Protestants How many psalms and canticles can you recite without the text?

[Sixtus]

I rather liked the thread asking Catholics how often they read the bible. It sorts of fit in with the myth that Catholics do not read the bible. just because they belong to the Church whose Scriptures they are.

But that is rather like owning a car and never reading the manual.

In my experience, many Catholics like the book of Psalms.

The Catholicism has adopted many psalms as prayers and Catholics tend to pray them so often they know them off by heart.

Likewise, we tend to pray the Canticles such as:

The Canticle of Mary - Magnificat-Lk 1:46-55, the canticle of Zachariah - the Benedictus-Lk 1:68-79, the canticle of Simeon - the Nunc Demitis-Lk2:29-32,

The formula we follow is that the Benedictus accompanies morning prayer, the Magnificat evening and the Unc Demitis night prayer.

How many canticles and psalms do Protestants pray daily/weekly and how many on average do they know off the cuff?

 

[Sixtus]

On waking, after the Catholic custom of a ‘morning offering’ I pray the Canticle of Daniel Dan 3:57,88,56, which of course is known to Catholics as the Canticle from Morning Prayer of week 1 of the psalter

 

[Sixtus]

I used to know about 30 psalms off the cuff as prayers and about 20 canticles but my memory is not what it was. They are still my faviourites though.

All Catholics learn as children Ps 129 [130] Out of the depths I cry to you oh Lord, Lord hear my voice, let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication, if thou Oh Lord would mark our guilt, who would servive, but with you is mercy and forgiveness for this we revere you,. My soul is wating for the Lord i count on his work. My soul is longing for the Lord more than watchmen for daybreak. Let the watchmen count on daybreak and Israel on the Lord, because with the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemptionand inddeed He will redeem Israel from all his iniquity. Concluding doxology

As a reader in Church, I cannot read the canticle Christ the servant of the Lord Phil 2:6-11, it is just too emotional, it reduces me to tears of gratitude and awe.

The canticle God the Saviour Eph 1:3-10 is another great favourite of mine.

So too the great canticle prayed in Catholic churches as a prayer Is 2:2-5 In the latter days it shall come to pass that the mountain of the house of the Lord sahll be established as the higest of the mountains and shall be raised above the hills and all the nations shall flow to it etc etc

My all time favourite psalms are 62 [63] 50, 128

 

[RNRobert]

I read somewhere that medieval monks were required to know the enitre Psalter by heart.

 

[LilyM]

Absolutely know all the canticles off by heart - the Canticle of Daniel is a bit long for my poor old short-term memory.

‘The Lord is My Shepherd’ (Psalm 23) of course, from singing it so often at school.

Most of the ‘Miserere’ (Psalm 51) and a lot of the ‘De Profundis’ (Psalm 130)

All the ones in the Liturgy of the Hours Psalter I can at least remember substantial chunks of off by heart.

 

[Sixtus]

read somewhere that medieval monks were required to know the enitre Psalter by heart.

Wow, that is going some.

LillyM I think provides a clue. ‘Praying the Liturgy of the Hours’ regularly one does remember chunks of it.

It is also amazing how one internalises the hymns too.