Saint Francis Christmas Psalm
FRANCIS, TEACHER OF PRAYER
Commentary on the prayers of Saint Francis
by Leonardo Lehmann, OFMCap
THE “CHRISTMAS PSALM” OF SAINT FRANCIS
“Office of the Passion of the Lord”, Psalm 15 (OfP 15)
When Christmas is related to Francis of Assisi (1182-1226), many automatically think of his famous "Christmas of Greccio", for which he has even been mistakenly considered the introducer of the nativity scene in history. What Francis staged so emotionally that Christmas night in 1223 in the forest near the small mountain village of Greccio, must be considered in a much broader framework, and had its antecedents. One of these consists, precisely, in the fact that Francis recited several times a day, throughout the Christmas season, a Psalm that he had composed himself. This text of the Saint of Assisi, authentic although little known, is what we are going to study in this article. At the end we will take a look at Greccio's Christmas celebration.
[See the text of the Office of the Passion of the Lord among the Writings of Saint Francis].
THE VOTIVE OFFICE OF SAN FRANCISCO
The Christmas Psalm is part of the private office that "our most blessed Father Francis composed in reverence, remembrance and praise of the passion of the Lord", as indicated in the introductory rubric of the Office of the Passion of the Lord. This office is similar to other votive services that in the Middle Ages were frequently added to the recitation of the canonical hours. It consists of fifteen psalms, composed by Francis with quotations from the Old Testament psalms, to which he adds quotations from the New Testament and personal expansions. Precisely through the choice of the psalms, their expansions and modifications, the personal mark in the prayer of Saint Francis can be discovered.[1] Francis has before his eyes a biblical scene, and he contemplates it with the help of the psalms, which he knows well thanks to his school studies and the liturgy. His Office of the Passion begins very significantly with the Compline of Holy Thursday.[2] In a psalmic mosaic, designed with eight different psalms, we hear Jesus praying to the Father, we see him surrounded by enemies and abandoned by friends, betrayed by Judas and brought before the Sanhedrin. Jesus gives free rein to his pain and cries out to God, but he confidently surrenders to the will of the Father.
Everything here recalls, then, the scene on the Mount of Olives, the betrayal of Judas and the arrest of Jesus. And like the gospel (see Mt 26:36-56 and parallels), Francis' psalms summarize what is essential in the trusting delivery of Jesus into the hands of the Father: "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me "But not as I will, but as you will" (Mt 26:39). The treatment of God as Father - it is typical that Francis expands it with the adjective holy, most holy - appears in all the psalms of the scheme for the sacred triduum and the holiday days of the year (OfP 1-7). This clearly demonstrates that Francis understands the psalms in a Christological key. He "baptizes" them with additions taken from the New Testament. When you walk through Jesus' way of the cross, you hear him lament and beg and cry out to the Father with all confidence. When he celebrates the resurrection of Jesus, he shouts for joy and invites all creation to praise God.
THE CHRISTMAS PSALM (OfP 15)
What is Francisco's reaction to Christmas? What psalms do you choose? What stands out about this party? Here is the text:[3]
1. Shout for joy to God, our help (Ps 80:2); * Acclaim the Lord God, living and true, with shouts of joy (cf. Ps 46:2).
2. Because the Lord is exalted, * terrible, great King over all the earth (Ps 46,3).
3. Because the most holy Father in heaven, our King before the ages (Ps 73:12a), 'sent his beloved Son from above, * and he was born of the blessed Virgin Holy Mary.
4. He called to me: "You are my Father"; * and I will make him my firstborn, exalted above the kings of the earth (Ps 88,27-28).
5. On that day the Lord sent his mercy, * and at night his song (Ps 41:9).
6. This is the day that the Lord has made, * let us exult and be glad in it (Ps 117:24).
7. For a most holy beloved child has been given to us, 'and he was born for us (cf. Is 9:6) on the way and was laid in a manger, * because he had no place in the inn (cf. Lk 2:7) .
8. Glory to the Lord God in the highest, * and on earth, peace to men of good will (cf. Lk 2:14).
9. Let the heavens rejoice and the earth exult, 'let the sea and all that fills it be moved; * the fields and everything in them will rejoice (Ps 95:11-12).
10. Sing to him a new song, * sing to the Lord, all the earth (Ps 95:1).
11. For great is the Lord and highly worthy of praise, * more fearsome than all gods (Ps 95:4).
12. Families of the people, offer to the Lord, 'offer to the Lord glory and honor, * offer to the Lord glory for his name (Ps 95,7-8).
13. Take [offer] your bodies' and carry his holy cross on your back, * and follow his most holy precepts to the end (cf. Lk 14:27; 1 Pet 2:21).
ONE PSALM FOR ALL HOURS
The fifteen psalms of the votive office of Saint Francis are distributed as follows throughout the liturgical year: seven for the sacred triduum and the holiday days of the year (OfP 1-7), two for the Easter season (OfP 8-9 ), three for Sundays and main festivals (OfP 10-12), two for the season of Advent (OfP 13-14),[4] and one for "the time of the Lord's Christmas until the octave of the Epiphany" (OfP 15); In the rubric of this psalm it reads: "Keep in mind that this psalm is recited at all hours from the Nativity of the Lord to the octave of the Epiphany."
Thus, and unlike other liturgical times, for the Christmas period Francis foresees a single psalm, the same for all hours of the day. His private office for the time between the feast of Christmas and the octave of Kings (then this octave was celebrated), consists of a single psalm. This fact shows by itself how much importance Francis attached to his Christmas Psalm. Evidently, he considered the thoughts contained in it on the mystery of Christmas so deep and important that he could recite it seven times a day, and this for three uninterrupted weeks.
Other prayers of Francis have reached us that were part of the daily life of the friars minor, such as the one they recited when they saw the sign of the cross ("We adore you": Test 5) or the Praises that must be said in all the hours, and which are typical examples of those prayers that are frequently repeated. For the Poor Man, being able to raise the heart again and again and always to God by repeating some invariable words, was something evident and typical of our condition as pilgrims.
A MOSAIC OF TEXTS
Like the other psalms of the Office of the Passion, the Christmas Psalm is an elaborate mosaic of psalmic verses, some other biblical texts, and personal additions. But this psalm has more personal additions than any other. It is, therefore, the most personal of the psalms that Francis composed to meditate on the life, passion and death of Jesus. Without a doubt, the mystery of the incarnation of God was either the one that impressed him most strongly, or the one about which he found the least traces in the psalms of the Old Testament. It is obvious that the Saint's personal additions are inspired by the Christmas Gospel. With brief outlines he outlines the essence of the Christmas message. It does not repeat literally and in its entirety the narrative of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem; Nor does he name the angels, the shepherds or Saint Joseph. It does not contain any allusion to the massacre of the Innocents ordered by Herod, nor to the flight to Egypt. What appears in the foreground is the event of the Holy Night: the most holy Father in heaven gives us his beloved Son through the blessed Virgin Mary. This is a cause of joy for all creation.
TEXT COMMENTARY
If we look at each of the verses, we discover the structure and guiding ideas on the basis of which Francis composed the psalm.[5] The triple exhortation to joy (vv. 1.6.10) is followed by its foundation as many times, introduced with the particle because (vv. 2.3.7.11). The core of the profession of faith that Francis expresses in this psalm is that the most high God has sent his beloved Son to save us.
1. Shout for joy to God, our help (Ps 80,2a), * hail the Lord God, living and true (cf. 1 Thes 1,9) with shouts of joy (cf. Ps 46,2b).
The v. 1 reveals from the first word, shout for joy ("exult yourself", in the Latin original), the joy that surrounds Christmas. It proclaims, like a title, that the psalm is an invitation to joy. For on Christmas Eve God has revealed himself as our help and, Francis adds, as the living and true Lord God. This addition, reminiscent of 1 Thes 1:9, emphasizes that for Francis God is not an abstract idea, but a living presence, the incontestable reality from which he comes and in which he lives.
2. Because the Lord is exalted, * terrible, great King over all the earth (Ps 46,3).
3. Because the most holy Father in heaven, our King before the ages (Ps 73:12a), 'sent his beloved Son from above, * and he was born of the blessed Virgin Holy Mary.
The vv. 2-3 explain the reason for this joy: because the Lord, although he is exalted, has not considered it excessive or humiliating to send us his Son from above. It is thus clear that the words Lord and God in verses 1-2 refer to the Father. Francis knows how to admire the greatness of the mystery using opposing concepts: the exalted, most holy Father, King before the ages, sends his Son to the lowliness of our world and our time; There they are, to underline it, the birth of the Son and the specific name of his mother, Mary. The most holy binomial Father - beloved Son expresses the intimate relationship between the Father and the Son, as described in the New Testament (for example, Jn 17) and as Francis understood it. Also in the other psalms the expression Most Holy Father appears, which is like a typical and personal signature of Francis. He could not say Our Father without always prefixing the word holy or most holy. Also the expression beloved Son is typical of the Poor Man. The word most holy expresses above all the transcendence of the Father, while the word beloved emphasizes the closeness of the Son with respect to us, men.
Through the birth of Jesus, the Son of God, Mary participates in the holiness of the Father; That is why Francis proclaims her first blessed, and then holy.
If in vv. 1-2 the praying person adheres almost entirely to the letter of the biblical psalms, in v. 3, on the other hand, is expressed almost only in its own words. It only takes half a sentence from Psalm 73, to recognize and proclaim the excellency and eternity of God. The rest is Francis' personal composition, which is inspired by Sacred Scripture and the Liturgy, and this freely in terms of content and strictly in terms of vocabulary. The v. 3, as later v. 7, proclaims the mystery of Christmas. It is Francis' Christmas creed, the creed of the Church.
4. He called to me: "You are my Father" (Ps 88,27a), * and I will make him my firstborn, exalted above the kings of the earth (Ps 88,27-28).
The v. 4 can only be fully understood in the overall context of the psalter, and it is doubtful that Francis knew this context. The speaker in Psalm 88 is none other than David, who remembers that, even though he was the youngest son of Jesse, God made him his firstborn and elevated him to the status of king of Israel. Francis rather understands this phrase as a dialogue between the Father and the Son: Jesus, who confesses his Father in this world, is elevated by God as the firstborn above all the kings of the earth. If this interpretation is correct, the idea of the royal lordship of Christ already resonates in the Poor Man's thoughts about the birth of Jesus; Similarly, on Good Friday Francis remembers that "the Lord reigned from the tree" (OfP 7,9).
The word firstborn must have given rise to Francis to quote Psalm 88:28; In fact, this word also appears in the Christmas Gospel (Lk 2:7); The literal kinship would suggest the Psalmian verse to Francis.
5. On that day the Lord sent his mercy, * and at night his song (cf. Ps 41:9).
6. This is the day that the Lord has made, * let us exult and be glad in it (Ps 117:24).
The v. 5 proclaims, with Psalm 41:9, that God has offered us his mercy day and night. But, to fully adapt the verse to the mystery of Christmas, Francis adds the demonstrative that: On that day (In illa die). So to speak, it's like pointing the index finger at Christmas. The acclamation: He sent... his song at night, easily leads one to think of the song proclaimed by the angels during Christmas Eve.
If the v. 5 praises Christmas as a gift of God's mercy, v. 6 celebrates it, with the help of a well-known verse from Psalm 117, as the day the Lord made. If we take a look at another psalm from the Office of the Passion (cf. OfP 9,5), we will discover once again the same line of thought in Francis: indeed, v. 24 of Psalm 117 indicates the day of Easter in the matins of Easter Sunday. For the Founder of the Order, Christmas and Easter are the days that the Lord made. Only the motivation changes: in the Easter psalm, Francis sticks to the words of the Old Testament psalm, without introducing personal additions. The reason lies, without a doubt, in the fact that it is much more difficult for men to perceive and experience the mystery of the resurrection than that of the birth of the Child God. This verse, which Francis incorporated into his psalm to exhort himself to joy and joy, highlights the extent to which Christmas impressed and enchanted the “Herald of the great King,” as he called himself.
7. For a most holy beloved child has been given to us, 'and he was born for us (cf. Is 9:6) on the way and was laid in a manger, * because he had no place in the inn (cf. Lk 2:7) .
The v. 7 abandons the psalms, with which Francis had expressed himself until that moment. Now express the fundamental ideas of Christmas with the help of the readings from the holiday liturgy. He weaves together the quotes from Is 9:6 and Lk 2:7, to which he introduces small modifications and accommodations, and turns them into a single sentence. In this way, it imperceptibly links the Old Testament with the New Testament, making the promise give way to fulfillment.
The affirmation of the unity of the two Testaments, which this phrase implies, is understood in all its scope if we take into account that the Cathars, a contemporary sect of Francis, did not accept the Old Testament.
What is striking is the force with which Francis emphasizes in this verse, the most important of the Christmas Psalm, the historicity of the event: the Child was truly born and placed in a manger. Francis even surpasses Luke's text, since he adds that he was born on the road, away from home (in via). Perhaps he learned this detail through the apocryphal gospels. However small, this addition sheds a ray of light on poverty and itinerancy as Francis understood them. For him, Jesus is the model. The expression "in via" encompasses in summary both the tiring journey on foot from Nazareth to Bethlehem, as well as the agonizing search for accommodation, events barely recorded in the gospels, but widely described in nativity scenes and Christmas representations. Jesus was born during the trip, he came into this world away from home, in the open. At the very birth of Jesus he began that path of voluntary itinerancy and without a fixed address that he would travel later during his public life. And this fact also helps us to better understand why Francis chooses for himself and his companions a way of life that wants to follow Jesus in poverty, humility and itinerancy: "And, like pilgrims and strangers in this century, who serve the Lord In poverty and humility, go for alms confidently. And they have no reason to be ashamed, for the Lord became poor for us in this world” (2 Kings 6:2-3).
Another important point of this central verse: in v. 3 Francis designates Jesus with the expression beloved Son; in the V. 7 his affection and cordiality rises, and he calls him a most holy beloved child. But it does not fall into a sentimental and sweet minimization. The newborn is the most holy child, and Francis approaches him with deep respect and delicacy. The intimacy with which he welcomes him does not make him forget that Jesus was born for us. In the verse the word nos, us, appears twice, covering in both cases those who read the psalm. Francis does not express his affectionate affection for the Child lying in the manger using the first person singular, I, but the first person plural, we. The Child is a gift for the entire human family. Therefore, as the following verses will indicate, all nations, indeed all creatures, must praise and glorify God.
8. Glory to the Lord God in the highest, * and on earth peace to men of good will (cf Lk 2:14).
In response to the Christmas creed, v. 8 proposes the well-known canticle of the angels: "Gloria in altissimis Domino Deo et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis." Once again, Francis adds a word, Dominus=Lord. These details reveal that the author of the psalm is none other than Francis, who used to add the word Lord to the prayers he took from tradition. "Lord" is a primitive and radical word ("Urwort") in Saint Francis, as his Testament also demonstrates.[6]
9. Let the heavens rejoice and the earth exult, 'let the sea and all that fills it be moved; * the fields and everything in them will rejoice (Ps 95:11-12a).
10. Sing to him a new song, * sing to the Lord, all the earth (cf. Ps 95:1).
11. For great is the Lord and highly worthy of praise, * more fearsome than all gods (Ps 95:4).
12. Families of the people, offer to the Lord, 'offer to the Lord glory and honor, * offer to the Lord glory for his name (Ps 95,7-8a).
The vv. 9-12 we can consider them together, since they all come from the same psalm, 95, a psalm of praise that was sung at Christmas and Epiphany matins. Note, however, how Francis inverts the order of the verses, putting v. 1 vv. 11 and 12a. We can assume what induced him to this transposition: as we have just seen, in v. 8 of the Christmas Psalm Francis quotes the song of praise proclaimed by the "heavenly host" and that the shepherds heard in the field (cf. Lk 2,9.13); Therefore, he now continues saying: "Let the heavens rejoice... the fields will rejoice...".
Francis unites here verses that invite the entire cosmos to praise God: heaven and earth, the sea and everything that fills it, all peoples and nations must offer due praise to God, the Lord. The triple invitation offered (afferte) of v. 12 remembers the (three) Magi from the East who adored the newborn and offered him precious gifts. In this way, the Gospel of Christmas is proclaimed, expanding it with the thought of the Epiphany, of the manifestation of God to all nations (cf. Mt 2:1-11).
13. Take [offer] your bodies' and carry his holy cross on your back, * and follow his most holy precepts to the end (cf. Lk 14:27; 1 Pet 2:21).
The v. 13 is another text prepared entirely by Francisco himself. The initial word take connects with the previous verse (offer), continuing the aforementioned Psalm 95:8. But, instead of continuing with the quote from the second part of the verse: “bring offerings, bring them before Him; Pray to the Lord in his sacred court” (Ps 95:8b), Francis continues his thoughts with ideas taken from the New Testament. The authentic offering consists of offering our bodies to God, that is, offering ourselves body and soul to God, carrying the cross of Christ. Carrying the cross and following Christ are here inextricably linked, in complete accordance with the gospel (see, for example, Luke 14:27). Just as Jesus demands to carry one's cross every day, so does Francis demand: "follow his most holy precepts to the end." In this way evangelical radicalism is safeguarded. Several times in his writings the Founder of the Order demands perseverance, until the last moment of life, in following Jesus. Thus, for example, chapter 21 of the Rule not bullated concludes with the exhortation: "Beware and abstain from all evil and persevere in good to the end" (1 Kings 21:9).
As can be seen, the Christmas Psalm is not limited to making a call to praise God, but leads to a call to action, an action that involves man as a whole. True praise to God impels action, which is the proof of what is praised. Fidelity throughout life in dedication to the Lord and in the fulfillment of his will, manifests the extent to which we have understood and allowed ourselves to be captured by the mystery of Christmas.
The most outstanding characteristic of Francis' Christmas Psalm consists of contemplating the cradle and the cross as intimately united. Francisco does not remain in a sentimental and non-committal joy; On the contrary, it underlines the seriousness of God's feat, which is demanding the response of our lives. In his relatively short Christmas Psalm, the Poor Man amazingly unites the majesty and humility of God, the cradle and the cross, praise and following, man and the cosmos.
THE CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION IN GRECCIO
Let us now return to Greccio, the place par excellence linked to the Franciscan Christmas. To do this, we will summarize the extensive and detailed accounts of the biographers, highlighting some basic lines that complete the picture drawn by the Christmas Psalm. Greccio shows us above all the experiential aspect. How did Francis celebrate the feast of the birth of the Savior?
In the First Life, written by Thomas of Celano in 1228, the first biographer of Saint Francis enthusiastically describes how our Father celebrated Christmas in the year 1223 in the little town of Greccio (1 Cel 84-86). Saint Bonaventure will rely on this story to tell us, although more briefly, the same event in his Greater Legend, written in 1262 (LM 10,7). Both stories inform us about the famous Christmas celebration: the Poor Man wanted to reproduce, as faithfully as possible, a second Nativity scene, with the ox and the donkey, using a natural crevice in the rock as a cradle for the Baby Jesus, in the middle of nature. and in the heart of the night. But he not only wanted to visibly reproduce the event of Bethlehem; Francis also wanted the attendees to participate in what was celebrated there and for the celebration to drive them to a deeper faith and a more ardent devotion. So, he invited all the brothers from the nearby hermitages, as well as the people of Greccio and its surroundings. He went with all of them, in a solemn procession, carrying candles and torches, to the previously prepared place and, once there, the sacred representation of the mystery of the birth of the Son of God began. It should be emphasized that a part of this nocturnal and open-air celebration consisted precisely of the celebration of mass. Francisco participated in it in his capacity as deacon. He sang with an emotional voice the gospel of the birth of Christ, and then he preached. But his preaching was not a doctrinal exposition, but rather a mime representation. He preached with his heart and with his hands, with his face and with his gestures, with words and with his entire being. His entire body expressed the fullness of his intimate experiences. As Celano says, when he pronounced the words "Jesus" or "Beth-le-em" he sounded like a stuttering child or a bleating sheep.
After such a singular and inimitable preaching, which reproduced with gestures more than with words the mystery of the birth of the Son of God, the brother priest approached with Francis the altar prepared on the rock and the Eucharist continued. The mystery of the incarnation of God flows into the mystery of redemption and the new presence of the glorious Christ in the Eucharist.
If Francis proclaimed and mimicked the birth of Christ with such emotion and expressiveness, we can imagine the fervor with which he would later greet the Redeemer who was present on the altar, how he would adore him and with how much faith he would receive him.
Greccio's Christmas celebration was much more than the performance of a mystery. Due to its connection with the mass, it was a quasi-dramatic liturgical celebration, whose essential point consisted, not in the representation of a story, but in the actualization and living of a mystery of faith. In fact, according to Celano, faith, extinguished in the hearts of many, was awakened to new life (1 Cel 86b).
Greccio's Christmas liturgy does not remain anchored in the event of Bethlehem, but rather follows Jesus to Golgotha and recognizes him as the Redeemer and the Glorified One who descends again today to us and gives himself to us in communion. Thus, Bethlehem, the cross and the altar are assembled in the same celebration of faith. It is, therefore, not difficult to discover in all of this a connection with the Christmas Psalm, whose distinctive feature, as we saw before, lies in the unified vision of the cradle and the cross. In the celebration of Greccio the arc expands even further, reaching the Eucharist, where God continues to give himself to us every day.
FRANCIS WAS NOT THE INTRODUCER OF THE NATIVITY
Greccio's Christmas was a unique celebration, and this in a double sense: firstly, because neither Francis nor his spiritual children repeated it; and, furthermore, because it is incomparable and unrepeatable.
On the other hand, we must not forget that, despite all its uniqueness, the expressive and effective representation of the mystery of Christmas in Greccio, if we except the celebration of the Eucharist, is part of the medieval tradition of the representations of the mysteries. of Christmas time. It has some points of contact, especially with bucolic dramas.
In short, it would be wrong to consider Francis as the introducer of the nativity scenes, as edifying and even scientific writings so often allege. Before Francisco there were some simple stagings of the nativity scene, although not very numerous; for example, in Santa María la Mayor, in Rome. And our well-known and popular nativity scenes, with their graphic figures that gradually approach the portal, appeared much later, starting in the 16th century, as a derivation of those sacred stagings. Its diffusion is due more to the Jesuits than to the Franciscans.[7]
Thus, with the staging of Christmas Eve, Francisco finds himself, on the one hand, within the current of his time; But, on the other hand, the connection of this representation with the Eucharist is a new element and presents singular and inimitable features that must be thanked to Francisco's gifts of simplicity and improvisation. His entire quasi-dramatic liturgical celebration is impregnated with the experience and transmission of Francis' faith, so personal, global and sensitive. Here and in the universal popularity of the Saint lies the fact that the popular voice wants to present him as the introducer and diffuser of the nativity scene. But the Poor Man of Assisi has no need for this false glory.
In all the magnificent radiance of Greccio, in all the admiration of that wonderful celebration staged by Francis, we must keep in mind his Christmas Psalm, serious, serene, which invites us to imitate and follow: Francis and his brothers recited it several times a day during the entire Christmas season, and that psalm-meditation accompanied his day and produced in his daily life what in Greccio blossomed into an unforgettable festival.
Psalm 15 from the “Office of the Passion” of Saint Francis
Shout for joy to God, our help:
Hail to the Lord, the living and true God
with shouts of joy.
Because the Lord is excellent, terrible,
great king over all the earth.
Because the most holy Father in heaven,
Our king before the ages,
He sent his beloved Son from above,
and was born of the blessed Virgin Saint Mary.
He called to me: "You are my Father";
and I will make him my firstborn,
exalted above the kings of the earth.
On that day the Lord sent his mercy,
and at night their song.
This is the day that the Lord made,
let us exult and rejoice in him.
For a most holy beloved child has been given to us,
and was born for us on the way
and was laid in a manger,
because he had no place in the inn.
Glory to the Lord God in the highest,
and on earth, peace to men of good will.
Let the heavens rejoice and the earth exult,
let the sea and all that fills it move;
The fields and everything in them will rejoice.
Sing him a new song,
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Because great is the Lord
and very worthy of praise,
more fearsome than all the gods.
Families of the people, offer to the Lord,
offer glory and honor to the Lord,
offer the Lord glory for his name.
Offer your bodies
and carry his holy cross on your back,
and follow his most holy precepts to the end.
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