(November Every week on Wednesday, the Pope holds a public meeting, called the general
audience, during which pilgrims and tourists who come to Rome have a chance of seeing
and hearing him speak in several languages. The general audience of Nov. 9 was held
in the open in St. Peter’s Square. It began with a scripture reading from Psalm 119
(Psalm 118) in several languages. An aide greeted the Pope on behalf of the English
speaking pilgrims introducing the various groups to him. Pope Benedict then delivered
a discourse in English:
Listen: Dear
Brothers and Sisters, In our catechesis on Christian prayer, we now turn
to Psalm 119, a solemn celebration of the Torah, the Law of the Lord. In twenty-two
stanzas, each beginning with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the Psalmist proclaims
his love for God’s Law, which brings light, life and salvation. His song voices the
range of sentiments which fill the hearts of those who pray: praise, thanksgiving,
trust, supplication and lament, all within the context of a heartfelt openness to
the Lord’s word. In praying this Psalm, Christians see in the Blessed Virgin Mary
the model of this loving docility to God’s will, and in Jesus the fulfilment of the
Law. A striking example of the Psalmist’s devotion is seen in his words: “The Lord
is my portion” (v. 57). We can apply these words in a special way to priests, whose
lives of celibacy testify to their call to complete devotion to the Lord and his Kingdom.
But they can also be applied to all the faithful, who share in Christ’s royal priesthood
and are called daily to bear witness to the Gospel. May the Lord grant us a deeper
love for him, so that, like the Psalmist, we may always make his word “a lamp to our
feet and a light to our path”. I welcome the priest jubilarians from England
and Wales and I assure them of my prayers for the spiritual fruitfulness of their
ministry. I also greet the Sisters of Saint Paul of Chartres taking part in a programme
of spiritual renewal. I also greet the members of American Society of the Italian
Legion of Merit, and I thank the members of the brass ensemble from Malta for their
musical offering. Upon all the English-speaking pilgrims present, especially those
from England, Denmark, the Philippines, Canada and the United States, I invoke God’s
blessings of joy and peace!