COMMEMORATING THE PASSION OF OUR LORD
Liturgy of the Word, Veneration
of the Cross, and Holy Communion
Libretto cover: The Crucifixion, by Meister Sigmund (Master of the Visitation), 1475.
Gift of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to the Diocesan Museum of Freising, 1982.
Pope Benedict marks Good Friday
at rites in St.Peter's Basilica
Adapted from
April 22, 2011
Pope Benedict XVI led the faithful in the Passion liturgy and veneration of the Cross on Good Friday today in St. Peter’s Basilica.
[Wearing a gold-patterned red Roman chasuble, the Holy Father was assisted today by Cardinals Leonardo Sandri and Raymond Burke from the Roman Curia.
In the first part of the liturgy, three sub-deacons chanted the Passion from teh Gospel of St. Jon in Latin. This was followed by the homily delivered by the preacher of the papal household, Capuchin Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa.]
The papal preacher reflected on the words of the centurion in Matthew’s Gospel after Christ’s death: “Surely, this man was son of God.(Mt. 27:54)”
“The cross is not only God’s judgement on the world and its wisdom,” said Fr. Cantalamessa. “It is more than the revelation and condemnation of sin. It is not God’s NO to the world, it is the YES God speaks to the world from the depths of his love.”
The preacher of the papal household went on to quote from the Pope’s recently released 2nd volume of Jesus of Nazareth, saying “[E]vil cannot simply be ignored; it cannot just be left to stand. It must be dealt with; it must be overcome. Only this counts as true mercy. And the fact that God now confronts evil himself, because men are incapable of doing so - therein lies the ‘unconditional’ goodness of God.(Jesus of Nazareth II, p.133)”
Fr. Cantalamessa went on to say, “The One whom we contemplate on the cross is God “in person”.
He is also the man Jesus of Nazareth, but that man is one person with the Son of the Eternal Father.
“Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and is himself God, of one substance with the Father,” said Fr. Cantalamessa, “As long as the fundamental dogma of the Christian faith is not recognised and taken seriously, he said, “human suffering will remain unanswered.”
[Afterwards, the Holy Father led in the ritual Veneration of the Cross. He uncovered a Crucifix brought to him with the image of Christ wrapped in red velvet.
After the Cross was set on a pedestal in front of the main altar, the Pope returned to his papal chair, where he took off his chasuble and his shoes and walked back to the altar on stockinged feet to venerate the Cross. He genuflected then reached up to kiss the feet of the image. The other cardinals and bishops present then went up the altar to venerate the Cross one by one.
In the last part of the liturgy, the Holy Father led in giving Holy Communion to those present.]
(I added the parts in brackets, based on what I saw in the televised event.)
Libretto illustrations: Scenes from the passion of Christ, Meister Sigmund, 1450, Diocesan Museum of Freising.
It would be most interesting to learn how Cardinal Ratzinger came to acquire the Crucifixion by Meister Sigmund, which is dated 25 years later than the Scenes from the Passion above. Obviously, he knew it would complete the set owned by the Freising museum.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 22/04/2011 22:38]