During his general audience for 15,000 people in St. Peter's Square on Oct. 2, Pope John Paul II told pilgrims that God is our “eternal Rock” on whom our faith and trust must be based as we face the ups and downs of daily life.

The Holy Father was commenting on a canticle from the first 12 verses of Isaiah 26 that appear in the Liturgy of the Hours. His talk was another meditation in the series he has been doing for the last year on the psalms and canticles of the Liturgy of the Hours.

The canticle, the Pope pointed out, presents a contrast between two opposite cities: a rebellious city and a holy city. In the holy city, God “flings wide open the gates to receive a nation that is just.” But, he added, “for whoever enters the city of salvation, there is one essential requirement.” That requirement is trust in God. “The gift that God offers his faithful ones is peace, the messianic gift par excellence, the fruit of a life lived in justice, freedom and the joy of communion.”

The Fathers of the Church, John Paul noted, thought that “this promise of peace foreshadowed the words that Christ would speak centuries later: ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.’” Armed with such reassurance, the Holy Father pointed out, we are able to face the challenges of daily life.