Tag: John Paul II
Psalm 5: In the morning you hear me
1. “In the morning you hear me; in the morning I offer you my prayer watching and waiting” (v. 4). These words make Psalm 5 a morning prayer, well suited for use at Lauds, the believer’s prayer at the start of the day. Tension and anxiety over the dangers and bitterness which the believer has to… Read More ›
Psalm 149: Song of Praise
1. “Let the faithful exult in glory, let them rise joyfully from their couches”. The order which you have just heard in Psalm 149, points to a dawn which is breaking and finds the faithful ready to chant their morning praise. With a suggestive phrase, their song of praise is defined as “a new song” (v…. Read More ›
Psalm 110(109): “Sit on my right: your foes I will put beneath your feet”
1. Continuing an ancient tradition, Psalm 110[109] which has just been proclaimed constitutes the primary component of Sunday Vespers. It is proposed in all four of the weeks into which the Liturgy of the Hours is divided. Its brevity is further accentuated by the exclusion in Christian liturgical usage of verse 6, which contains a curse. This… Read More ›
Psalm 119(118):145-152: Praise God for His Gift of Law
1. What the liturgy of Lauds for Saturday of the first week offers us is a single strophe of Ps 118[119], (the verses 145-152), in the monumental prayer of 22 strophes or stanzas, that correspond to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Each strophe begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet and the… Read More ›
Work as an expression of love
22. Work was the daily expression of love in the life of the Family of Nazareth. The Gospel specifies the kind of work Joseph did in order to support his family: he was a carpenter. This simple word sums up Joseph’s entire life. For Jesus, these were hidden years, the years to which Luke refers… Read More ›
Psalm 119(118): v. 145-152: let Christ be light of day
1. In our already long journey through the Psalms that the Liturgy of Lauds presents, we come to one strophe – to be precise, the 19th – of the longest prayer of the Psalter, Psalm 118[119]. It is a part of an immense alphabetical hymn. In a play on style, the Psalmist divides his work into 22… Read More ›
The Vatican doctors approve the miracle to make John Paul II a saint
“A saint now!” The canonisation of Wojtyla is getting closer quickly and it could be celebrated next October. In fact, in the past few days, the medical council of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints has recognized as inexplicable one healing attributed to the blessed John Paul II. A supposed “miracle” that, if it… Read More ›
Psalm 119(118):v 145-152: Your word is a lamp for my steps …
1. At this General Audience, after the interval I spent in the Valle d’Aosta, let us now continue on our journey through the Psalms proposed by the Liturgy of Vespers. Today we come to the 14th of the 22 strophes that make up Psalm 119[118], a grandiose hymn to the Law of God and an expression… Read More ›
Psalm 19(18): God Creator creates brilliance of Sun
1. The sun, with its increasing brilliance in the heavens, the splendour of its light, the beneficial warmth of its rays, has captivated humanity from the outset. In many ways human beings have shown their gratitude for this source of life and well-being, with an enthusiasm that often reaches the peaks of true poetry. The… Read More ›
Psalm 57(56): Waiting for the coming of dawn
1. It is a dark night; devouring wild beasts are perceived in the surroundings. The one who prays is waiting for the coming of dawn so that the light will dispel the darkness and fear. This is the background of Psalm 56 (57) on which we reflect today. It is a night prayer made by… Read More ›