To dwell on 'your holy mountain'

It is clear from the writings of the Prophets that followers of the Lord are constantly called to combine faith and life, prayer and action

At the General Audience on Wednesday, 4 February, in the Paul VI Audience Hall, the Holy Father commented on Psalm 15[14] that contains an "entrance" liturgy and lists the conditions we must fulfil if we are to be close to God. The Pope stressed that there can be no separation of faith from daily life, noting that the 11 requirements that the Psalmist has listed can "constitute the basis for a personal examination of conscience every time we prepare ourselves to confess our sins in order to be admitted to communion with the Lord".  The fol­lowing is a translation of the Holy Father's Catechesis, the 11th in the series on Evening Prayer, which was given in Italian.

1. Psalm 15[14] that is presented for our reflection is often classified by bibli­cal scholars as part of an "entrance" liturgy. Like several other compositions in the Psaltery (cf., for example, Psalms 23; 25; 94), it prompts us to imagine a sort of procession of the faithful jostling to pass through the door of the Temple of Zion to have access to worship. An ideal dialogue between the faithful and the Levites outlines the indispensable con­ditions for admittance to the liturgical celebration, hence, to intimacy with God.

Indeed, on the one hand is raised the question: "O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy mountain?" (Ps 15[14]:1). On the other, there follows a list of qualities required to cross the threshold that leads to the "tent", that is, the temple on the "holy mountain" of Zion. Eleven qualities are listed that make up an ideal summary of the basic moral commitments present in biblical law (cf. vv. 2-5).

A pure conscience exceeds simple external ritual purity

2. The conditions required for enter­ing the sacred hall were sometimes en­graved on the fa¸ades of Egyptian and Babylonian temples. But there is a sig­nificant difference compared to those suggested by our Psalm. Many religious cultures require above all for admit­tance to the divinity an external ritual purity which entails special ablutions, gestures and garb.

Psalm 15[14], instead, demands a clear conscience so that the person's de­cisions may be devoted to love of justice and of one's neighbour. Therefore, we can feel in these verses the vibrant spirit of the prophets who continually invite people to combine faith and life, prayer and existential commitment, adoration and social justice (cf. Is 1:10-20; 33:14­-16; Hos 6:6; Mi 6:6-8; Jer 6:20).

Let us listen, for example, to the ad­monition of the Prophet Amos who in God's name denounces worship that is detached from daily history: "I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no de­light in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offer­ings... I will not accept them, and the peace offerings of your fatted beasts I will not look upon…. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream" (Am 5:21-22, 24).

The 11 requirements become the key to examining our conscience

3. We now come to the 11 require­ments listed by the Psalmist, which can constitute the basis for a personal exam­ination of conscience every time we pre­pare ourselves to confess our sins in or­der to be admitted to communion with the Lord in the liturgical celebration.

The first three conditions are of a general kind and express an ethical choice: to follow the path of moral in­tegrity, to do what is right and, lastly, to speak with perfect sincerity (cf. Ps 15[14]:2).

Three duties follow. We could de­scribe them as relations with our neigh­bour: to abstain from slander, to avoid every action that could harm our brethren and to refrain every day from reproaching those who live beside us (cf. v. 3). Then comes the request for a clear choice of position in the social context: to despise the reprobate, to honour those who fear God. Finally, a list follows of the last three precepts on which to make an examination of conscience: to keep one's word or an oath faithfully, despite damaging conse­quences for ourselves; not to practise usury, a scourge that is also a reality in our time and has a stranglehold on many peoples' lives; and lastly, to avoid all forms of corruption in public life, anoth­er commitment that we should also be able to practise rigorously today (cf. v. 5).

Authentic moral choices prepare us to meet the Lord

4. Following this path of authentic moral choices means being ready to meet the Lord. In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus also proposed his essential "entrance" liturgy: "If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remem­ber that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift" (Mt 5:23-24).

Those who act in accordance with the Psalmist's instructions, our prayer concludes, "shall never be moved" (Ps 15[14]:5). In his Tractatus super Psalmos St Hilary of Poitiers, a fourth­century Father and Doctor of the Church, comments on the Psalm's fi­nale, linking it to the initial image of the tent of the temple of Zion: "Acting in accordance with these precepts, we dwell in the tent and rest on the moun­tain. May the preservation of the pre­cepts and the work of the command­ments, therefore, endure unchanged. This Psalm must be anchored in our in­most depths, it must be engraved on our hearts, stored in our memories; the treasure of its rich brevity must con­front us night and day. Thus, having ac­quired its riches on our way towards eternity and dwelling in the Church, we will be able to rest at last in the glory of Christ's Body" (PL 9, 308).

L'Osservatore Romano February 11, 2004
Reprinted with permission