The answer
St. Mary, the daughter of David the psalmist, offers us a wonderful model of praise inspired by the Holy Spirit who came upon her as she conceived the incarnate Word in her womb (Luke 1:46–55):
a. St. Mary utters her praise after the incarnation: not merely in exquisite literary verses,
but as the bursting forth of the joy in her depths for the One who dwelt within her. Therefore, our praise should bear this same spirit and thus reveal the dwelling of the Lord Christ within His Church, both in the soul of those who composed the praises of the Church and in the souls of those who sing them.
b. She utters her praise after crossing the mountains of Judah and arriving at the house
of Zacharias to serve Elizabeth her elderly cousin. Praise is associated with the spirit of practical service. Since through praise we partake of the heavenly work of heavenly beings, we must know that they are not lethargic beings, but are constantly at work, as is appropriate to their nature.
c. She begins her praise by glorifying her Savior. In all our praises — even when
venerating St. Mary and the saints — our eyes must never stray from the cross, so that we may glorify Him who declared His greatness through His divine and exalted practical love.
d. Her praise bears the spirit of hope and joy: “all generations will call me blessed”
(Luke 1:48). Praise is a sacrifice offered to God through hope in the work of His grace which transforms our dust into the stuff of heaven and raises us from corruption to
incorruption. Thus, the one who praises is not two-faced, for his praising tongue is in harmony with his elated heart. Praise transforms the soul into a second heaven.
St. John Cassian wonders whether the monks who praise God are angels who descended to earth, or humans who ascended to heaven. He wonders, not only because he heard their unceasing praises ring from the north of the land of Egypt to the south, but also because he experienced the way that their hearts were transformed into heaven, for the kingdom of God was within them.599
e. Her praise expresses her rising above pain, for she sang, “He has shown strength with
His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts” (Luke 1:51). No wonder, then, that we see the apostles Paul and Silas in the deep prison but unconcerned with their wounds. In fact, they sang hymns to God that shook heaven to action. An angel was sent, the foundations of the prison were shaken, their bonds were loosed, and the doors were opened (see Acts 16:23–26). How powerful is this wondrous praise that shook heaven and earth for the sake of the ones who praised, for they offered “a sacrifice of praise” to God in elation!
Abba Evagrius Ponticus says, “Pray gently and calmly, sing with understanding and rhythm; then you will soar like a young eagle high in the heavens. Psalmody calms the passions and curbs the uncontrolled impulses in the body; and prayer enables the intellect to activate its own energy … [Psalmody awakens] the noetic power of the intellect to contemplation of divine knowledge. If you have not yet received the gift of prayer or psalmody, persevere patiently and you will receive it.”600
St. Jerome says, “Be like the grasshopper and make night musical … Sing with the spirit, but sing with the understanding also. And let your song be that of the psalmist.”601
Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty
Notes
599 Cf. Columba Stewart, Cassian the Monk (Oxford University Press, 1998): pp. 104–105.
600 St. Evagrius the Solitary, “On Prayer: One Hundred and Fifty-Three Texts,” in The Philokalia: The Complete Text, Volume I, trans., G. E. H. Palmer et al., eds., Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain, and Makarios of Corinth (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1979) 82–83, 86–87: p. 65.
601 St. Jerome, Letters 22 (NPNF II/6:28).