Vatican City, Apr 4, 2012 / 12:05 pm
In the final few days of Holy Week, Catholics should recognize that Christ’s love for them is shown by “the total gift of himself on the cross,” said Pope Benedict XVI.
“Let us allow ourselves to be touched by this love, to be transformed, so that the resurrection may really be realized in us. I invite you, therefore, to live the Paschal Triduum intensely, and I wish you all a Holy Easter!” the Pope said on April 4.
The Pope made his remarks to over 11,000 pilgrims who were gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his Wednesday general audience. He explained to them that from tomorrow afternoon onwards, “we enter the Easter Triduum, the summit of the liturgical year” that celebrates “the central mystery of faith: the passion, death and resurrection of Christ.”
Exploring the scriptural texts that will be used over those three days, the Pope explained how St. John’s Gospel describes those days in the life of Jesus as his “hour.”
“Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end,” Pope Benedict said, quoting the passage from St. John 13:1 in full.