The catechesis of Pope St. John Paul II presents Psalm 24 as a poetic triptych for prayer based on three affirmations: the truth of creation, the call to moral purity, and God’s victorious entrance into His temple. He cites, “These are the three elementary forms of the experience of God and of our relationship with God; we live by the work of God, we live before God and we can live with God.” This means believers are invited to enter into prayer:
-
Recognizing God as Creator and Lord of all cosmos and history, He who creates and sustains us in our fragility by His providential hand.
-
Approaching God with “clean hands and a pure heart,” embodying sincerity, integrity, and upright relations, which are essential for authentic communion and worship. The faithful seeking entrance to the temple and communion with God (and ultimately seeking Heaven!): need to live morally with honesty, purity, and justice.
-
Being in the presence of God, who reveals Himself and comes to us as “King of Glory”, inviting a prayerful encounter that expresses faith, dialogue, and love. “The Lord, who now comes to meet humanity… is the Creator who has all the stars of heaven as his army.”
Psalm 24 thus guides prayer both inwardly (heart and conscience) and outwardly (moral behavior), inviting the faithful to deepen their faith and live in communion with God. Thus, preparing the soul to welcome God’s presence in an intimate, transformative relationship.
You are invited to meditate on Psalm 24 (prayed in Tuesday Morning Prayer).
Read the Catechesis of Pope St. John Paul II on Psalm 24
The liturgy is an expression of the infinite, almighty and eternal God coming to meet humanity. Especially in this jubilee year, we can relive the same great joy the Psalmist felt as he crossed the threshold entering the ancient temple of Zion.