Italy- To illustrate the beauty and depth found in the Psalms, where praise and supplication are constantly intertwined, giving voice to humanity’s universal longing for God, we need only recall the Psalms of Ascents, a section of the Psalter (Psalms 120–134) in which each composition bears the Hebrew title Shir hamma’alot — Song of Ascents — referring to the journey up to Jerusalem during the annual pilgrimage. Psalm 127 is a joyful poem in the wisdom tradition. The pilgrim asks the priests for a blessing upon himself and his family. The scene it portrays is filled with peace, light and serenity.
- The Psalm begins with a beatitude: “Blessed is the man who fears the Lord” (vv. 1–3) and ends with a blessing: “Thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord” (v. 4). The “beatitude” finds its most vivid expression in plant symbolism, centred on two trees emblematic of Israel: the vine and the olive tree (v. 3), images of fertility and prosperity. Naturally, the source of the blessing is the Lord, present in Zion upon the throne of the Ark of the Covenant. This blessing extends not only throughout the believer’s entire life, “all the days of your life”, but also beyond it, to “your children’s children”, representing future generations (vv. 5–6).
- Yet this blessing reaches beyond the immediate circle of the person praying and extends to Jerusalem and all of Israel. The closing greeting, “Peace be upon Israel!”, invokes shalom, the “peace” that signifies the fullness of life, spreading like a mantle over the holy city, whose Hebrew name, Yerushalayim, is closely related in sound to shalom (vv. 5–6). The family is not conceived as a self-contained unit, but as a living part of the entire community. Thus, this optimistic song celebrating family life concludes within a radiant horizon of faith, deeply rooted in the human realities of love, life, work and society, all regarded as signs of divine love.
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Psalm 127 – XXXIII Sunday in Ordinary Time
12 November 2026