VATICAN CITY, 21 MAR 2008 (VIS) - In the Vatican Basilica at 5 p.m. today, Good Friday, the Pope presided at the celebration of the Lord's Passion. Following the reading of the Passion, Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa O.F.M. Cap., preacher of the Pontifical Household, pronounced his customary Good Friday homily. The ceremony continued with the universal prayer, veneration of the Cross and Holy Communion.
At 9.15 p.m., the Holy Father travelled to the Colosseum where he led the 'Via Crucis' or Way of the Cross. The meditations this year were prepared by Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun S.D.B., bishop of Hong Kong, China, and their central theme was the persecutions suffered by the Catholic Church in various parts of the world.
On a cold and rainy night, Benedict XVI oversaw the ceremony from the Palatine Hill and carried the cross for the last station. Over the other thirteen stations, it was carried by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, vicar general for the diocese of Rome, a religious from Burkina Faso, a Roman family, a woman on a wheelchair, two Franciscan friars from the Custody of the Holy Land and a young Chinese woman.
At the end of the ceremony, the Holy Father addressed some remarks to those present. "The cross", he said, "is the source of immortal life, it is a school of justice and peace, it is a universal legacy of forgiveness and mercy, it is permanent proof of the oblational and infinite love which brought God to make Himself a vulnerable man like us, and to die crucified".
"Unfortunately mankind does not always manage to perceive the profundity of this boundless love that God nourishes for His creatures" said Benedict XVI. "For Him there is no difference in race or culture. Jesus Christ died to liberate the entire human race from ignorance of God, from the cycle of hatred and revenge, from the slavery of sin. The cross makes us all brothers and sisters".
"Many people, even in our own time, do not know God and cannot find Him in the crucified Christ. Many are those who seek a form of love and freedom that excludes God, many believe they have no need of God. Dear friends, having experienced the passion of Jesus together, let us this evening allow His sacrifice on the cross to probe us; let us allow Him to put our human certainties in doubt; let us open our hearts to Him. Jesus is the Truth that makes us free to love. Let us not fear! By dying, the Lord saved sinners, in other words, all of us".
"This is the truth of Good Friday", the Holy Father concluded. "On the cross, the Redeemer gave us back the dignity that is ours, He made us adoptive children of God Who created us in His image and likeness".
BXVI-HOLY WEEK/GOOD FRIDAY/... VIS 20080326 (480)
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