The Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary by St Bonaventure : Psalm 1

St Bonaventure Receiving the Banner of St Sepulchre
from the Madonna, by Francesco Solimena (1710). The 
Cathedral of San Paolo in Aversa, Italy. Public domain.

The following posts present the text of The Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Its authorship is generally attributed to St Bonaventure (1221-15 July 1274) who studied at the University of Paris where in 1243 he joined the Franciscan Order. In 1254, he was made a Master of Theology and took over the leadership of the Franciscan School in Paris. Bonaventure was officially confirmed as seventh Minister General of the Franciscans in 1257. 

He later wrote a life of St Francis and has been called the second founder of the Order. Appointed Cardinal the year before his death in 1274, he was canonised in 1482 and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1588 with the title of Seraphic Doctor.

I offer this annotated presentation of St Bonaventure’s Psalter as a small gift to our gentle Queen and Mother in gratitude for her many graces and favours, praying for her continued help and protection for the author and his family. 

This presentation of St Bonaventure’s Marian Psalms will include: an English translation based upon that of Sr Mary Emmanuel O.S.B. in the 1932 edition published by the B. Herder Book Co; the Latin text as published in the Psalterium B. Virignis Mariæ of 1679; with footnotes and additional notes translated from the French edition of the Psalter in Fillion’s Bible (1900).

Psalm 1

“Blessed art thou among women.” The Annunciation, by
Luca Giordano (1672). Met. Museum of Art, N.Y. C.C.0.

1. Blessed is the man, O Virgin Mary, who loves thy name : thy grace will comfort his soul.

2. He will be refreshed as by fountains of water : thou wilt produce in him the fruit of justice.

3. Blessed art thou among women[1] : by the faith of thy holy heart.

4. By the beauty of thy body thou surpassest all women : by the excellence of thy sanctity thou surpassest all Angels and Archangels

5. Thy mercy and thy grace are preached everywhere : God has blessed the works of thy hands[2]

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

1. Beatus vir qui diliget nomen tuum Maria : gratia tua animam eius confortabit.

2. Tanquam aquarum fontibus irrigatum uber : in eo fructum iustitiæ propagabis.

3. Benedicta tu inter mulieribus : per credulitatem cordis sanct tui.

4. Universas enim feminas vincis pulchritudine carnis : superas Angelos, et Archangelos excellentia sanctitatis.

5. Misericordia tua et gratia ubique prædicatur : Deus operibus manuum tuarum benedicit. 

Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto,

sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in sæcula sæculorum. Amen.

Footnotes

[1] Luke i. 28 & 42. Cf. Foreshadowings by Judith : Blessed art thou, O daughter, by the Lord the most high God, above all women upon the earth: Judith xiii. 23 & Jahel: Blessed among women be Jahel: in Judges v. 24.

[2] Cf. The Lord thy God will make thee abound in all the works of thy hands, in the fruit of thy womb: Deut. xxx. 9.

Davidic Psalm 1 

1 Blessed is the man who hath not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the chair of pestilence. 2 But his will is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he shall meditate day and night. 3[1]  And he shall be like a tree[2]  which is planted near the running waters, which shall bring forth its fruit, in due season. And his leaf shall not fall off: and all whatsoever he shall do shall prosper.[3]  4 Not so the wicked, not so: but like the dust, which the wind driveth from the face of the earth. 5 Therefore the wicked shall not rise again in judgment: nor sinners in the council of the just. 6 For the Lord knoweth the way of the just: and the way of the wicked shall perish.[4 ]

Notes

The Book of Psalms develops the following thought which is repeated frequently in the Bible and especially in the book of Proverbs: true happiness consists only in union with God through the faithful observance of the Law and outside of this will be found only profound misery.

The Psalm is divided into two almost equal parts: The first, in verses 1-3, describes the character and condition of the just man; the second, in verses 4-6, foretells unhappiness and eternal ruin for the wicked.

[1] Verse 2 of the Marian Psalm echoes the image in verse 3 of the Davidic Psalm: “And he shall be like a tree which is planted near the running waters, which shall bring forth its fruit, in due season. And his leaf shall not fall off: and all whatsoever he shall do shall prosper.”

[2] like a tree :  a magnificent image which says much. In the Middle East which is so short of water, trees wither and die quite frequently during periods of great heat: a beautiful tree, which stands near running waters . . .is therefore no less valued than worthy of note. satul, the word used in the Hebrew original which the Vulgate translates as plantatum, designates moreover a tree very firmly established which has put down deep roots. It is probable that the sacred poet had particularly in mind the palm tree . . . The running waters represent the rich graces which the just man can access through his unbroken union with God.  which shall bring forth its fruit : the  mystical tree, ever fertile, regularly brings forth delicious fruits of virtues and good works. 

[3] and all whatsoever he shall do shall prosper: the comparison has come to an end and the idea is expressed  quite simply in everyday language.   all the works of the Just Man are successful because all is acts of by God

[4] The Psalm ends with: “the way of the wicked shall perish”:Fillion exclaims: What a contrast with the word Beatus / Blessed, which opens verse 1!”

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The Virgin of Tenderness. >12th century.

SUB tuum præsidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genitrix. Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta. Amen. 

 

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

He that hearkeneth to me, shall not be confounded: and they that work by me shall not sin. They that explain me shall have life everlasting. Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) xxiv. 30-31.30-31.