The Saint Helena Psalter

Description

PSALM 84
1 How dear to me is your dwelling, o God of hosts!*
My soul has a desire and longing for your courts;
My heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God
2 The sparrow has found her a house
and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young,*
by the side of your altars, O God of hosts,
my Ruler and my God.
3 Happy are they who dwell in your house;*
they will always be praising you.

For several years, the sisters of The Order of Saint Helena, a monastic community in the Episcopal Church, have been revising their services of worship. The primary goal of the revision is opening up the human vocabulary of prayer and expanding the ways in which we name and worship God.

This version of the Psalter, based upon the translation in the Book of Common Prayer, softens the exclusively male Hebrew terminology for the Creator God and recasts texts in ways that avoid the need for a he (or she) personal pronoun.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Christianity
• Church of England
• Worship
• Liturgy
• Episcopal Church
• Philosophie et théologie
• Christian Rituals
• Christian Practice
• Episcopalian

Informations

• Publié par: Church Publishing Incorporated
• Date de parution: 01 février 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781640655492
• Langue: English

Extrait

Copyright © 2004 by The Order of St. Helena, Inc. All rights reserved.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A record of this book is available from the Library of Congress.
Church Publishing Incorporated 19 East 34th Street New York, NY 10016
ISBN-13: 978-1-64065-205-7 (pbk.) ISBN-13: 978-1-64065-549-2 (ebook)
PREFACE
The process of revision of the St. Helena breviary began at the same time the Episcopal Church was revising the 1928 Book of Common Prayer . The Order of St. Helena and the Order of the Holy Cross had begun work together in the 1970s, and in 1976 they jointly produced A Monastic Breviary, which was in essence the Daily Office of the 1979 Prayer Book with additions and interpolations. This book was used in both communities until the late 1980s, when the Order of St. Helena became increasingly uncomfortable with sexist language. By 1990, the sisters had produced (but not published) a book which was a first step toward using inclusive language in their daily worship. This book was in use in all the St. Helena convents for the next ten years.
About 1998, Sister Linda Julian, working almost alone, began work on a revised Psalter, based on the Book of Common Prayer of 1979. She drew on resources of all kinds, especially studying other efforts to inclusivise the Psalter. Her intent was to eliminate all references to God as “he” and to greatly reduce masculine imagery, even to finding an appropriate substitute for “Lord.” This first step toward the present wording of the Psalter, which was tried in the actual praying of the Office for several months, captured the imagination and won the support of the rest of the sisters. By 1999, the Chapter officially endorsed a full revision of the 1990 book, and a committee to work on it was appointed.
The committee was directed to stay as close to the Prayer Book translation of the Psalter as possible, keeping in mind the importance of being able to continue to sing the psalms in traditional monastic chant. They were well aware of the tension between following strict academic faithfulness to the original texts versus offering a freer translation or interpretation in order to make the prayer both more accessible and also reflective of contemporary worship.
Regarding text changes, the most obvious ones were those that eliminated all references to God as masculine. Wherever possible, a phrase was reworked, either avoiding a masculine pronoun for God or substituting another term, such as “Holy One” or “Mighty One,” or something similar. Sometimes substituting “who” for “he,” or moving from the singular to plural (“he” to “they”), offered a graceful solution. A few psalms were put into the second person, but that option was followed only as a last resort. The committee chose not to be strict about the distinction between LORD (YAHWEH) and Lord ( Adonai ) and God ( Elohim ) because of the felt need for the text to flow poetically as well as to remain singable.
There was also an attempt to eliminate other specifically masculine nouns, for example, substituting “sentries” for “watchmen,” “ruler” for “prince,” and “monarch” or “sovereign” for “king” (except where the king was clearly a reference to David). In addition to removing the masculine references, the committee has used alternate terms for such words as “heathen” or “alien” (which have negative connotations today), using instead “nations” or “foreigners.”
The committee’s work did not end with the Psalter, but also included revising the canticles, hymns, antiphons, collects, and the material used to celebrate the saints and seasons of the church year. The initial focus, however, was on the Psalms, which were prayed in their revised form in the Daily Office in every convent for several years before there was general satisfaction with the revisions. These revisions now constitute The Saint Helena Psalter , which the Order of St. Helena is pleased to offer to all who seek a deeper knowledge of God.
The Breviary Committee for the Psalter Sister Cintra Pemberton, OSH, Convener Sister Carol Andrew, OSH Sister Ann Prentice, OSH Sister Ellen Francis, OSH
Glory to God, Source of all being, Incarnate Word, and Holy Spirit, * as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
from the Saint Helena Breviary
B OOK O NE
First Day: Morning Prayer
P SALM 1
1 Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked, *
nor lingered in the way of sinners,
nor sat in the seats of the scornful!
2 Their delight is in the law of the Holy One, *
and they meditate on that law day and night.
3 They are like trees planted by streams of water,
bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither; *
everything they do shall prosper.
4 It is not so with the wicked; *
they are like chaff which the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked shall not stand upright when judgment comes *
nor the sinner in the council of the righteous;
6 For the Holy One knows the way of the righteous, *
but the way of the wicked is doomed.
P SALM 2
1 Why are the nations in an uproar; *
why do the peoples mutter empty threats?
2 Why do the mighty of the earth rise up in revolt
and the rulers plot together, *
against God and against God’s Anointed?
3 “Let us break their yoke,” they say; *
“let us cast off their bonds from us.”
4 You whose throne is in heaven are laughing; *
you have them in derision.
5 Then you speak to them in your wrath, *
and your rage fills them with terror.
6 “I myself have set my monarch *
upon my holy hill of Zion.”
7 Let me announce the decree of God, *
who has said to me, “You are my Son;
this day have I begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance *
and the ends of the earth for your possession.
9 You shall crush them with an iron rod *
and shatter them like a piece of pottery.”
10 And now, you monarchs, be wise; *
be warned, you rulers of the earth.
11 Submit to God with fear, *
and with trembling bow before the Most High,
12 Lest God be angry and you perish, *
for divine wrath is quickly kindled.
13 Happy are they all *
who take refuge in God!
P SALM 3
1 O God, how many adversaries I have; *
how many there are who rise up against me!
2 How many there are who say of me, *
there is no help for me in my God.
3 But you, O God, are a shield about me; *
you are my glory, the one who lifts up my head.
4 I call aloud to you, O God, *
and you answer me from your holy hill.
5 I lie down and go to sleep; *
I wake again, because you sustain me.
6 I do not fear the multitudes of people *
who set themselves against me all around.
7 Rise up, O God; set me free, O my God; *
surely, you will strike all my enemies across the face;
you will break the teeth of the wicked.
8 Deliverance belongs to you, O Most High. *
Your blessing be upon your people!
P SALM 4
1 Answer me when I call, O God, defender of my cause; *
you set me free when I am hard-pressed;
have mercy on me and hear my prayer.
2 “You mortals, how long will you dishonor my glory; *
how long will you worship dumb idols
and run after false gods?”
3 Know that God does wonders for the faithful; *
when I call, God will hear me.
4 Tremble, then, and do not sin; *
speak to your heart in silence upon your bed.
5 Offer the appointed sacrifices, *
and put your trust in the Most High.
6 Many are saying,
“Oh, that we might see better times!” *
Lift up the light of your countenance upon us, O God.
7 You have put gladness in my heart, *
more than when grain and wine and oil increase.
8 I lie down in peace; at once I fall asleep; *
for only you, God, make me dwell in safety.
P SALM 5
1 Give ear to my words, O God; *
consider my meditation.
2 Hearken to my cry for help, my Sovereign and my God, *
for I make my prayer to you.
3 In the morning you hear my voice; *
early in the morning I make my appeal and watch for you.
4 For you are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, *
and evil cannot dwell with you.
5 Braggarts cannot stand in your sight; *
you hate all those who work wickedness.
6 You destroy those who speak lies; *
the bloodthirsty and deceitful, O God, you abhor.
7 But as for me, through the greatness of your mercy I will go into your house; *
I will bow down toward your holy temple in awe of you.
8 Lead me, O God, in your righteousness,
because of those who lie in wait for me; *
make your way straight before me,
9 For there is no truth in their mouth; *
there is destruction in their heart;
10 Their throat is an open grave; *
they flatter with their tongue.
11 Declare them guilty, O God; *
let them fall, because of their schemes.
12 Because of their many transgressions, cast them out, *
for they have rebelled against you.
13 But all who take refuge in you will be glad; *
they will sing out their joy for ever.
14 You will shelter them, *
so that those who love your Name may exult in you.
15 For you, O God, will bless the righteous; *
you will defend them with your favor as with a shield.
First Day: Evening Prayer
P SALM 6
1 O God, do not rebuke me in your anger; *
do not punish me in your wrath.
2 Have pity on me, O God, for I am weak; *
heal me, for my bones are racked.
3 My spirit shakes with terror; *
how long, O God, how long?
4 Turn, O God, and deliver me; *
save me for your mercy’s sake.
5 For in death no one remembers you, *
and who will give you thanks in the grave?
6 I grow weary because of my groaning; *
every night I drench my bed
and flood my couch with tears.
7 My eyes are wasted with grief *
and worn away because of all my enemies.
8 Depart from me, all evildoers, *
for God has heard the sound of my weeping.
9 God has heard my supplication; *
God accepts my prayer.
10 All my enemies shall be confounded and quake with fear; *
they shall turn back and suddenly be put to shame.
P SALM 7
1 O Most High,