Penitential Psalms

Penitential Psalms, seven of the Psalms of David, so called as being specially expressive of sorrow for sin, and accepted by Christian devotion as forms of prayer suitable for the repentant sinner. They are Psalms vi., xxxii., xxxviii., li., cii., cxxx., and cxliii. according to the Authorised Version, which correspond with vi., xxxi., xxxvii., l., ci., cxxix., and cxlii. of the Vulgate. These Psalms have been set apart from a very early period, and are referred to as such by Origen. Pope Innocent III. ordered that they should be recited in Lent. They have a special place in the Roman Breviary, and more than one of the popes attached an indulgence to the recital of them. The most deeply penitential, and the most frequent in use, both public and private, is the 51st Psalm, or the Miserere (50th in the Vulgate).