Vatican City (AsiaNews) – May the sacrifice of Fr Andrea Santoro, "silent and courageous servant of the Gospel," who worked "to bring Christ and the Gospel" to Turkey, contribute to the cause of dialogue between religions and peace among peoples."  This is the prayer raised today by Benedict XVI who, at the end of his general audience, again commemorated the priest killed in Turkey, whose name received a long, standing applause from those attending the general audience.

The Pope revealed, in words spoken off-the-cuff, that he read and was "very moved" by "a beautiful letter written by Fr Santoro, which is the reflection of his priestly soul" and his "love for Christ and for His Church."  The letter, written last January 31, "together with the small Christian community of the Sancta Maria parish in Trebzon, is a moving testimony to love and adherence to Christ and His Church."  Along with this letter, which will be published today in the Osservatore Romano, Benedict XVI also said there was another written by the women of the parish, a further testimony to "zealous faith and love" put by Fr Andrea into his work.

Already two days ago, in telegrams of condolences, Benedict XVI had expressed the hope that the blood shed by Fr Andrea Santoro "become the seed of hope to build true brotherhood among peoples."  In these messages, he defined the slain priest as a "courageous witness of the Gospel of charity," who "carried out in Turkey with generosity and apostolic zeal his ministry in favour of the Gospel and in service to the needy and outcast."

In his speech to the 8,000 people gathered in the Paul VI Auditorium for the general audience, the Pope once again illustrated Psalm 144:14-21: "Your kingdom is everlasting", which the Pope described as an "admirable hymn honouring the Lord, loving and caring king of His creatures."  If the first part of the Psalm, examined last week, "exalts divine mercy, tenderness, fidelity and goodness that spreads itself to all mankind, involving every creature," in the second part, "the Psalmist focuses his attention on the love that God reserves specially for the poor and weak." "He is above all a father who 'sustains all who fall' and raises up those who are bowed down in the dust of humiliation (cfr v. 14).  All living beings, consequently, tend toward the Lord almost like famished beggars and He offers, like a caring parent, the food they need to live (cfr v.15).  What then blooms on the lips of the Psalmist is the profession of faith in the two divine qualities par excellence: righteousness and holiness.  'The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works' (v. 17)"

It is through the description of these qualities that the Psalm offers "a representation" of the true believer.

"This person 'invokes' the Lord, in trusting prayer, he 'looks' for Him in life 'with a sincere heart' (cfr v. 18), he 'fears' his God, respecting his will and obeying his word (cfr v.19), but above all, he 'loves' Him, in the certainty of being welcomed under the mantle of His protection and His intimacy (cfr v.20).

The final words of the Psalmist are, therefore, the ones with which he began his hymn: they are an invitation to praise and bless the Lord and his "name", in other words the living and holy person who works and saves in the world and in history.  In fact, his is an appeal that all creatures marked by the gift of life associate themselves with the prayerful praise of the faithful. "All flesh bless His holy name, forever and ever" (v.21).  It is a sort of perennial hymn that must be praised from the earth to heaven, it is the communal celebration of the universal love of God, source of peace, joy and salvation."