✝️Gregorian Chants: Psalms of Wealth🎻🎶.

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Who wrote them, what is their purpose and how have they evolved to become important prayers of the Catholic Church.
Israel, like its neighbors in Egypt, Mesopotamia and Canaan, cultivated lyric poetry in all its forms from its origins. And the treasure of the religious lyric of Israel has been preserved for us by the psalter.

The psaltery (from the Greek psalterion, properly the name of the string instrument that accompanied the songs, the psalms) is the collection of the 150 psalms.

The word psalm, etymologically speaking, comes from the Latin word psalmus, which in turn comes from the Greek word psalmoi, which means praise.

They are, therefore, at the same time religious poems and prayers of praise.
What are the psalms for?
They are compositions that, mainly and in the vast majority of cases, have the purpose of praising divinity; although they also have other purposes (pleading and lamenting).

The psalms remind us of the need for praise and worship, simply for the joy of being in the presence of God who creates and sustains the universe.

Praying with the psalms we do not have to worry about asking for something or asking for explanations but rather they help us to admire the goodness of God and his greatness, and this is the best prayer; It is a selfless, generous and most pleasing prayer in His eyes.
The psalms are hymns that help to pray, as Saint Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria (4th century), says best:

Most of the Bible speaks to us, but the psalms speak for us

Who wrote them?
The set of psalms or the psalter are the songs of the Temple of Jerusalem. All of them are, like all Holy Scripture, inspired by the Holy Spirit.

And in the composition of these hymns or songs, the Levites play an important role, to whom some 50 psalms are attributed, although anonymously.

Of the rest, according to tradition, some psalms have specific people as authors, such as, among others, King David (to whom 73 psalms are attributed) and King Solomon.
The psalms are grouped into five books or five collections:

First book, from 1-41.
Second book, from 42-72.
Third book, from 73-89.
Fourth book, from 90-106.
And fifth book, from 107-150.

Each of these groups is separated by a doxology.

Various literary genres
Regarding literary genres, the psalms are divided into:

– Hymns: the songs of Zion and the psalms of the kingdom of God.
– Supplications or psalms of suffering or psalms of lamentation.
- Thanksgiving.
– Some writers take certain psalms to form other genres such as: messianic psalms, didactic psalms and psalms of wisdom.

The importance of the psalms today
This type of prayer was important as it helped consolidate the Christian faith as the Church expanded. Wherever the Church spread, Christians gathered in churches to pray the psalms.

In this sense, for the Church, they are so important that they form a fundamental part of the Divine Office. The Divine Office is the set of prayers that the Church has wanted to be prayed at different times of the day, hence the other name 'Liturgy of the Hours'.

Music By:
[0:00​] 1. Salmo 22 (23): O bom pastor
[4:23​] 2. Salmo 45 (46): Deus é refúgio e fortaleza
[7:50​] 3. Salmo 32 (33): Hino à providência divina
[12:32​] 4. Salmo 98 (99): Santo é o Senhor nosso Deus
[15:59​] 5. Salmo 146 (147): Poder e bondade de Deus
[19:00​] 6. Salmo 64 (65): Solene ação de graças
[22:42​] 7. Salmo 18 (19): Louvor da criação
[27:32​] 8. Salmo 79 (80): Visitai, Senhor, a vossa vinha
[33:09​] 9. Salmo 33 (34): O Senhor é a salvação dos justos
[37:42​] 10. Salmo 91 (92): Louvor do Senhor e criador
[41:16​] 11. Salmo 110 (111): As grandes obras do Senhor
[44:02​] 12. Salmo 48 (49): A vaidade das riquezas
[49:02​] 13. Salmo 50 (51): Misericórdia, meu Deus!
[53:32​] 14. Salmo 1: Os dois caminhos do homem
[56:13​] 15. Salmo 46 (47): O senhor é o rei do universo.

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