Vatican City, Apr 2, 2010 / 17:44 pm
During an emotional Way of the Cross celebrated on Good Friday evening at the Coliseum in Rome, Pope Benedict prayed that Christians, by following the example of Jesus, may be able to overcome evil with good.
Pope Benedict followed the meditations of the Way of the Cross prepared this year by the Emeritus Vicar of Rome, Cardinal Camillo Ruini.
In his introduction to the Via Crucis, Cardinal Ruini wrote:
When the Apostle Philip asked Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father,” he replied, “Have I been with you all this time, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn 14:8-9). This evening, as we accompany Jesus in our hearts while he makes his way beneath the cross, let us not forget those words. Even as he carries the cross, even in his death on the cross, Jesus remains the Son, who is one with God the Father. When we look upon his face disfigured by beating, weariness and inner suffering, we see the face of the Father. Indeed, it is precisely in this moment that God’s glory, his surpassing splendor, in some way becomes visible on the face of Jesus. In this poor, suffering man whom Pilate, in the hope of eliciting compassion, showed to the Jews with the words “Behold the man!” (Jn 19:5), we see revealed the true greatness of God, that mysterious grandeur beyond all our imagining.