VATICAN - “A sound society is the result certainly of commitment from all its members, but it needs the blessing and help of God who, unfortunately, is instead often excluded or ignored”: the Pope’s teaching at the general audience

Vatican City (Fides Service) - Psalm 126, “Without the Lord, all our efforts will ultimately fail”(vespers Wednesday week 3), was the subject of the teaching given by Pope Benedict XVI during the weekly Wednesday audience in St Peter’s Square this morning in the presence of about 25,000 visitors from all over the world. The Pope said the psalm presents a scene in movement, a house under construction, a town with its sentries, family life, daily work, “and everywhere we note the decisive presence of the Lord who hovers over human activity … a sound society is the result certainly of commitment from all its members, but it needs the blessing and help of God who, unfortunately, is instead often excluded or ignored”.
“This sapiential Psalm- the Pope said - fruit of meditation on the reality of everyday life, is constructed mainly on a contrast: without God man toils in vain to build a solid house, a secure city, to make work bear fruit. With the Lord, instead, man has prosperity fecundity, a family rich in children and happiness, a city well equipped and protected, free of nightmares and uncertainties.”
Man goes out in the morning to work all day to support his family and serve the development of society. “The Psalmist is quick to say that all this work is useless unless God is with man who toils, and adds that God rewards even the sleep of his friends. The Psalmista intends thus to exalt the primacy of divine grace which gives consistence and value to human activity, even if it is marked by limits and transience”.
In the other scene proposed by Psalm 126, the Lord offers the gift of children, “seen as a benediction and a grace, a sign of life which continues and the history of salvation tending towards new stages”. This image, taken from the culture of the time, intends to celebrate “the security, stability and strength of the large family”. The Pope recalled that the ability to generate “is a gift which brings life and wellbeing for society... Children are also a blessing for society, giving it a special freshness and future. We can easily think of those societies today that are lacking in energy and hope because of a declining birth-rate”. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 31/8/2005, righe 25, parole 374)