Register Summary

Pope John Paul II was unable to personally attend his general audience on Sept. 24 due to an intestinal ailment. Instead, he asked Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican secretary of state, to read the message the Pope had prepared for the occasion while he followed the proceedings from his room in Castel Gandolfo by television. At the end of the audience, the Holy Father addressed a few words to the pilgrims and gave them his blessing via a satellite link.

John Paul's catechesis focused on Psalm 8 and marked the end of a long series of mediations on the 84 psalms and canticles that are used during morning prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours. The Pope characterized Psalm 8 as a “shining example” among these many psalms and canticles. Although man might feel like a speck of dust amid the immensity and grandeur of God's creation, he said, God has looked down upon man and has crowned him as his viceroy over creation.

“He entrusts the entire universe to this frail creature,” the Holy Father noted, “so that he might draw knowledge and sustenance for his life from it.”

He pointed out that the author of the Letter to the Hebrews in the New Testament found a deeper understanding of God's plan for man in this psalm. Our vocation is not limited to this world, the Holy Father said, but extends to the world to come.

“The vocation of man is a ‘heavenly calling,’” he said. “God wants to ‘bring … many children’ to heavenly ‘glory.’ In order for God's plan to be accomplished, a ‘pioneer’ needed to map out the life in which man's vocation would find its principal and perfect fulfillment. This pioneer is Christ.”

Meditating on Psalm 8, a wonderful hymn of praise, we have come to the end of our long journey through the psalms and canticles that make up the heart of our morning prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours. During this catechesis, we have reflected on 84 biblical prayers, attempting to emphasize first of all their spiritual depth without losing sight of their poetic beauty.

Indeed, the Bible invites us to begin our daily walk with a song that not only proclaims the wonders God has done and our response in faith but also celebrates them “with a skillful psalm” (see Psalm 47:8), that is, in a way that is beautiful, gives light and is pleasant and strong — all at the same time.

In fact, Psalm 8 is a shining example among them. Here, man, who is immersed in the darkness of the night, when the moon and the stars light up the immensity of the heavens (see verse 4), feels like a speck amid the infinite and boundless spaces that rise above him.

God's Grandeur

Two experiences emerge in Psalm 8. On one hand, the human person feels as though he is being crushed by the grandeur of creation, “the work of God's fingers” (see verse 4). This rather unusual expression is used in place of “the work of God's hands” (see verse 7), as though to point out that the Creator had sketched out a design or made an embroidery with the shining stars that are scattered through the immense universe.

On the other hand, however, God looks down upon man and crowns him as his viceroy: “Yet you have … crowned him with glory and honor” (see verse 6). As a matter of fact, he entrusts the entire universe to this frail creature so that he might draw knowledge and sustenance for his life from it (see verses 7-9).

This perspective on man's sovereignty over other creatures is clarified in a way that almost recalls the opening pages of Genesis: Flocks of sheep, herds of cattle, beasts of the field, birds of the air and fish of the sea are entrusted to man so that by giving them their names (see Genesis 19-20), he will discover creation's profound reality and respect it and transform it through his labor, thereby revealing it as a source of beauty and life. This psalm makes us aware of our greatness but also of our responsibility for creation (see Wisdom 9:3).

Christ the Pioneer

When reading Psalm 8, the author of the Letter to the Hebrews gained a deeper understanding of God's plan for man. Man's vocation cannot be limited to the present earthly world; by affirming that God has put all things at man's feet, the psalmist wishes to let us know that God also wants to make “the world to come” subject to him (Hebrews 2:5), “the unshakable Kingdom” (Hebrews 12:28). In short, the vocation of man is a “heavenly calling” (Hebrews 3:1). God wants to “bring … many children” to heavenly “glory” (Hebrews 2:10). In order for God's plan to be accomplished, a “pioneer” needed to map out the life (see Hebrews 2:10) in which man's vocation would find its principal and perfect fulfillment. This pioneer is Christ.

In this regard, the author of the Letter to the Hebrews observed that the expressions of this psalm apply to Christ in a special way, more than to any other man. Actually, the psalmist uses a verb meaning “to make a little less,” saying to God: “Yet you have made them a little less that than a god, crowned them with glory and honor” (see Psalm 8:6; Hebrews 2:6). For ordinary men, this verb is incorrect; they were not “made a little less” in regard to the angels since they never were above them. However, for Christ, the verb is correct because, as Son of God, he was above the angels and was abased when he became man, until being later crowned with glory in his resurrection. Thus, Christ has totally fulfilled the vocation of man and has fulfilled it, as the author makes clear, “for everyone” (Hebrews 2:9).

Crowned with Glory

In this regard, St. Ambrose comments on this psalm and applies it to us. He begins with the phrase that describes the “crowning” of man: “You … crowned them with glory and honor” (verse 6). He perceives in this glory the reward that the Lord has in store for us when we have overcome the trial of temptation.

Here is what this great Father of the Church had to say in his Exposition of the Gospel According to Luke: “The Lord has also crowned his chosen one with glory and magnificence. This God, who desires to distribute these crowns, allows temptations: Therefore, when you are tempted, know that a crown is being prepared for you. If you discard the struggle of martyrs, you also discard their crowns; if you discard their torments, you will also discard their blessedness” (IV, 41: Saemo 12, p. 330-333).

God is preparing that “crown of righteousness” for us (2 Timothy 4:8), with which he will reward our faithfulness to him, which has been demonstrated even in those times of turmoil that upset our hearts and minds. But he is always attentive to his chosen creatures and wants to see his divine “image” shining in them at all times (see Genesis 1:26), so they will be a sign of harmony, light and peace in the world.

(Register translation)