Vatican City, Nov 16, 2011 / 10:42 am
Pope Benedict XVI used his weekly General Audience to explain how Psalm 110 foreshadows the incarnation of Jesus Christ as messiah, king and high priest.
“The Church reads this Psalm as a prophecy of Christ, the messianic king and eternal priest, risen from the dead and seated at the right hand of the Father,” said the Pope Nov. 16.
He explained that today would be the last time he focuses on a Psalm as part of his ongoing Wednesday general audience series on prayer. He said that he tried to focus on the “different situations in life and the various attitudes we may have towards God” in his remarks.
The Pope delivered his reflections for today on the “royal psalm” to tens of thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square on a sunny winter day. The Church calls Psalm 110 royal because it initially referred to the Davidic monarchy of the Old Testament but it also simultaneously paves the way for Jesus Christ.
“Saint Peter, in his speech on the day of Pentecost, applies its words to the Lord’s victory over death and his exaltation in glory,” the Pope explained.