The Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary by St Bonaventure : Psalm 42

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 Herder; the Latin text as published in the Psalterium B. Virginis Mariæ of 1679; the text of the Douay-Rheims Psalms; with footnotes and occasional notes translated from Fillion’s Bible (1900 edition).

Psalm 42

“Let thy blessed virginity crush his head...let the infernal pit swallow him alive.”
The Virgin of the Apocalypse (1760), by Miguel Cabrera. 
Museo Nacional de Arte, Mexico City. Public domain.

1. Judge me, O Lady, and distinguish my cause from the perverse nation[1]: from the malignant serpent[2] and the baleful dragon[3] deliver me.

2. Let thy holy fecundity destroy him: let thy blessed virginity crush his head.[4]

3. Let thy holy prayers strengthen us against him: let thy merits put to nought his strength.

4. Send the persecutor of my soul into the abyss: let the infernal pit swallow him alive.[5]

5. But I and my soul will bless thy name in the land of my captivity[6]: and I will glorify thee forever and ever.

Glory be to the Father etc.

1. Iudica me Domina, et discerne causam meam de gente perversa : a serpente maligno, et a dracone pestifero libera me.

2. Sancta fœcunditas tua disperdat eum : beata Virginis tua conterat caput eius.

3. Sanctæ preces tuæ corroborent nos contra eum : sancta merita tua exinanient virtutem eius.

4. Persecutorem animæ meæ mitte in abyssum : puteus infernalis deglutiat eum viventem.

5. Ego autem et anima mea in terra captivitatis meæ benedicam nomen tuum : et glorificabo in sæcula sæculorum.

Gloria Patri, etc.

Footnotes

[1] Cf. “Judge me, O God, and distinguish my cause from the nation that is not holy”: Davidic Ps. XLII, 1.

[2] Cf. “Now the serpent was more subtle than any of the beasts of the earth which the Lord God had made”: Gen. iii, 1. “more subtle” – from Lat.“callidior,” meaning more cunning, more crafty.

[3] Cf. “And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars:  And being with child, she cried travailing in birth, and was in pain to be delivered. And there was seen another sign in heaven: and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads, and ten horns . . . and the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to be delivered;” Apoc. xii, 3-4. 

[4] Cf. “I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head”: Gen. iii, 15; “Thou hast broken the heads of the dragon:” Ps. LXXIII, 14; 

[5] Cf. Apoc. xx, 1 & 3. 

[6] Cf. “And if they sin against thee (for there is no man that sinneth not) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them up to their enemies, and they lead them away captive to a land either afar off, or near at hand, and if they be converted in their heart in the land to which they were led captive, and do penance, and pray to thee in the land of their captivity, saying: We have sinned, we have done wickedly, we have dealt unjustly: and return to thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their captivity, to which they were led away, and adore thee towards the way of their own land which thou gavest their fathers, and of the city, which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built to thy name: Then hear thou from heaven, that is, from thy firm dwelling place, their prayers, and do judgment, and forgive thy people, although they have sinned”: 2 Paral. (2 Chron.) vi, 36-39.

Davidic Psalm XLII

1 A psalm for David. Judge me, O God, and distinguish my cause from the nation that is not holy: deliver me from the unjust and deceitful man.  2 For thou art God my strength: why hast thou cast me off? and why do I go sorrowful whilst the enemy afflicteth me?  3 Send forth thy light and thy truth: they have conducted me, and brought me unto thy holy hill, and into thy tabernacles.  4 And I will go in to the altar of God: to God who giveth joy to my youth.  5 To thee, O God my God, I will give praise upon the harp:  why art thou sad, O my soul? and why dost thou disquiet me?  6 Hope in God, for I will still give praise to him: the salvation of my countenance, and my God.

Notes

From the Ordo Missæ of 1570.

Psalm XLII is recited every day at the foot of the altar by the priest who is going to offer the Holy sacrifice of the Mass. The oscillation in the text between anxiety and confidence are admirably suited to express the feelings which fill the heart of the Minister of God at this solemn moment.

1: “Judge me, O God”: Cf. Ps. VII, 8; XXV, 1: XXXIV, 1 & 24. Far from fearing the Divine judgements, the psalmist actually desires them in order to demonstrate as quickly as possible His innocence and to obtain from the Lord Justice and deliverance.

“distinguish my cause from the nation that is not holy”: as in the case of David and his friends at the time of Absalom's revolt.

“from the unjust and deceitful man”: Probably used in an expressive sense synonymous with “nation.” If it denotes a particular individual, then it would doubtless be a reference to Achitophel who was then playing such an important role in the revolt. Cf. Ps. XLI, 10.

2: “For thou art God my strength: why hast thou cast me off? etc”: verse 2 is almost a word for word repetition of Psalm XLI, 10. Two distressed questions both begin with the word “Why?” The psalmist is aware of his love for God and of receiving His love in return. So why is he treated by Him like an enemy?

3: “Send forth thy light and thy truth”: Two Angelic wings to take him back to the Sanctuary. By His light, God will dissipate the dark shadows of David’s present situation; by His truth He will fulfil His ancient promises.

“they have conducted me, and brought me”: it would be more correct to translate these verbs in the future tense.

“unto thy holy hill”:  the holy hill known as Mt Sion. Cf. Ps. II, 6.

“into thy tabernacles”: this may be a plural intended to convey the idea of majesty; or it might be an allusion to the triple tent which covered over the sanctuary, or to the three chambers within the Tabernacle. Cf. Ex. xxvi, 1 et seq.

4: “And I will go in”: the poet is looking forward to the joys he will experience when it is given to him to return to Jerusalem.

“to the altar of God”: the altar of Holocausts, on which he will offer sacrifices of thanksgiving.

“to God who giveth joy to my youth”: a very beautiful thought; but the Hebrew text offers a variant which is no less lacking in beauty: the God of the joy of my happiness – meaning the unique and inexhaustible source of all my holy happiness.

5:  “To thee, O God my God”: a repetition which is full of power and of sweetness.

“Why art thou sad, O my soul? ” etc. : the refrain now resounds with a new energy. The two voices of discouragement and of trust which at the beginning were almost in complete disagreement now find themselves in perfect harmony.

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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.