Is the Lord your shepherd?One of the world's most famous poems answers this question affirmatively. Recited at nearly every burial service The religious service performed at the interment of the dead; a funeral service. That portion of a liturgy which is read at an interment; as, the English burial service s>. See also: Burial Burial , prayed by people in peril, and sung frequently in the church's Divine Office, Psalm 23's familiarity is legion. Not nearly as famous as Psalm 23, or even Leaves of Grass--Walt Whitman's famous book of poetry made infamous last year when a gent named Bill gave it as a gift to a woman called Monica--is National Poetry Month here in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . It's celebrated every April. Chances are it might have just slipped by you had you not perused this month's Odds and Ends or seen the Poet Laureate of the United States, Robert Pinsky, on PBS PBS in full Public Broadcasting Service Private, nonprofit U.S. corporation of public television stations. PBS provides its member stations, which are supported by public funds and private contributions rather than by commercials, with educational, cultural, . If you have no plans for celebrating National Poetry Month yet, I suggest reading the psalms. Although poetry is sprinkled throughout scripture, the mother lode is the 150 poems collected in the Book of Psalms. These were Israel's hymns and prayers, and they were intimately connected with their worship. Although authorship traditionally has been attributed to David, many voices and hands constructed these poems over a long time period. Jesus himself and his Jewish apostles and disciples recited these poems. Psalms aren't titled. They are numbered, but not uniformly in various Bibles. The jerusalem Bible tells us, "From Psalm 10 to Psalm 148 the numbering of the Hebrew Bible is one figure ahead of the Greek and the Vulgate Vulgate (vŭl`gāt) [Lat. Vulgata editio=common edition], most ancient extant version of the whole Christian Bible. Its name derives from a 13th-century reference to it as the "editio vulgata. which join 9 and 10 and also 114 and 115, but divide both 116 and 147 into two." Got that? More importantly, these poems are part of the wisdom books of the Old Testament. Some psalms majestically thank and praise God. Others are harsh and disturbing poetry, not holy and saccharin saccharin (săk`ərĭn), C7H5NSO3, white, crystalline, aromatic compound. It was discovered accidentally by I. Remsen and C. Fahlberg in 1879. Pure saccharin tastes several hundred times as sweet as sugar. but bloodthirsty blood·thirst·y adj. 1. Eager to shed blood. 2. Characterized by great carnage. blood and irreverent. Other psalms confess when things are not right in the world and it is my fault. These are the poems that eat humble pie. Still other psalms lament when things are not right in the world and it is not my fault. These are the poems that are mad as hell with God. A suggestion: Celebrate and enjoy National Poetry Month this year by reading five psalms a day for the 30 days of April. Let the poetry of the psalms shepherd you to the Lord this April. The Lord is my shepherd. Peter Gilmour (pgilmou@orion.it.luc.edu) teaches at the Institute of Pastoral Studies of Loyola University Chicago Beginnings and expansions Founded in 1870 as the St Ignatius College on Chicago's West Side. In 1908 the School of Law was established as the first of the professional programs. . |
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