Psalm 24:1-6

Our responsorial for today’s feast comes from Psalm 24, a majestic hymn celebrating God as Creator and King of glory.

Many scholars believe this psalm was originally sung during a procession in which the ark of the covenant — the visible sign of God’s presence — was brought into the Temple. As the ark approached, the people would proclaim the Lord’s sovereignty and then be asked who was worthy to enter his dwelling. The answer came: those with clean hands and pure hearts, those who seek God with sincerity and faithfulness.

This background makes Psalm 24 especially fitting for the Solemnity of All Saints. The ancient procession into the earthly sanctuary foreshadows the saints’ entry into the heavenly Jerusalem.

The LORD’s are the earth and its fullness; the world and those who dwell in it.

The psalm opens by affirming God’s universal sovereignty as Creator.

For he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.

The psalmist draws on ancient Near Eastern imagery in which chaotic waters symbolized disorder and threat. Yet unlike pagan myths that depict various gods struggling for supremacy, Israel’s faith proclaims that the Lord alone founded and established the world upon these waters. Creation is not the result of conflict but of divine command.

Therefore, this verse celebrates God’s absolute dominion: even the forces of chaos are subject to him.

Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD? Or who may stand in his holy place?

This question was likely part of an entrance rite at the Temple, which begins with an exchange of question and answer. As pilgrims approached the walls of the city, they put this question to the Levite priest at the gate.

One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain.

The priest replies by stating the conditions to be met.

According to the strict regulations in Israel’s cultic tradition, only those who conformed to the prescriptions of holiness, or cultic purity, were allowed to enter. These prescriptions generally governed external regulations. Hands that had not touched tainted objects were considered “sinless.”

However, note that external conformity is not enough. An appropriate inner disposition is also required.

This movement from ritual purity to inner transformation is precisely what Christ will later fulfill and teach in the Gospel. Jesus does not abolish the Law but perfects it, revealing its true purpose.

He shall receive a blessing from the LORD, a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks him, that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.

God is identified as the God of Jacob and savior of the chosen people, clear allusions to both the ancestral and exodus traditions of Israel. These epithets are not only divine titles, they are also reminders of God’s special election and care of his people.

Those who seek the face of God and live in fidelity to the covenant are promised blessing and communion with him.

In other words, they will be saints.