![dek](https://content.time.com/time/photoessays/2009/top10_bible/touch_history.jpg)
The Psalter's edges are stained and worn thin by use. Father Justin Sinaites, a St. Catherine monk and librarian, explains that "this text was not created as an abstraction, but to support the dedication and prayers of a living Christian community." The touch of the holy is close, even in the 21st century.