Pope Benedict XVI: The Son of God became Man to Give Life

The Word became flesh to make us partakers of the divine nature: For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God. . . . The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods -- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 460

VATICAN CITY (Catholic Online) -- On Wednesday Pope Benedict continued his catechetical series on the Psalms, held in St. Peter's square before about 20,000 of the faithful. Our Holy Father reflected on Psalm 136, which he noted as a "great hymn of praise which celebrates the Lord in the many and repeated manifestations of his goodness down through human history."

The Pope observed that, in the Jewish tradition, the Psalm was sung at the end of the Passover meal, and thus may have been pronounced by Jesus at the Last Supper. It is revealing that while the Psalm speaks of God's numerous interventions for his people, it is likely to have been spoken by God Incarnate, our Lord Jesus Christ who is the supreme salvific intervention of all time and the perfect image of Mercy Itself.

Our Holy Father noted that, in the Psalm, "each proclamation of a salvific action by the Lord is answered by an antiphon reiterating the main cause for praise: God's eternal love -- a love which, according to the Hebrew term used, implies faithfulness, mercy, goodness, grace and tenderness."

Pope Benedict said that God is first presented in the Psalm as "He who 'does great wonders' (v. 4), first among them that of the creation: heaven, earth and stars. . . . With the creation," continued the Pope, "the Lord shows himself in all his goodness and beauty. He commits himself to life, revealing a desire for good whence all other salvific actions arise."

Catholics and other Christians are aware that human history is God's history: God acts in and through history, in which his presence can be discerned throughout the life of his people in centuries past. Both the great manifestations of God's almighty power as well as the subtle guidance he offers as our loving and tender Father are unveiled throughout the many events of human history. In such a great drama of life, the theme of love shines forth above all else: that superabundant Love who is God the Creator and Father of all people.

Psalm 136 thus speaks of God's care for his People, for his "love endures forever," and recalls the events of the Exodus in history, when the Israelites were freed from the bondage of Egyptian slavery. The Pope said that the 40 years of wandering in the desert was a "decisive period for Israel which, allowing itself to be guided by the Lord, learned to live on faith, obedient and docile to the laws of God. Those were difficult years, marked by the harshness of life in the desert, but also a happy time of confidence and filial trust in the Lord."

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Pope Benedict explained that "the history of Israel has known exhilarating moments of joy, of fullness of life, of awareness of the presence of God and his salvation. But it has also been marked by episodes of sin, painful periods of darkness and profound affliction. Many were the adversaries from whom the Lord liberated his people."

The Pope noted that the Psalm speaks of tragic events, such as the Babylonian exile and the destruction of Jerusalem, "when it seemed that Israel had lost everything, even its own identity, even its trust in the Lord."

While these historical events of the people Israel are in many ways foreign to the contemporary West, they often come alive again for those who have perhaps lost jobs and homes in the storms of the current economic climate.

Further, those who have experienced the loss of a loved one, suffered tears over the illness or death of a precious and innocent child, or who are struck in the depths of their hearts by the structures of sin which labor against purity and justice and mercy again, along with the Israelites, wander in the desert.

"However," said the Pope, "God remembers, and frees. The salvation of Israel and of all mankind is bound to the Lord's faithfulness, to his memory. While man forgets easily, God remains faithful: his memory is a precious casket containing that 'love which endures forever' about which our Psalm speaks."

"The Lord remembered us in our misery, God's love endures forever; Freed us from our foes, God's love endures forever" (v. 23-24).

It is important to recognize that those who truly love Christ will remain children in exile for a time and will yet continue to be accosted by our many foes: the dry and hot breath of our adversaries, laden with coarse sand, will not here cease to blow.

However, while we yet remain in the desert, by faith we see beyond barrenness, discomfort and hardship into the land of milk and honey. Further, in and through and with Christ we experience the kingdom of heaven this moment: here and now the desert vanishes before us and we find ourselves in a lush garden paradise in which the soul is swept into the light of the Holy Trinity. While the world cannot fathom how one may walk in the desert yet stand in paradise, those who have lost their lives in Christ understand such a reality.

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For by our Catholic Faith our soul is watered and by the Eucharist we receive Life Itself: "At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Savior instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of his Body and Blood. This he did in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until he should come again, and so to entrust to his beloved Spouse, the Church, a memorial of his death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a Paschal banquet 'in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us'" (CCC 1323).

Psalm 136 concludes by reminding the faithful that God nourishes, "caring for life and giving bread," said the Pope.

"In the fullness of time," continued pope Benedict, "the Son of God became man to give life, for the salvation of each one of us; and he continues to give himself as bread in the mystery of the Eucharist, so as to draw us into his covenant, which makes us his children" (Pope Benedict qtd. from Vatican Information Service).

The Pope concluded by reading from the First Letter of St. John: "See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are" (3:1).

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F. K. Bartels is a Catholic writer who knows his Catholic Faith is one of the greatest gifts a man could ever receive. He is a contributing writer for Catholic Online. Visit him also at catholicpathways.com

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