the devil has been confounded and repelled: all his efforts thwarted by the stripes Christ bore on his back (verse 3) for us, and the psalm appears in the Propers for Passion Sunday and elsewhere during Lent in exactly in that context.

Psalm 128 (129) – Saepe expugnaverunt me

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum.	A gradual canticle.
1 Sæpe expugnavérunt me a juventúte mea, * dicat nunc Israël:	Often have they fought against me from my youth, let Israel now say.
2  Sæpe expugnavérunt me a juventúte mea: * étenim non potuérunt mihi.	2 Often have they fought against me from my youth: but they could not prevail over me.
3  Supra dorsum meum fabricavérunt peccatóres: * prolongavérunt iniquitátem suam.	3 The wicked have wrought upon my back: they have lengthened their iniquity.
4  Dóminus justus concídit cervíces peccatórum: * confundántur et convertántur retrórsum omnes, qui odérunt Sion.	4 The Lord who is just will cut the necks of sinners: 5 Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Sion.
5  Fiant sicut fœnum tectórum: * quod priúsquam evellátur exáruit:	6 Let them be as grass upon the tops of houses: which withers before it be plucked up:
6  De quo non implévit manum suam qui metit: * et sinum suum qui manípulos cólligit.	7 Who with the mower fills not his hand: nor he that gathers sheaves his bosom.
7  Et non dixérunt qui præteríbant: Benedíctio Dómini super vos: * benedíximus vobis in nómine Dómini.	8 And they that passed by have not said: The blessing of the Lord be upon you: we have blessed you in the name of the Lord.

St Jerome, however, also frames it as a description of the struggle we must all engage in against the devil and our own ill desires: this is the story of 'Christ's athlete' who:

 is not crowned unless he has accepted and sustained the challenge, unless his face is black and blue from the fray and bathed in blood.  discoloured bruises deserve a crown; suffering and pain merit joy. (Homily 45 on Psalm 128)

St Jerome goes further, though, goes on to argue that the claim that they could not prevail over me in verse 2 pertains particularly to the monk or nun who has served God from his early life onwards, and possesses integrity of body and spirit.

Uphold us Lord

Building on this, there is also a verbal link between verse 5's 'Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Sion', and the verse of Psalm 118 used in the Benedictine profession ceremony:

Uphold me according to thy word, and I shall live: and let me not be confounded in my expectation. Suscipe me secundum eloquium tuum, et vivam, et non confundas me ab exspectatione mea.

Patristic exegesis of Scripture often fastened on the uses of a word in other verses of Scripture, creating chains of connections in meaning, thus Psalm 128 reflects that same prayer for God's protection against those who strive against us, and perhaps also warns against the consequences of we ourselves falling.

Let us all then, keep the model of Christ always in front of us, and beg for the grace that will ensure that our enemies not prevail over us.

The 'monastic' last psalms of Vespers - Sunday Psalm 112

The first half of Psalm 112 on Sunday focuses on the duty of praising the Lord 'from the rising of the sun to its going down', offering the perpetual praise of God above all in the liturgy that is surely the prime duty of a religious in the Benedictine tradition.  

The final three verses though are also relevant to the idea of the monastic life, pointing to the reward awaiting the religious for their commitment to humility, and their legacy in the countless number of spiritual children that have been held up through their efforts.

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Alleluja.
1 Laudáte, púeri, Dóminum: * laudáte nomen Dómini.	Praise the Lord, you children: praise the name of the Lord
2  Sit nomen Dómini benedíctum, * ex hoc nunc, et usque in sæculum.	2 Blessed be the name of the Lord, from henceforth now and for ever.
3  A solis ortu usque ad occásum, * laudábile nomen Dómini.	3 From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, the name of the Lord is worthy of praise.
4  Excélsus super omnes gentes Dóminus, * et super cælos glória ejus.	4 The Lord is high above all nations; and his glory above the heavens.
5  Quis sicut Dóminus, Deus noster, qui in altis hábitat, * et humília réspicit in cælo et in terra?	5 Who is as the Lord our God, who dwells on high: 6 And looks down on the low things in heaven and in earth?
6  Súscitans a terra ínopem, * et de stércore érigens páuperem:	7 Raising up the needy from the earth, and lifting up the poor out of the dunghill:
7  Ut cóllocet eum cum princípibus, * cum princípibus pópuli sui.	8 That he may place him with princes, with the princes of his people.
8  Qui habitáre facit stérilem in domo, * matrem filiórum lætántem.	9 Who makes a barren woman to dwell in a house, the joyful mother of children.

 The pure praise of God 

Three of the last psalms of Vespers during the week focus on the Divine Office, the prime duty of the religious.

Psalm 112, the first of the set, reminds us that the duty of worship of God is eternal: it is the work of heaven.  

Indeed, St John Chrysostom's commentary uses a text variant for the psalm's opening line: instead of saying 'Praise the Lord O ye servants', he has 'Praise the Lord all ye angels', and comments 'So it is necessary to become an angel and give praise this way.' The monastic life, is of course, often described as the angelic life as far as it is possible to live in on earth.

St John though, goes on to explain that giving praise involves more than just the singing of the Office: rather it must involve the harmonisation of our life with what we are saying, and our unity with each other:

 Consequently, let us not take this praise lightly; instead, let our life give voice to it before our mouth, let our morals give vent to it before our tongue. In this way we are able to give praise to God even while remaining silent; in this way even when we speak we make music in harmony with our life. It is not only this we can see from the psalm, however, but also his conducting everyone in harmony and forming a complete chorus: he is addressing not one or two persons but the people as a whole. To lead us on to concord and love, Christ bade our prayers be made together when we pray and be recited by the whole Church as coming from one person.

On spiritual children

St Gregory of Nyssa's tract On virginity cites the last verse of this psalm in his explanation of the spiritual gifts bought forth by the adoption of a life of virginity:

...That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  We know too that the flesh is subject to death because of sin, but the Spirit of God is both incorruptible, and life-giving, and deathless.  Every one knows that the propagation of mortal frames is the work which the intercourse of the sexes has to do; whereas for those who are joined to the Spirit, life and immortality instead of children are produced by this latter intercourse; and the words of the Apostle beautifully suit their case, for the joyful mother of such children as these shall be saved in child-bearing; as the Psalmist in his divine songs thankfully cries, He makes the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children.  Truly a joyful mother is the virgin mother who by the operation of the Spirit conceives the deathless children...

The life of the virgin, St Gregory explains, acts as a barrier to death, as the life of Our Lady makes clear, and brings forth 'wisdom and righteousness, and sanctification and redemption too'.

Last 'monastic' psalms of Vespers - Psalm 144.

Psalm 144 is an exuberant hymn of praise to Christ as King: the first nine verses of Psalm 144 are said at Friday Vespers; the rest of the psalm opens Saturday Vespers.

And its particularly monastic significance, I want to suggest, lies in its commitment to the daily praise of God set out in verse 2, and its broader description of the mission to declare the reasons for that praise.

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Laudatio ipsi David.	Praise, for David himself.
Exaltábo te, Deus meus, rex: * et benedícam nómini tuo in sæculum, et in sæculum sæculi.	I will extol you, O God my king: and I will bless your name for ever; yea, forever and ever.
2 Per síngulos dies benedícam tibi: * et laudábo nomen tuum in sæculum, et in sæculum sæculi.	2 Every day will I bless you: and I will praise your name for ever; yea, forever and ever.
3 Magnus Dóminus, et laudábilis nimis: * et magnitúdinis ejus non est finis.	3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised: and of his greatness there is no end
4 Generátio et generátio laudábit ópera tua: * et poténtiam tuam pronuntiábunt.	4 Generation and generation shall praise your works: and they shall declare your power.
5 Magnificéntiam glóriæ sanctitátis tuæ loquéntur: * et mirabília tua narrábunt.	5 They shall speak of the magnificence of the glory of your holiness: and shall tell your wondrous works.
6 Et virtútem terribílium tuórum dicent: * et magnitúdinem tuam narrábunt.	6 And they shall speak of the might of your terrible acts: and shall declare your greatness.
7 Memóriam abundántiæ suavitátis tuæ eructábunt: * et justítia tua exsultábunt.	7 They shall publish the memory of the abundance of your sweetness: and shall rejoice in your justice.
8 Miserátor, et miséricors Dóminus: * pátiens, et multum miséricors.	8 The Lord is gracious and merciful: patient and plenteous in mercy
9 Suávis Dóminus univérsis: * et miseratiónes ejus super ómnia ópera ejus.	9 The Lord is sweet to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works

 The duty of praise

It is, I think, significant first of all, that Psalm 144 is the first of a set of seven hymns of praise that close the psalter.

St Benedict dubs the number sacred as part of the explanation for the number of day hours said each day.  And his contemporary St Cassiodorus highlights the connection between this and the daily duty of the Work of God in his commentary on the psalm:

I think that we should examine more carefully why this heading uniquely contains the words: Praise for David himself, since His glory is proclaimed in all the psalms. But here the praise is delineated more sharply and clearly because all the areas in which human ignorance needed instruction have been remedied, and the psalmist is bidden to devote himself to praise of the Lord alone. 

These praises are wonderfully unfolded distinctively and with their own strengths in the seven psalms that follow... It is not otiose that the Lord's praises are enclosed in this number seven, for the confession of penitents is designated by this number, and the holy Spirit himself has been proclaimed with His sevenfold powers; perhaps it points to that sacred mystery when the Lord ordered Moses to set seven lamps shining with enduring light in His tabernacle. 

The second piece of number symbolism is that we are given nine verses of the psalm here - and nine is often, in the Father's associated with the threefold praise of the Trinity.  And we are also given nine reasons to praise God - for his works, power, magnificence, holiness, miracles, the might of more fearful acts, greatness, memory, and justice.

St John Chrysostom's commentary on the second verse of the psalm points to all this being especially the duty of religious:

...This is a particular mark of a godly spirit, being free from this world's concerns and dedicated to hymn singing...The heavens describe the glory of God, Scripture says, remember, and the firmament proclaims the work of his hands.  Day to day pours forth speech, and night declares knowledge.  Both sun and moon, the diverse choir of stars, and the beautiful array of all the other things proclaim their own creator.   Consequently, for the ones more privileged than all these not to do this, but to give evidence of a life by which blasphemy is heaped on the God who made them - what pardon would such ones deserve?  What defense, when despite being made for the purpose of pleasing God and enjoying the kingdom of future goods they make little account of that and, on the contrary, involve themselves in worldly affairs and mundane concerns?