Saint Augustine, building upon such Pauline insights as “you are the body of Christ, and individually members of it … If one member suffers, all suffer together, if one member is honored, all rejoice together” (1Cor 12:27,26), articulated his key insight into the “totus Christus,” the whole Christ.

Strikingly, Augustine applied this insight to the Church’s praying the psalms. They are the prayer of the whole Christ: Head and members, though prayed diversely by each according to the content of the psalm, whether penitential, petitionary, or praising.

When praying the liturgy of the hours, I try to be mindful of the fact that I am praying in union with the whole body of believers, united with Christ our Head. I try to do so, not only at the time of the specific petitions, but throughout the praying of the psalm. When praying alone, I modify the invocation: “O God, come to our assistance; o Lord, make haste to help us!”

Friday Lauds always begin with the great penitential psalm 51, in which we cry: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, cast me not away from your presence and take not your Holy Spirit from me.”

The whole Christ prays today for and with Philip Seymour Hoffman.