The Venerable Bede (c. 673-735) was a Benedictine monk best known for his Ecclesiastical History of the English People. Bede also compiled one of the church's oldest and most inspiring devotional books, the Abbreviated Psalter. This work is a direct outgrowth of Bede's devotion to the Opus Dei, an elaborate ritual that centered around the Psalter and required its complete recitation every week of a monk's life. The purpose of the Opus Dei was to praise God for the gift of life, and years of constant repetition made Bede into a living Psalter.
His Abbreviated Psalter consists of condensed renderings of each of the Psalms, and it is designed for personal prayer and meditation. The extracts that Bede carefully chose 1300 years ago continue to inspire with their focus on the essential spirituality of human existence, and all persons of faith will find this book a constant source of devotional strength.
This new edition of Bede's masterpiece - the first accurate English translation - is based on Gerald M. Browne's own critical edition of the Latin text, Collectio Psalterii Bedae Venerabili adscripta. Browne also includes an informative preface introduing the Venerable Bede and his work. The book's convenient size allows it to be readily at hand whenever there is need for its message of consolation and hope.