During his general audience on April 30, Pope John Paul II resumed his series of teachings on the psalms and canticles of the Liturgy of the Hours. Addressing 20,000 pilgrims who gathered in St. Peter's Square, he offered his reflections on Psalm 101, which “paints the portrait of the ideal political ruler, whose model in life should be the way God governs the world.”
A ruler's personal life, the Holy Father pointed out, should be marked by moral integrity, while his public activity reflects a commitment to combating every form of injustice in society. Psalm 101, he said, offers a plan for a ruler's life that is based on two important moral principles: integrity of heart and rejection of evil. The wisdom of Psalm 101 is not limited only to rulers, the Pope said. As the Church sings this song during morning prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours, the faithful are called to apply it to their own personal lives “by deciding every morning to uproot from their own hearts and conduct of the weeds of corruption, violence, perversion and wickedness, as well as every form of selfishness and injustice.”