God is closest to us in our poverty and brokenness. He is not the God of the triumphant, but the God of the brokenhearted, who hears the cries of those whose voices are lost in the noise of the world, emphasizes Fr. Piotr Kwiatek, Capuchin, doctor of psychology, and initiator of psalm therapy, in the Heschel Center at the Catholic University of Lublin's commentary on Psalm 34, sung in churches on Sundays.
As Father Kwiatek points out, Psalm 34 “arises from the experience of escape, humiliation, and sudden salvation.” He adds that “in each of our lives, there are moments when we feel cornered, forced to pretend to be someone we are not, when everything collapses like a house of cards. This is the song of a man who stood on the edge of the abyss and discovered the presence of God there. Not in a temple, not in success, but in helplessness.”
The Capuchin points out that "this psalm invites us to reflect: how can we hear the voice of hope in the hustle and bustle of everyday life? How can we find strength in weakness that transcends our own? And finally, how can we turn fear into trust and make gratitude the foundation of our lives, even when the ground is being pulled out from under our feet?"
Gratitude as a decision
Father Kwiatek writes that the biblical “David makes the most radical declaration of faith precisely when it seems that there is nothing to be thankful for.” We read: “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall ever be on my lips” (Ps 34:2). The monk explains: “The Hebrew word bechol-et literally means ‘at all times’ — not only on sunny days, but especially when the nights are darkest.”
Psalm 34 is a so-called alphabetical psalm – each stanza begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. "This literary order is not accidental: it is as if David wanted not only to give glory to God ‘from A to Z’, but also to reorder his life through prayer. The alphabet becomes a symbol of the order that prayer brings to the human interior,“ notes Fr. Kwiatek, adding: ”Blessing God becomes not only an act of worship, but also an act of restoring harmony – just as the orderly alphabet gives meaning to words, so worship gives meaning to life."
Justice as a fundamental sense of security
Psalm 34 also touches on the deep need for justice. We read: “The Lord turns his face against those who do evil, to wipe out their memory from the earth” (Ps 34:17). “This is not a call for revenge, but for moral order in the world. When evil seems to triumph, when oppressors sleep peacefully and the innocent suffer, people begin to lose their footing,” notes Fr. Kwiatek. “When we see that evil goes unpunished, our sense of security crumbles.” He adds: "God hears. He does not remain indifferent. Rabbinic tradition emphasizes that sza'akah – ‘cry’ – is not a simple request, but a cry from the depths of the soul, one that comes out when words are no longer enough. God responds to this kind of cry – unarticulated, real, full of pain. This creates a fundamental sense of security: I can cry out because someone is listening."
God's closeness in times of brokenness
The final part of the psalm reveals the most intimate dimension of our relationship with God. We read: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Ps 34:19). The commentator on the psalm for the Heschel Center at the Catholic University of Lublin writes that “the Hebrew term nishberei lev – ‘brokenhearted’ – does not mean depression, but an authentic experience of inner brokenness that leads to the truth about oneself.” The psalm ends with a promise of a psychological and spiritual space in which “we can reject guilt and fear of condemnation.” “God does not wait for us to be fixed. He comes to us in our brokenness. That is where He is closest,” writes Fr. Kwiatek.
In the midst of poverty and brokenness, God is closest
Father Kwiatek points out that God's closeness "does not eliminate suffering, but transforms it into a space of encounter—intimate, real, healing. Blessing the Lord ‘at all times’ becomes an act of inner freedom and resistance against despair. It is a conscious decision to see the light even in the thickest darkness."
In the crucified and risen body of Jesus, "every human fracture becomes a place through which the light of Easter passes. The blessing that flows from the mouth of the poor is therefore not naivety, but the deepest wisdom and recognition that God is closest precisely where, humanly speaking, everything ends. And that from this place, from the very bottom, something new can begin."
Piotr Kwiatek OFMCap – Doctor of Psychology, priest and monk of the Krakow Province of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin. He completed a three-year Gestalt therapy program in Philadelphia (USA). In addition, he trained at the Albert Ellis Institute of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) in New York. He teaches positive interventions at SWPS University – studies recommended by the founder of positive psychology, Prof. Martin E.P. Seligman. He is the author of the books: Psalmotherapy, Workbook for Psalms, and co-author of 365 Days in the Rhythm of Psalms. He also publishes in the series Positive Psychology and Faith. For more information, visit: www.piotrkwiatek.com.
______________________
Heschel Center