Twenty-two Psalms

Join Konrad Schaefer, OSB, on a retreat guided by the ancient poetry of the Psalter.

The best reading of the Psalms is one that brings us into greater friendship with God, where we see how the ancient poems can touch our contemporary lives. In Twenty-Two Psalms, Father Konrad Schaefer, OSB, invites the reader on a retreat to one’s inner cloister—to reflect deeply on a diverse selection of psalms and to contemplate life through their masterful verses. The goal of this retreat is to offer space and time to revive friendship with God, to revisit our first impulse to intimacy with the font of life that continues to form us.

Each segment invites the reader to step back and contemplate an aspect of one’s life with an accompanying psalm. Father Konrad then explains each psalm with exegetical expertise, highlighting their poetic style, the historical and cultural context in which they were written, and how they can provide value in twenty-first century life.

Each psalm is also accompanied by a parable, often set in the context of monastic life, which gives insight into Benedictine life, values, and spirituality. Whether you pray the Psalms each day through the Liturgy of the Hours, hear them at Mass once a week, or are just spiritually curious, Twenty-Two Psalms is an invitation to enter more deeply into the Psalter and to find meaning and richness in the ancient prayers.

Konrad Schaefer, OSB, is a professed monk of the Benedictine Abbey of Los Ángeles, Cuernavaca, México, professor of Sacred Scripture at the Pontifical University of México, and currently serves as prior of the Monastery of San José, Xela, Guatemala, where he continues with retreat service and teaching. He is the author of the Berit Olam volume Psalms (Liturgical Press, 2005).