Vatican City, Oct 19, 2011 / 13:17 pm
Pope Benedict XVI told pilgrims at this week’s general audience that Psalm 136 summarizes the loving plan of God manifested throughout history.
“This is a great hymn of praise to celebrate the Lord in the multiple repeated manifestations of his goodness throughout the history of man,” the Pope said to over 30,000 pilgrims gathered Oct. 19 in St. Peter’s Square.
He explained how the psalm is known as the “Great Hallel” and is traditionally sung at the conclusion of the Passover meal because it retells the story of God’s creation, the Jewish people’s liberation from slavery in Egypt, 40 years of exile in the desert and subsequent entry into the Promised Land.
“As such, it was probably sung by Jesus and his disciples at the Last Supper,” the Pope said, pointing towards the passage in the Gospels of Mark and Matthew that says, “after they had sung a hymn, they went to the Mount of Olives.” It is therefore a “horizon of praise” that “illuminates the difficult road to Golgotha.”
The psalm is composed as a litany with each historical event of God saving his people being met by the repeated refrain, “for his steadfast love endures forever.”