Fragmenda

Scripture

Psalms 62–66

Psalms 62

Deus Deus meus, ad te. The prophet aspireth after God.

1 

A psalm of David while he was in the desert of Edom.

2 

O God, my God, to thee do I watch at break of day. For thee my soul hath thirsted; for thee my flesh, O how many ways!

3 

In a desert land, and where there is no way, and no water: so in the sanctuary have I come before thee, to see thy power and thy glory.

4 

For thy mercy is better than lives: thee my lips will praise.

5 

Thus will I bless thee all my life long: and in thy name I will lift up my hands.

6 

Let my soul be filled as with marrow and fatness: and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips.

7 

If I have remembered thee upon my bed, I will meditate on thee in the morning:

8 

Because thou hast been my helper. And I will rejoice under the covert of thy wings:

9 

My soul hath stuck close to thee: thy right hand hath received me.

10 

But they have sought my soul in vain, they shall go into the lower parts of the earth:

11 

They shall be delivered into the hands of the sword, they shall be the portions of foxes.

12 

But the king shall rejoice in God, all they shall be praised that swear by him: because the mouth is stopped of them that speak wicked things.


Psalms 63

Exaudi Deus orationem. A prayer in affliction, with confidence in God that he will bring to nought the machinations of persecutors.

1 

Unto the end, a psalm for David.

2 

Hear O God, my prayer, when I make supplication to thee: deliver my soul from the fear of the enemy.

3 

Thou hast protected me from the assembly of the malignant; from the multitude of the workers of iniquity.

4 

For they have whetted their tongues like a sword; they have bent their bow a bitter thing,

5 

To shoot in secret the undefiled.

6 

They will shoot at him on a sudden, and will not fear: they are resolute in wickedness. They have talked of hiding snares; they have said: Who shall see them?

7 

They have searched after iniquities: they have failed in their search. Man shall come to a deep heart:

8 

And God shall be exalted. The arrows of children are their wounds:

9 

And their tongues against them are made weak. All that saw them were troubled;

10 

And every man was afraid. And they declared the works of God, and understood his doings.

11 

The just shall rejoice in the Lord, and shall hope in him: and all the upright in heart shall be praised.


Psalms 64

Te decet. God is to be praised in his church, to which all nations shall be called.

1 

To the end, a psalm of David. The canticle of Jeremias and Ezechiel to the people of the captivity, when they began to go out.

2 

A hymn, O God, becometh thee in Sion: and a vow shall be paid to thee in Jerusalem.

3 

O hear my prayer: all flesh shall come to thee.

4 

The words of the wicked have prevailed over us: and thou wilt pardon our transgressions.

5 

Blessed is he whom thou hast chosen and taken to thee: he shall dwell in thy courts. We shall be filled with the good things of thy house; holy is thy temple,

6 

Wonderful in justice. Hear us, O God our saviour, who art the hope of all the ends of the earth, and in the sea afar off.

7 

Thou who preparest the mountains by thy strength, being girded with power:

8 

Who troublest the depth of the sea, the noise of its waves. The Gentiles shall be troubled,

9 

And they that dwell in the uttermost borders shall be afraid at thy signs: thou shalt make the outgoings of the morning and of the evening to be joyful.

10 

Thou hast visited the earth, and hast plentifully watered it; thou hast many ways enriched it. The river of God is filled with water, thou hast prepared their food: for so is its preparation.

11 

Fill up plentifully the streams thereof, multiply its fruits; it shall spring up and rejoice in its showers.

12 

Thou shalt bless the crown of the year of thy goodness: and thy fields shall be filled with plenty.

13 

The beautiful places of the wilderness shall grow fat: and the hills shall be girded about with joy,

14 

The rams of the flock are clothed, and the vales shall abound with corn: they shall shout, yea they shall sing a hymn.


Psalms 65

Jubilate Deo. An invitation to praise God.

1 

Unto the end, a canticle of a psalm of the resurrection. Shout with joy to God, all the earth,

2 

Sing ye a psalm to his name; give glory to his praise.

3 

Say unto God, How terrible are thy works, O Lord! in the multitude of thy strength thy enemies shall lie to thee.

4 

Let all the earth adore thee, and sing to thee: let it sing a psalm to thy name.

5 

Come and see the works of God; who is terrible in his counsels over the sons of men.

6 

Who turneth the sea into dry land, in the river they shall pass on foot: there shall we rejoice in him.

7 

Who by his power ruleth for ever: his eyes behold the nations; let not them that provoke him be exalted in themselves.

8 

O bless our God, ye Gentiles: and make the voice of his praise to be heard.

9 

Who hath set my soul to live: and hath not suffered my feet to be moved:

10 

For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us by fire, as silver is tried.

11 

Thou hast brought us into a net, thou hast laid afflictions on our back:

12 

Thou hast set men over our heads. We have passed through fire and water, and thou hast brought us out into a refreshment.

13 

I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows,

14 

Which my lips have uttered, And my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble.

15 

I will offer up to thee holocausts full of marrow, with burnt offerings of rams: I will offer to thee bullocks with goats.

16 

Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will tell you what great things he hath done for my soul.

17 

I cried to him with my mouth: and I extolled him with my tongue.

18 

If I have looked at iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.

19 

Therefore hath God heard me, and hath attended to the voice of my supplication.

20 

Blessed be God, who hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.


Psalms 66

Deus misereatur. A prayer for the propagation of the church.

1 

Unto the end, in hymns, a psalm of a canticle for David.

2 

May God have mercy on us, and bless us: may he cause the light of his countenance to shine upon us, and may he have mercy on us.

3 

That we may know thy way upon earth: thy salvation in all nations.

4 

Let people confess to thee, O God: let all people give praise to thee.

5 

Let the nations be glad and rejoice: for thou judgest the people with justice, and directest the nations upon earth.

6 

Let the people, O God, confess to thee: let all the people give praise to thee:

7 

The earth hath yielded her fruit. May God, our God bless us,

8 

May God bless us: and all the ends of the earth fear him.

Catechism

An Explanation of the Baltimore Catechism of Christian Doctrine, Lesson 19, Questions 219-222

219 Q. Does not the Sacrament of Penance remit all punishment due to sin?

A. The Sacrament of Penance remits the eternal punishment due to sin, but it does not always remit the temporal punishment which God requires as satisfaction for our sins.

Remember that Baptism differs from Penance in this respect, that although they both remit sin, Penance does not take away all the temporal punishment, while Baptism takes away all the punishment, both eternal and temporal; so that if we died immediately after Baptism we would go directly to Heaven, while if we died immediately after Penance we would generally go to Purgatory to make satisfaction for the temporal debt.

220 Q. Why does God require a temporal punishment as a satisfaction for sin?

A. God requires a temporal punishment as a satisfaction for sin to teach us the great evil of sin, and to prevent us from failing again.

221 Q. Which are the chief means by which we satisfy God for the temporal punishment due to sin?

A. The chief means by which we satisfy God for the temporal punishment due to sin are: prayer, fasting, almsgiving, all spiritual and corporal works of mercy, and the patient suffering of the ills of life.

"Chief," but not the only means. "Fasting," especially the fasts imposed by the Church—in Lent for instance. Lent is the forty days before Easter Sunday during which we fast and pray to prepare ourselves for the resurrection of Our Lord, and also to remind us of His own fast of forty days before His Passion. "Almsgiving"—that is, money or goods given to the poor. "Spiritual" works of mercy are those good works we do for persons' souls. "Corporal" works of mercy are those we do for their bodies. "Ills of life"—sickness or poverty or misfortune, especially when we have not brought them upon ourselves by sin.

222 Q. Which are the chief spiritual works of mercy?

A. The chief spiritual works of mercy are seven: to admonish the sinner, to instruct the ignorant, to counsel the doubtful, to comfort the sorrowful, to bear wrongs patiently, to forgive all injuries, and to pray for the living and the dead.

"To admonish the sinner." If we love our neighbor we should help him in his distress, even when it is an inconvenience to us. We should help him also to correct his faults, we should point them out and warn him of them. We are obliged to do so in the following circumstances: First. When his fault is a mortal sin. Second. When we have some authority or influence over him. Third. When there is reason to believe that our warning will make him better instead of worse. If our advice only makes him worse, then we should not say anything to him about his fault, but keep out of his company ourselves. "Ignorant" especially in their religion. "Doubtful" about something in religion which you can explain and make clear to them. "Comfort," saying kind words of encouragement to them. "Wrongs," things not deserved; for example, persons talking ill about us, accusing us falsely, etc.; but if the false accusations, etc., are going to give scandal, then we must defend ourselves against them. If, for instance, lies were told about the father of a family, and it were likely all his children would believe them and lose their respect for his authority, then he must let them know the truth. But when we patiently suffer wrongs that injure only ourselves, and that are known only to God and ourselves, God sees our sufferings and rewards us. What matters it what people think we are if God knows all our doings and is pleased with them? "Living"—especially for the conversion of sinners, or for those who are on their deathbed. "The dead"—those suffering in Purgatory, especially if we have ever caused them to sin.