This morning's General Audience began at 10:30am in Saint Peter's Square. The Holy Father, Pope Francis met with groups of pilgrims and the faithful who had come from various parts of Italy and from all parts of the world.
In his catechesis, the Pope shared a meditation on Holy Week and its centrality in the liturgical year.
After having resumed his teaching in various languages, the Holy Father shared greetings with various groups of the faithful who were present.
The General Audience ended with the chanting of the Pater Noster and the imparting of the Apostolic Blessing.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Today, in the midst of Holy Week, the liturgy presents a sad story: the betrayal of Judas, who goes to the leaders of the Sanhedrin to negotiate and hand his Master over to them. How much will you pay me if I give him to you? In that moment, a price is put on Jesus' head. This dramatic act signals the beginning of Christ's Passion, a path of pain which He chooses with absolute freedom. He himself says it clearly: I give my life ... No one takes it from me: I myself offer it. I have the power to give it and the power to take it back again (Jn 10:17-18). This is what happens with this betrayal; it is the beginning of the way of humiliation and of suffering, Jesus walks it, all the way to the end.
Jesus reaches the depth of humiliation with his death on the cross. This was the worst kind of death, reserved for slaves and for delinquents. Jesus was considered a prophet, but died a delinquent. Looking toward Jesus in his passion, we can see, as in a mirror, the suffering of all humanity and we can find the divine response to the mystery of evil, of suffering and of death. Many times, we feel horror for the evil and suffering that surrounds us and we might ask ourselves: Why does God allow this? It is a deep wound for us to see suffering and death, especially that of the innocent! When we witness the suffering of children, it wounds us to the heart: it is one of the mysteries of evil. And Jesus takes all this evil, all this suffering upon himself. This week, it is good for all of us to look toward the crucifix, to kiss the wounds of Jesus, to kiss the crucifix. He took upon himself all the suffering of humanity, and clothed himself in this suffering.
We expect God, in His omnipotence, to defeat injustice, evil, sin and suffering with a triumphant divine victory. Instead, God shows us a humble victory which humanly seems a failure. We can say that God conquers in failure! In fact, the Son of God appears on the cross as a defeated man: he suffers, is betrayed, is despised and finally dies. However, Jesus allows evil to rage on him and he takes it upon himself to defeat it. His Passion is not an incident; his death – that death – was written. Truly, we do not find many explanations. It is a disconcerting mystery, the mystery of God’s great humility: For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son (John 3:16). We think so much of Jesus’ grief this week and we say to ourselves: this is for me. Even if I were the only person in the world, he would have done it. He did it for me. We kiss the crucifix and we say: for me, thank you Jesus, for me.
When all seems lost, when there is no longer anyone because they strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered (Matthew 26:31), it is then that God intervenes with the power of the Resurrection. Jesus’ Resurrection is not the happy ending of a beautiful fable, it is not the happy end of a film, but it is the intervention of God the Father when human hope is shattered. In the moment in which everything seems to be lost, in the moment of grief in which many persons feel the need to come down from the cross, it is the moment closest to the resurrection. The night becomes darker in fact before the morning begins, before the light begins. God intervenes in the darkest moment and resuscitates.
Jesus, who chose to pass through this life, calls us to follow him on this same way of humiliation. When in certain moments of life we find some way to come out of our difficulties, when we sink into the thickest darkness, it is the moment of our humiliation and total stripping, the hour in which we experience the truth that we are fragile and sinners. It is in fact then, in that moment, that we must not mask our failure, but open ourselves confidently to hope in God, as Jesus did. Dear brothers and sisters, it will do us good this week to take the cross in hand and kiss it a lot, a lot and to say: thank you, Jesus, thank you, Lord. Amen.
Following the Holy Father's catechesis, the above text was summarized in various languages, and the Pope offered particular words of greeting to each linguistic group of pilgrims who were present at today's Audience. To English-speaking visitors, he said:
I greet all the English-speaking pilgrims taking part in today’s Audience, including those from England, Australia, Canada and the United States. My particular greeting goes to the delegation from the NATO Defense College and to the many young people present. Upon all of you, and upon your families, I invoke the gifts of the Spirit for a fruitful celebration of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of the Lord. May God bless you all!
In his catechesis, the Pope shared a meditation on Holy Week and its centrality in the liturgical year.
After having resumed his teaching in various languages, the Holy Father shared greetings with various groups of the faithful who were present.
The General Audience ended with the chanting of the Pater Noster and the imparting of the Apostolic Blessing.
Catechesis of His Holiness, Pope Francis
for the General Audience
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Today, in the midst of Holy Week, the liturgy presents a sad story: the betrayal of Judas, who goes to the leaders of the Sanhedrin to negotiate and hand his Master over to them. How much will you pay me if I give him to you? In that moment, a price is put on Jesus' head. This dramatic act signals the beginning of Christ's Passion, a path of pain which He chooses with absolute freedom. He himself says it clearly: I give my life ... No one takes it from me: I myself offer it. I have the power to give it and the power to take it back again (Jn 10:17-18). This is what happens with this betrayal; it is the beginning of the way of humiliation and of suffering, Jesus walks it, all the way to the end.
Jesus reaches the depth of humiliation with his death on the cross. This was the worst kind of death, reserved for slaves and for delinquents. Jesus was considered a prophet, but died a delinquent. Looking toward Jesus in his passion, we can see, as in a mirror, the suffering of all humanity and we can find the divine response to the mystery of evil, of suffering and of death. Many times, we feel horror for the evil and suffering that surrounds us and we might ask ourselves: Why does God allow this? It is a deep wound for us to see suffering and death, especially that of the innocent! When we witness the suffering of children, it wounds us to the heart: it is one of the mysteries of evil. And Jesus takes all this evil, all this suffering upon himself. This week, it is good for all of us to look toward the crucifix, to kiss the wounds of Jesus, to kiss the crucifix. He took upon himself all the suffering of humanity, and clothed himself in this suffering.
We expect God, in His omnipotence, to defeat injustice, evil, sin and suffering with a triumphant divine victory. Instead, God shows us a humble victory which humanly seems a failure. We can say that God conquers in failure! In fact, the Son of God appears on the cross as a defeated man: he suffers, is betrayed, is despised and finally dies. However, Jesus allows evil to rage on him and he takes it upon himself to defeat it. His Passion is not an incident; his death – that death – was written. Truly, we do not find many explanations. It is a disconcerting mystery, the mystery of God’s great humility: For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son (John 3:16). We think so much of Jesus’ grief this week and we say to ourselves: this is for me. Even if I were the only person in the world, he would have done it. He did it for me. We kiss the crucifix and we say: for me, thank you Jesus, for me.
When all seems lost, when there is no longer anyone because they strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered (Matthew 26:31), it is then that God intervenes with the power of the Resurrection. Jesus’ Resurrection is not the happy ending of a beautiful fable, it is not the happy end of a film, but it is the intervention of God the Father when human hope is shattered. In the moment in which everything seems to be lost, in the moment of grief in which many persons feel the need to come down from the cross, it is the moment closest to the resurrection. The night becomes darker in fact before the morning begins, before the light begins. God intervenes in the darkest moment and resuscitates.
Jesus, who chose to pass through this life, calls us to follow him on this same way of humiliation. When in certain moments of life we find some way to come out of our difficulties, when we sink into the thickest darkness, it is the moment of our humiliation and total stripping, the hour in which we experience the truth that we are fragile and sinners. It is in fact then, in that moment, that we must not mask our failure, but open ourselves confidently to hope in God, as Jesus did. Dear brothers and sisters, it will do us good this week to take the cross in hand and kiss it a lot, a lot and to say: thank you, Jesus, thank you, Lord. Amen.
Following the Holy Father's catechesis, the above text was summarized in various languages, and the Pope offered particular words of greeting to each linguistic group of pilgrims who were present at today's Audience. To English-speaking visitors, he said:
I greet all the English-speaking pilgrims taking part in today’s Audience, including those from England, Australia, Canada and the United States. My particular greeting goes to the delegation from the NATO Defense College and to the many young people present. Upon all of you, and upon your families, I invoke the gifts of the Spirit for a fruitful celebration of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of the Lord. May God bless you all!
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