Accompanied by thousands of pilgrims waiving palms in memory of Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem, Benedict XVI today asked if the symbolism of today’s liturgy is merely a “ritual” and a “quaint custom.”
The answer, the Pope said, can only be understood if we are “clear about what Jesus himself wished to do and actually did.”
This was the way the Holy Father introduced his homily today as he celebrated Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square. With today’s Mass, the Pope, who turned 84 on Saturday, began the intense celebrations of Holy Week.
Regarding Christ’s entry into Jerusalem, the Pontiff noted that Jesus “knew that what awaited him was a new Passover and that he himself would take the place of the sacrificial lambs by offering himself on the cross.”
“He knew that in the mysterious gifts of bread and wine he would give himself for ever to his own, and that he would open to them the door to a new path of liberation, to fellowship with the living God. He was making his way to the heights of the Cross, to the moment of self-giving love,” the Pope said. “The ultimate goal of his pilgrimage was the heights of God himself; to those heights he wanted to lift every human being.”
Today’s procession then, is meant “to be an image of something deeper,” Benedict XVI affirmed. It is meant “to reflect the fact that, together with Jesus, we are setting out on pilgrimage along the high road that leads to the living God. This is the ascent that matters. This is the journey which Jesus invites us to make.”
Pope Makes Multilingual Invitation to Youth Day
After celebrating Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square today, Benedict XVI greeted youth in several languages to invite them to August’s World Youth Day in Madrid.
The Pope did not give his traditional brief meditation before praying the Angelus, but mentioned the youth event in several languages.
“I look forward to celebrating World Youth Day in Madrid this summer with many thousands of others from around the world,” he said.
VATICAN CITY, APRIL 17, 2011 (Zenit.org)