Vatican City, Mar 16, 2004 / 22:00 pm
During his first open-air audience of the year, Pope John Paul II commented on Psalm 20, “Thanksgiving for the victory of the Messiah-King,” and recalled that the light of God is always present in the midst of humanity.
The Pope said that this psalm, “one of the royal psalms,” expresses the gratitude of the people for “what God has done in favor of the Hebrew sovereign on the solemn day of his enthronement.”
God, he continued, showers blessing on the king who is “a reflection of the light of God in the midst of humanity.”
“When we recite this psalm,” he continued, “we see the face of Christ, the Messiah King in the figure of the Hebrew king. He is the Son of God in the fullest sense and is therefore the presence of God in the midst of humanity.”
The Poe said the Messiah “is the light and the life,” and in this way, “the psalmist announces His resurrection from the dead and that He, risen from the dead, is immortal.”
“Based on this certainty,” he concluded, “Christians cultivate hope in the gift of eternal life.”