Pope: Let us be filled with that amazement as we gaze upon the crucified Lord
At the beginning of Holy Week, Pope Francis celebrates Palm Sunday and the Passion of the Lord at the altar of the chair. “To admire Jesus is not enough. We have to follow in his footsteps, to let ourselves be challenged by him; to pass from admiration to amazement.” " This is the amazing thing: to see the Almighty reduced to nothing. To see the Word who knows all things teach us in silence from the height of the cross.” “We love Jesus: For that is where he is: in the least of our brothers and sisters, in the rejected and discarded."
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - "Let us be filled with that amazement as we gaze upon the crucified Lord": this is the invitation that Pope Francis addressed today Palm Sunday to the faithful at the Mass of the Passion of Our Lord, which begins the rites of Holy Week.
Due to anti-Covid restrictions, the liturgy took place in the area of the basilica in front of the altar of the chair in the presence of a few hundred faithful.
The theme of "amazement" covered the pontiff's homily, according to whom this interior attitude "will accompany us throughout Holy Week".
Amazement is different from the admiration that the people of Jerusalem showed towards Jesus as he entered the holy city on a donkey: " They admired Jesus, but they did not let themselves be amazed by him. Amazement is not the same as admiration. Admiration can be worldly, since it follows its own tastes and expectations. Admiration, on the other hand, remains open to others and to the newness they bring. Even today, there are many people who admire Jesus: he said beautiful things; he was filled with love and forgiveness; his example changed history… They admire him, but their lives are not changed. To admire Jesus is not enough. We have to follow in his footsteps, to let ourselves be challenged by him; to pass from admiration to amazement. What is most amazing about the Lord and his Passover? It is the fact that he achieves glory through humiliation."
" This is the amazing thing: to see the Almighty reduced to nothing. To see the Word who knows all things teach us in silence from the height of the cross. To see the king of kings enthroned on a gibbet. Seeing the God of the universe stripped of everything and crowned with thorns instead of glory. To see the One who is goodness personified, insulted and beaten. Why all this humiliation? Why, Lord, did you wish to endure all this? “
“Jesus did it for us, to plumb the depths of our human experience, our entire existence, all our evil. To draw near to us and not abandon us in our suffering and our death. To redeem us, to save us. Jesus was lifted high on the cross in order to descend to the abyss of our suffering. He experienced our deepest sorrows: failure, loss of everything, betrayal by a friend, even abandonment by God. By experiencing in the flesh our deepest struggles and conflicts, he redeemed and transformed them. His love draws close to our frailty; it touches the very things of which we are most ashamed. Yet now we know that we are not alone: God is at our side in every affliction, in every fear; no evil, no sin will ever have the final word. God triumphs, but the palm of victory passes through the wood of the cross. For the palm and the cross are inseparable.”
“During this Holy Week, let us lift our eyes to the cross, in order to receive the grace of amazement. As Saint Francis of Assisi contemplated the crucified Lord, he was amazed that his friars did not weep. What about us? Can we still be moved by God’s love? Have we lost the ability to be amazed by him? Maybe our faith has grown dull from habit. Maybe we remain trapped in our regrets and allow ourselves to be crippled by our disappointments. Maybe we have lost all our trust or even feel worthless. But perhaps, behind all these “maybes”, lies the fact that we are not open to the gift of the Spirit who gives us the grace of amazement" .
In conclusion, Pope Francis indicated in the centurion of the Passion story "He saw him die in love. Jesus suffered immensely, but he never stopped loving. This is what it is to be amazed before God, who can fill even death with love. In that gratuitous and unprecedented love, the pagan centurion found God.”
Under the cross there is no longer room for worldly admiration: "Now it can no longer be so, for at the foot of the cross there can be no mistake: God has revealed himself and reigns only with the disarmed and disarming power of love. Today God continues to fill our minds and hearts with amazement. Let us be filled with that amazement as we gaze upon the crucified Lord. May we too say: “You are truly the Son of God. You are my God".
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21/03/2021 13:29
