Pope John Paul II’s catechesis on Psalm 36 explores the fundamental choice between good and evil that confronts every person at the start of each new day.
- The Sinner: “transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart” with what the pope calls “the oracle of sin.” This person plots iniquity from the moment he rises, spending his days “choosing ‘evil ways’, from early morning when he is still ‘on his bed’, until evening when he is ready to fall asleep.”
- The Righteous: In contrast stands “the upright person who seeks the light of God, ‘source of all life.'” This person seeks God’s face and raises “a true and proper chant to divine love.”
The Pope highlights four Hebrew terms that express God’s divine traits:
- Hésed – grace, which is at once faithfulness, love, loyalty and tenderness (found 127 times in the Psalter!)
- ‘Emunáh – stability, security, unconditional fidelity (from which we get the word Amen)
- Sedeqáh – justice, which has “a salvific meaning” (the holiness of God who frees the faithful from evil and injustice)
- Mishpát – judgment by which God “governs his creatures, caring for the poor and the oppressed”
Thus, the psalm forms a litany of images describing God’s loving nature: grace, faithfulness, justice, judgement, salvation, protective shadow, abundance, delight, and life.
The Pope concludes by noting the psalm’s imagery of abundance, refreshment, and light – quoting the psalm’s promise: “in your light we see the light” – a brightness that transforms the faithful as they encounter God’s glory in liturgical prayer and Scripture, the Christian who encounters Jesus Christ reflects on the glory of the Lord “with unveiled face” (2 Cor 3:18).
You are invited to meditate on Psalm 36
Read the Catechesis of Pope John Paul II’s on the Malice of Sin vs. the Goodness of the Lord
The abundance makes us think of the sacred banquet, which was celebrated in the temple of Zion. There are also the images of the fountain and the torrent, whose waters quench not just the parched throat, but also the soul. The Lord refreshes and satisfies the person who prays, making him share in his fullness of immortal life.