The Psalms: The Heartbeat of Life and Worship, by Brother Benedict F. Janecko, O.S.B., has been reprinted for the third time through Archabbey Publications.
Calling the Psalms the ageless prayer book of life. Brother Ben shows that one finds the heart of religious experience in ordinary living, where we are “on a high”, “in the pits”, or somewhere in between.
“I’ve been praying the Psalms for over a quarter century,” Brother Benedict said of his personal connection to the book. “They are in the heart of the Bible. They are the symbol of life.”
Brother Ben said he hopes the reader of this book will recognize his or her personal struggles and in doing so, will know the truest religious experience: God living and reigning within one’s own life.
The third reprinting of The Psalms features a revised introduction. Each chapter features a section, “On the Nature of Prayer,” which emphasizes not only the importance of the subject of prayer but also the method of prayer. The Psalms are also divided into related parts, such as occasional Psalms and pilgrim Psalms emphasizing the journey of life.
Brother Ben noted that the core of the book remains the same, but with a renewed purpose.
“Especially since the Vatican II, we as a church have been trying to make the Scripture more accessible,” he said. “The Psalms are not only a monastic but a Biblical way of praying.”
Brother Ben received a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from Saint Vincent College. He studied at the Collegio di Sant’ Anselmo, Rome, Italy, where he received his S.T.L. in theology in 1966, and at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, where he received his S.S.L. in Sacred Scripture in 1969. He entered the Benedictine Monastic community at Saint Vincent Archabbey in 1958, made solemn profession of vows on July 2, 1962, and was ordained a deacon on July 4, 1964 in Einsiedeln, Switzerland, by Bishop Joseph Avack. He has taught Old Testament and Hebrew at Saint Vincent Seminary since 1969, and has also taught in the Religious Studies Department of Saint Vincent College. He is a member of the Catholic Biblical Association.
The Psalms is available for purchase for $11 in the Saint Vincent College bookstore, the Saint Vincent Basilica gift shop and online at http://www.stvincentstore.com.
