Inside the Psalms : Reflections for Novices

The psalms are at the very heart of monastic prayer. Recited seven times a day in the liturgy and reflected upon in the mind through the day during work and lectio divina, they provide those who recite them regularly with a privileged way into continual mindfulness of God. allowing Christians to pray as Christ prayed, the psalms form Christians in Christ, and become a vital part of the formation process, both in monastic life and in Christian living.

After teaching Scripture to women in monastic formation at Mount Saint Mary's Abbey in Wrentham, Massachusetts, for many years, Sister Maureen McCabe shares her insights into these biblical songs with those outside the cloister. In reflecting on the psalms in an integral and sapiential way, she strives to meet novices in a way that respects both the unifying elements of the life as well as the heart's search for a wisdom and meaning. Always in the background there is solid exegesis, but exegesis is at the service of persons who are discerning a commitment to alive wholly ordered to contemplation.

Mother Maureen F. McCabe, OCSO, entered Mount Saint Mary's Abbey in Wrentham, Massachusetts, in 1972, after having taught high school theology and done graduate study in Scripture. She served as novice director in the community for seventeen years and in 2008 was elected abbess. She is the author of Inside the Psalms: Reflections for Novices also from Cistercian Publications.