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The Book of Psalms is one of the longest books in the bible and it contains a variety of prayers, reflections and invitations. These are all in poetic form and are filled with images and sayings which inspire us and allow us to touch a range of emotions.
The variety within the psalms corresponds to the fluctuations of life. Laments express the pain of loss or abandonment. Hymns give voice to the joys of creation and the newness of life. In A Friendly Guide to the Psalms, Mary Raeburn offers us a way into this extraordinary resource, seeing it as ancient yet ever new, reflecting the highs and lows of life and seeing these as intimately related to God. This poetry has been prayed by Jews and Christians for thousands of years and still prompts us to question and to pray.
This latest Friendly Guide invites the reader to dialogue with the text and ultimately to enter into dialogue with God, the creator, the refuge, the absent-one, the king and the confidant.
Mary Reaburn is a Sister of Our Lady of Sion. She studied at Monash University, London University and the University of Divinity and currently teaches at Yarra Theological Union (YTU). Mary is a member of the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Council for Ecumenism and Religious Relations with Jews. She was involved for seven years in the Centre for Biblical Formation in Jerusalem (2007-2014). Her profound engagement with the scriptures is reflected in the depth of attention given here to the study of the Book of Psalms.
Mary Reaburn talks about her new book, A Friendly Guide to the Book of Psalms, and why she wrote it.
