ROME, MAY 7, 2001 (Zenit.org).- To the Psalmist´s question «What is man, that you should keep him in mind?» Monsignor Luigi Giussani offers an answer.
The founder of the Communion and Liberation movement has written a new book based on his meditations on the Psalms.
His reply to the question: «It would be difficult for anyone who is not prepared to relive in some way the history of the people of Israel, with all its accents and dramas, to understand the Christian experience.»
The book has been published by St. Paul´s in Italy, under the title «Che cos´e l´uomo perche te ne curi?» It is now being translated into other languages.
The work includes talks by Monsignor Giussani recorded during meetings and congresses.
Editor Milene Di Gioia explained that it is not the work of an exegete; rather, it is a set of meditations that reflect the Italian priest´s intuitions and first answers in each circumstance of life.
«This is a spiritual patrimony that would otherwise have been restricted to a small circle of specialists and close friends,» Di Gioia said.
Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints, presented the book Friday at Communion and Liberation´s international center in Rome.
The Psalms «are words that make one live the experience of God´s closeness in daily circumstances of life, which have originated it and are a reflection of it,» the Portuguese cardinal said.
The Book of Psalms is the one most quoted by Jesus and is, therefore, «one of the most valuable companions man can have,» the cardinal said. «If [man] does not know what to say, the Psalms become a word for all the most important occasions of life; if, on the other hand, he knows what to say, they become the measure of the truth of his words.»
«Whoever does not read the Psalms, does not understand death and resurrection,» the author said. Yet, «whoever only reads the Psalms, is somewhat orphaned.»
Communion and Liberation, founded in Milan in 1954, has spread to 70 countries. The movement´s objective is to propose the presence of Christ as the only true response to the profound needs of human existence at all times.
