USC Book Club: Psalm-Shaped Prayerfulness

Arts & Culture

August 2012:

Psalm-Shaped Prayerfulness: A Guide to the Christian Reception of the Psalms

By Margaret Daly-Denton

Review:

Beginning with Jesus himself, the psalms have been a source for Christian prayer through the centuries. Margaret Daly-Denton sheds new light on this ancient Hebrew poetry, first on the psalter as a whole and then on individual songs of praise, wisdom, even grief. “Perhaps the most endearing feature of the psalms is their honesty,” Daly-Denton writes. “The psalmists had no hesitation in expressing their feelings to God, about ‘letting it all hang out.’ ”

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Along with her own scholarship, Daly-Denton offers readers a guided path to explore the psalms on their own, to discover not only the people of faith who composed them but a source of insight and prayer for today’s believers.

Bryan Cones, Managing Editor,  U.S. CATHOLIC

Liturgical Press says: Margaret Daly-Denton guides readers through the centuries-long process of reinterpretation that is ongoing as psalms sung in worship shape the everyday prayerfulness of Christians.

Paperback: $24.95
eBook: $19.99

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Available at bookstores or from Liturgical Press: 800-858-5450 or shop online at www.litpress.org

Order now from Liturgical Press.

General Book Club guidelines

Discussion Questions from Liturgical Press:

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1. What are my first impressions of the psalms? Are they comforting? Overwhelming? Frustrating? Joyful?

2. In what ways do I limit God? How do the Psalms break these limitations?

3. What psalms am I most familiar with? What is the story behind this familiarity?

4. What imagery am I most drawn to in the psalms? Why? What imagery do I find troubling? Why? Are there times when the “troubling” imagery could be comforting or useful in my prayer life?

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5. How does the gospels’ portrayal of Jesus’ use of the psalms influence my thoughts on the psalms?

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