Vatican City, Jun 14, 2005 / 22:00 pm
During today's general audience, held this morning in a rain-soaked St. Peter's Square, Pope Benedict XVI recalled that God does not remain indifferent to the cry of His people, neither does He disappoint their hope.
The Holy Father spoke to the 32,000 people who had gathered to hear him on the subject of Psalm 122--"Our trust is in the Lord"--and explained that this psalm describes "the faithful who raises his eyes to the Lord and awaits a divine response, in order to see a loving gesture, a benevolent gaze. The psalmist uses an image, that of the servant and the slave girl looking to the hand of their master, awaiting a liberating decision."
The Holy Father continued: "The psalm is a plea in which the voice of one member of the faithful joins that of the entire community. The hope is expressed that the hands of the Lord will open to scatter forth gifts of justice and freedom."
Pope Benedict highlighted the importance of God's loving gaze, which appears in the second half of the psalm, "characterized by the cry: 'Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us!' This is a continuation of the end of the first part of the psalm, which emphasizes the idea of awaiting confidently: 'till He shows mercy upon us’.”
"The faithful need God's intervention because they are in a dire situation, suffering scorn and disdain at the hands of the rich and arrogant. For this reason, the just have entrusted their cause to the Lord, Who does not remain indifferent to their imploring eyes, Who does not ignore their plea, Who does not disappoint their hope."
At the end of his speech, the Holy Father recalled St. Ambrose’s words: “Christ is all for us. If you need to heal your wounds, He is the medicine; if you are burning in fever, He is the water spring; if you feel oppressed by iniquity, He is justice; if you need help, He is the strength; if you fear death, He is life; if you long for heaven, He is the Way; if you need to come out of darkness, He is the light; if you hunger, He is the bread”. The Holy Father then joined the faithful at the singing of the Pater Noster and imparted to them His apostolic blessing.
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