In the Liturgy of the Hours, or in the Bible itself, we enjoy the collection of 150 inspired Psalms, most of which were composed by King David in ancient Israel. Reciting them is a central part of the Catholic devotional life, but memorizing them allows us to reflect on and use them.
The psalms are arranged for us in lines proper for chanting. They are short and easier to memorize than normal text (prose). By reciting them regularly (as you should), you will become familiar with the content of the psalms, but you will not memorize them. Memorizing them takes more intentional effort–and a helpful method.
To prepare for memorization, look at each line and identify the first few words that begin the line. In the text below, I have set these words in bold print, but I simply underline them with a pencil in my prayer book or Bible:
Like the deer that yearns
for running streams,
so my soul is yearning
for you, my God.
My soul is thirsting for God,
the God of my life;
when can I enter and see
the face of God?
My tears have become my bread,
by night, by day,
as I hear it said all the day long:
Where is your God?
These things will I remember
as I pour out my soul:
how I would lead the rejoicing crowd
into the house of God,
amid cries of gladness and thanksgiving,
the throng wild with joy.
Why are you cast down, my soul,
why groan within me?
Hope in God; I will praise him still,
my savior and my God.
My soul is cast down within me
as I think of you,
from the country of Jordan and Mount Hermon,
from the Hill of Mizar.
Deep is calling on deep,
in the roar of waters;
your torrents and all your waves
swept over me.
By day the Lord will send
his loving kindness;
by night I will sing to him,
praise the God of my life.
I will say to God, my rock:
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning,
oppressed by the foe?”
With cries that pierce me to the heart,
my enemies revile me,
saying to me all day long:
Where is your God?
Why are you cast down, my soul,
why groan within me?
Hope in God; I will praise him still,
my savior and my God.
While I recite the psalm weekly, I learn the content, but as I do, I devote some time to memorizing the first few words of each line. After some time, when given these first few words, I can complete the rest of the line from the habit of recitation. I only need to memorize these first words. So, what I memorize is the following
Like the deer…
for running…
so my soul…
for you…
My soul is thirsting…
the God…
when can I…
the face…
My tears…
by night…
as I hear…
Where is…
These things…
as I pour…
how I would lead…
into the house…
amid cries…
the throng…
Why are you…
why groan…
Hope in God…
my savior…
My soul…
as I think…
from the country…
from the Hill…
Deep is…
in the roar…
your torrents…
swept…
By day…
his loving…
by night…
praise…
I will say…
“Why have…
Why do I…
oppressed…
With cries…
my enemies…
saying to me…
Where is…
Why are you…
why groan…
Hope in God…
my savior…
If you pray the Liturgy of the Hours regularly, you can probably finish most of the lines above using the first words as prompts. That’s how it works. If you can’t, you need more recitation.
This is how you can memorize the Psalms–and any other text that you recite regularly.
God bless,
Mr. William C. Michael
Classical Liberal Arts Society.
Mr. William C. Michael is the founding headmaster of the Classical Liberal Arts Academy. Mr. Michael is a Lay Dominican in the Catholic Church and is a homeschooling father to ten children, all of whom have studied in the Academy. He graduated from Rutgers University with an honors degree in Classics & Ancient History and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Mr. Michael has worked in private education as a Classics teacher and administrator for over 20 years. Mr. Michael is known for his talks on the Academy YouTube channel and his sponsorship of Classical Catholic Radio.