VATICAN CITY, APR 11, 2001 (VIS) - In today's general audience, held this morning in St. Peter's Square, John Paul II recalled that tomorrow begins the Easter Triduum and said that "from tomorrow to Sunday we will live the central days of the liturgy: the mystery of the passion, death, and resurrection of the Lord."
"Tomorrow we enter the Cenacle," the Pope continued, "to welcome the extraordinary gift of the Eucharist, the priesthood, and the new commandment. On Good Friday we travel the sorrowful way to Calvary again, where Christ will fulfill His sacrifice. On Holy Saturday, we wait in silence to enter the solemn Easter Vigil."
The Holy Father affirmed that: "The Eucharist is the eloquent sign of this total, free, and voluntary love, and it offers each person the joy of the presence of He who also enables us to love, in imitation of Himself, 'to the end'. It is a demanding love which Jesus proposes to his disciples."
On Calvary, the Holy Father added, "we contemplate a love whose complete fulfillment is the gift of life. ... When we celebrate the Passion of the Lord, next Friday, and take part in the Way of the Cross, we cannot forget the strength of this love which is given without measure."
The Pope emphasized that "we spend Holy Saturday in silent expectation for the encounter with the Risen One. We can in this way better prepare ourselves for the solemn Easter Vigil, when the resplendent light of the Risen Christ will flood into the heart of night."
John Paul II concluded the catechesis with these words: "In this last part of the penitential journey may we be accompanied by Mary, the Virgin who remained ever faithful beside her Son, especially in the days of the Passion. May she teach us to love 'to the end' as we follow in the footsteps of Jesus who through His Death and Resurrection has saved the world."
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