The Seven Penitential Psalms

There are many pious customs in Catholic tradition. During Lent, one of the more popular customs is to pray the Stations of the Cross. There is an old version still used by some parishes; and there is a new version - one based on scripture passages.

An older pious custom is the recitation of the Seven Penitential Psalms as prayers against the seven deadly sins: pride, sloth, gluttony, avarice, lust, envy, and anger. These seven penitential psalms are: Psalm 6, 31, 37, 51, 101, 129, and 142. Psalm 51 is recited every morning prayer for Friday by those who pray the breviary. Below are excerpts from these psalms; but you can read them in their entirety from a Bible translation of your preference.

Psalm 6
Lord, do not reprove me in your anger; punish me not in your rage. Have mercy on me, Lord, I have no strength; Lord, heal me, my body is racked; my soul is racked with pain.

Psalm 31
Happy the man whose offence is forgiven, whose sin is remitted. But now I have acknowledged my sins; my guilt I did not hide. I said: 'I will confess my offence to the Lord.' And you, Lord, have forgiven the guilt of my sin.

Psalm 37
My wounds are foul and festering, the result of my own folly. I am bowed and brought to my knees. I go mourning all the day long. O Lord, you know all my longing: my groans are not hidden from you.

Psalm 51
Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness. In your compassion blot out my offence. O wash me more and more from my guilt and cleanse me from my sin. My offences truly I know them; my sin is always before me. Against you, you alone, have I sinned; what is evil in your sight I have done. O purify me, then I shall be clean; O wash me, I shall be whiter than snow.

Psalm 101
O Lord, listen to my prayer and let my cry for help reach you. Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress. Turn your ear towards me and answer me quickly when I call. My days are like a passing shadow and I wither away like the
grass.

Psalm 129
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord, Lord, hear my voice! O let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleading. If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt, Lord, who would survive? But with you is found forgiveness: for this we revere you.

Psalm 142
You are faithful, you are just; give answer. Do not call your servant to judgment for no one is just in your sight. For your name's sake, Lord, save my life; in your justice save my soul from distress.

In a hagiography of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, it reported that during his formation in the Cistercian order, he faithfully recited these seven penitential psalms. And there is a story that his formator - St. Stephen Harding - knew miraculously that St. Bernard forgot to recite at one time this devotion and reminded him to do so.