At Palm Sunday Mass,on March 20, Pope Francis emphasised that “too many act like Pontius Pilate, denying justice” and he urged faithful to see the cross as “the royal seat of God”. He added: "If the mystery of evil is unfathomable, then the reality of Love poured out through him is infinite”.
“Many do not take responsibility for the fate of refugees,” Pope Francis lamented . These heartfelt words, which he pronounced setting aside his written text for a moment, became a warning call for the destinies of refugees. “Every form of justice is denied to [Jesus]” and he “experiences in His own flesh indifference, since no one wishes to take responsibility for His fate”. Francis highlighted in the homily he pronounced for the Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s. After a few moments of silence, he spoke off the cuff, adding: “I think of the many outcasts, the many asylum-seekers and refugees, whose fate they don’t want to take responsibility for.”
The Pope offered an intense reflection on the passages of the Holy Scriptures that describe Jesus caught between the Sanhedrin and Pilate and the “extreme humiliation” Christ goes through in the Passion. “If the mystery of evil is unfathomable, then the reality of Love poured out through Him is infinite”. Francis urged faithful to humbly renounce fame and power because “the true face of God, is mercy”. “True love consists in concrete service, the Lord lowers himself”. “Jesus desires to enter our cities and our lives” but “it seems difficult for us to even forget ourselves a little”. And yet “the Crucifix, the ‘royal seat of God’” teaches us to give up seeking power.
The Pope bean the solemn liturgy by blessing people’s olive branches in St. Peter’s Square. Preceded by a procession of cardinals, the Pope made his way through the crowd, walking from the obelisk at the centre of Bernini’s colonnade up to the front of the Vatican Basilica, holding a palm frond. He spread incense on the altar and began the mass celebration. Young people from the diocese of Rome participated in the rite on the occasion of the diocesan commemoration of World Youth Day which will be celebrated in Krakow, Poland from 26 to 31 July. The theme of this year’s World Youth Day is “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy”.
Francis pointed out how far apart a worldly way of thinking and the Gospel are. “God’s way of acting may seem so far removed from our own, that He was annihilated for our sake, while it seems difficult for us to even forget ourselves a little. He comes to save us; we are called to choose His way: the way of service, of giving, of forgetfulness of ourselves. Let us walk this path, pausing in these days to gaze upon the Crucifix, the “royal seat of God”, to learn about the humble love which saves and gives life, so that we may give up all selfishness, and the seeking of power and fame. By humbling Himself, Jesus invites us to walk on His path.”
The Gospel says that when “Pilate then sends Him to Herod, who in turn sends Him to the Roman governor. Even as every form of justice is denied to Him, Jesus also experiences in His own flesh indifference, since no one wishes to take responsibility for His fate.” “True love consists in concrete service”. “The first sign of this love “without end” is the washing of the feet. “The Lord and Master” stoops to His disciples’ feet, as only servants would have done.” “He shows us by example that we need to allow His love to reach us, a love which bends down to us; we cannot do any less, we cannot love without letting ourselves be loved by Him first, without experiencing His surprising tenderness and without accepting that true love consists in concrete service.”
He added: “Jesus is sold for thirty pieces of silver and betrayed by the kiss of a disciple whom He had chosen and called His friend. Nearly all the others flee and abandon Him; Peter denies Him three times in the courtyard of the temple. Humiliated in His spirit by mockery, insults and spitting, He suffers in His body terrible brutality the blows, the scourging and the crown of thorns make His face unrecognizable. He also experiences shame and disgraceful condemnation by religious and political authorities. He is made into sin and considered to be unjust.”
Finally,“hanging from the wood of the cross, beside derision He now confronts the last temptation: to come down from the Cross, to conquer evil by might and to show the face of a powerful and invincible God.”
