Italy- Psalm 23 consists of two parts. The first is a ritual for the admission of pilgrims to the Temple of God: the pilgrims, having arrived near the Temple, ask the question: “Who shall ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who shall stand in his holy place?”; and the priests reply by enlightening the faithful on the dispositions necessary to enter the Temple of God: “Those who have clean hands and a pure heart, who do not utter lies, who do not swear to the detriment of their neighbor”. The pilgrims in turn respond: “Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, God of Jacob” (vv. 1-6).
- The second part of the Psalm was probably composed and sung to celebrate the first solemn entrance of the ark of the Covenant into the tent built by David in Jerusalem (2 Sam 6:12-17). At the doors of the tent, a procession of priests sings a kind of invitation: “Lift up your heads, O gates; rise up, ancient doors, and let the king of glory enter”. The choir of the faithful asks: “Who is this king of glory?”; the priests reply: “The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle”. At that moment the doors swing open and the ark enters, a sign of the presence of the Lord who, like a victorious leader, walks at the head of his people (vv. 7-10).
- Psalm 23 offers each of us precious teachings: it indicates the necessary conditions to approach God, to be “Holy”. Holiness, “qedoshà”, belongs to God, and implies being “set apart”, otherness, both from a cultic and moral point of view. But “«saints» are always and only the «sanctified», and the passive indicates divine action… Sanctifying is «God’s business and not men’s» (Blumhardt the Elder). Let us allow ourselves to be invaded by God’s Holiness, placing no obstacles in the way of the Lord’s coming into us.
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Psalm 23 – All Saints
29 October 2026