What do we mean by Festival Psalms? Although St. Benedict only gives one schedule of Psalms–all 150 Psalms in one week–it is a long-standing monastic practice to break the regular schedule for feast days. Then special psalms are introduced, either evoking the psalms assigned to Sunday or other psalms that somehow seem appropriate to the celebration. There is no fixed schedule of psalms for such events. But those of you who enjoy following the practice at Holy Cross Abbey may be interested to know the psalms we use so I will try to post here the psalms for our special celebrations starting with today’s solemnity.
I realize that some of our readers use the Grail Psalter as their preferred translation which uses the numbering of the Septuagint/Vulgate Psalter; all other translation follow the Hebrew Psalter’s numbering. The more common numbering system will be used with the Grail Psalter’s numbers relegated to parenthesis.
First Vespers: Psalms 145 A & B (144 A & B), 147 B (147)
Vigils: Invitatory: Psalm 95 (94). First Nocturn: Psalms 16 (15), 40 (39), 52 (51). Second Nocturn: Psalms 17 (16) 39 (38), 56 (55). Third Nocturn: Wisdom 10:17-21.
Lauds: Psalm 65 (64), Canticle Daniel 33:34-41; Psalm 149 (149)
Second Vespers: Psalms 147 A (146), 144 A & B (143 A & B)
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