The “first great message” of Palm Sunday is an invitation to adopt a proper outlook on humanity and its different cultures and civilizations.
“The look that the believer receives from Christ is a look of blessing,” he said. It is a “wise and loving look, capable of grasping the world’s beauty and having compassion on its fragility.”
Quickly, however, the excitement of the Jerusalem crowd turned to disappointment as Jesus did not fit their own idea of how “the long-awaited King promised by the prophets should act.” And so, only a few days later, “instead of acclaiming Jesus, the Jerusalem crowd will cry out to Pilate: Crucify him!”
The Pope said that this question of Jesus’ identity is at the heart of today’s feast.
“What idea do we have of the Messiah, what idea do we have of God?” he asked. “It is a crucial question, one we cannot avoid, not least because during this very week we are called to follow our King who chooses the Cross as his throne.”
“We are called to follow a Messiah who promises us, not a facile earthly happiness, but the happiness of heaven, divine beatitude.”
Pope Benedict urged pilgrims, and particularly the young people present for today’s diocesan level World Youth Day, to make the decision to “say yes to the Lord and to follow him all the way, the decision to make his Passover, his death and resurrection, the very focus of your Christian lives.”
He promised them that this decision is one that leads to “true joy.”
At the conclusion of Mass, the Pope prayed the traditional midday Angelus with the gathered pilgrims and wished them well for the next seven days.
“This Holy Week, may we be moved again by Christ’s passion and death, put our sins behind us and, with God’s grace, choose a life of love and service to our brethren,” he said.
As the dark clouds above St. Peter's Square turned to sunshine, he then made his way around St. Peter’s Square by popemobile and blessed the cheering crowds as he went.