Psalms — Chapter 120

LEVAVI OCULOS MEOS IN MONTES. Lapide: Psalm 120 — "I have lifted up my eyes to the mountains, from whence help shall come to me." The mountains = Sion and Moriah (the Temple mount) to which the pilgrim looks for help; allegorically = the heavenly Jerusalem, the saints, the angels; primarily = God Himself (v.2: "My help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth"). Lapide: the lifting of the eyes (levavi oculos) = the act of hope — turning the soul's gaze upward from earth to heaven. This psalm has consoled generations of travelers and pilgrims throughout the Church's history.