Pope says Christians prepare for prayer through moral living

Published: 2004-02-04

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Preparations for prayer and liturgical celebrations in the Judeo-Christian tradition are not focused on special gestures and dress, but on moral integrity in one's personal life and in society, Pope John Paul II said. "To be admitted into the presence of the divine, many religious cultures ask for exterior ritual purity with special ablutions, gestures and dress," he said Feb. 4 at his general audience. But Psalm 15 explains that in the Judeo-Christian tradition ritual purity implies a clean conscience and "choices inspired by love for justice and for one's neighbor," the pope said. Pope John Paul said the psalm, recited in the church's evening prayer, echoes the calls of the prophets "to join faith and life, prayer and commitment, adoration and social justice." The psalm's requirements for entering the Lord's presence, the pope said, can serve as "the basis for a personal examination of conscience every time we prepare to confess our sins in order to be admitted into communion with the Lord in the liturgical celebration."

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