Vatican City, May 24, 2005 / 22:00 pm
This morning, Pope Benedict XVI, continuing his series of Wednesday catechesis on the Psalms, offered the 27,000 gathered pilgrims a message of hope, assuring them that God will not abandon his people to the terrors of pain and death.
The Holy Father focused his talk on Psalm 115, "Thanksgiving in the Temple," pointing out that St. Paul refers to this psalm when he tells the Corinthians: "Since we have the same spirit of faith as he had who wrote 'I believed and so I spoke,' we too believe, and so we speak."
Pope Benedict illustrated the spiritual harmony between Paul and the Psalmist "in serene faith, and sincere witness, despite human suffering and weakness."
Together with Psalm 114, he said, this Psalm constitutes "a single act of thanksgiving, addressed to the Lord, Who frees us from the terror of death."