Vatican City, Mar 16, 2008 / 09:56 am
Beneath the gaze of the towering figures of Sts. Peter and Paul, Pope Benedict presided over the annual Palm Sunday liturgy in St. Peter's Square this morning. He reminded the audience that God's power is in the power of love - which is present in the sacrifice of his Son.
Young people from all parts of Italy filled the square to hear the Holy Father address them on the 23rd Youth Day for the Diocese of Rome. Many of the students waving baseball caps and holding banners welcomed the Holy Father and listened as he told them that Jesus Christ did not come as a "destroyer with the sword of a revolutionary."
Rather, he said that Jesus came as a healer and reveals God in our midst as "the One who loves; his power is the power of love."
The Pope said Jesus' ascent from Galilee to Jerusalem is also an interior ascent that ultimately ends on the Cross, "the definitive place of contact between God and man “that shows Jesus' "love to the end" (cf. Jn 13, 1).