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Pope Benedict XVI met with 8,000 pilgrims in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall during his general audience on Feb. 8. He continued his series of teachings on the psalms and canticles of the Liturgy of the Hours, offering his reflections on the second half of Psalm 145.

The second half of Psalm 145, he explained, renews the theme found in the first half of the psalm: God is a loving king who is merciful, tender and faithful, extending his goodness to all creatures. However, in the second half of the psalm the psalmist focuses his attention in a special way on the love that the Lord has for the poor and the weak. “God expresses his kingly nature by stooping down to protect his most fragile and defenseless creatures,” Pope Benedict noted. “He is, above all, a Father who ‘supports all who are falling’ and raises up those who have fallen down in the dust in humiliation.”

The Holy Father noted that the psalmist closely identified with all those whom the Lord has blessed and encouraged the faithful to call upon the Lord in confident prayer, to seek him with a sincere heart, to fear God, and, above all, to love him.

Pope Benedict also encouraged the faithful to heed the advice of Barsanuphius of Gaza who urged believers to call upon Jesus in moments of temptation.

“The words of this ancient father are also valid for us,” Pope Benedict pointed out. “Amid our difficulties, problems and temptations, we must not simply engage in a theoretical reflection, ‘From where do they come?’ Rather, we must react in a positive way by calling upon the Lord and maintaining a living contact with the Lord.”   

In keeping with the Liturgy of the Hours where it is divided into two parts, we will reflect once again on Psalm 145, a magnificent hymn in honor of the Lord, a loving king who is attentive to his creatures. We now wish to meditate on the second part — verses 14 to 21 — which takes up the fundamental theme found in the first part of the hymn.

In the first part, God’s mercy, tenderness, faithfulness and goodness, which extend to all mankind and involve every creature, were exalted. Now the psalmist directs his attention to the love the Lord has in a special way for the poor and the weak. The kingly nature of God is not indifferent or aloof, as can happen sometimes when human power is exercised. God expresses his kingly nature by stooping down to protect his most fragile and defenseless creatures.

In fact, he is, above all, a Father who “supports all who are falling” and raises up those who have fallen down in the dust in humiliation (see verse 14). Consequently, living creatures stretch out their arms like hungry beggars and, like a caring father, he offers them the food they need in order to live (see verse 15).

A Just and Holy God

At this point, a profession of faith in two divine qualities par excellence — justice and holiness — flows forth from the lips of the psalmist. “You, Lord, are just in all your ways, faithful in all your works” (verse 17). In Hebrew, there are two adjectives that typically illustrate the covenant that exists between God and his people: saddiq and hasid. They express justice, whose purpose is to save us and free us from evil, and faithfulness, which is a sign of the loving greatness of the Lord.

The psalmist places himself among those who have been blessed, whom he describes with various terms and expressions that virtually constitute a portrait of the authentic believer: a person who “calls upon” the Lord confidently in prayer and “calls upon” him throughout his life “in truth” (see verse 18), who “fears” God and respects his desires and obeys his word (see verse 19), but, above all, who “loves” God and is confident that God will welcome him under the mantle of his protection and into an intimacy with him (see verse 20).

The psalmist’s closing words are the very words with which he began his hymn: They are an invitation to praise and bless the Lord and his “name,” that is, the living and holy person who is at work and is saving in the world and throughout history. Moreover, his cry is a call to all creatures marked with the gift of life to join in the prayerful praise of the faithful: “All flesh will bless your holy name forever” (verse 21). It is a kind of never-ending hymn that must be raised from earth to heaven, a celebration within the community of the universal love of God, who is the source of peace, joy and salvation.

‘Jesus, Help Me!’

As we conclude our reflection, let us return to that comforting verse that says, “You, Lord, are near to all who call upon you, to all who call upon you in truth” (verse 18). Barsanuphius of Gaza, an ascetic who died in the middle of the sixth century and whom monks, clerics and laypeople consulted for the wisdom of his discernment, was particularly fond of this verse.

Thus, for example, Barsanuphius replied to a disciple who expressed a desire “to discover the causes of the various temptations that had assailed him” with the following words: “Brother John, do not be afraid of the temptations that have arisen against you to put you to the test because the Lord will not leave you prey to them. When, therefore, one of these temptations comes to you, do not grow weary in trying to understand what it is about. Rather, cry out the name of Jesus: ‘Jesus, help me!’ He will hear you because he is ‘near to all who call upon him.’ Do not be discouraged but run the race with zeal and you will reach your goal, Christ Jesus our Lord” (Barsanuphio e Giovanni di Gaza, Epistolario, 39: Collana di Testi Patristici, XCIII, Rome, 1991, p. 109).

The words of this ancient father are also valid for us. Amid our difficulties, problems and temptations, we must not simply engage in a theoretical reflection, “From where do they come?” Rather, we must react in a positive way by calling upon the Lord and maintaining a living contact with the Lord. Moreover, we must cry out the name of Jesus: “Jesus, help me!” And we may be sure that he listens to us since he is near to those who seek him. Let us not be discouraged, but let us run the race with zeal — as this Father says — and we too will reach our goal in life, Jesus, the Lord.

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Feb. 8 general audience.