Following the meditations of Mr. & Mrs. Danilo Zanzucchi of the Focolare movement
and the founders of the New Families movement, through the fourteen Stations of the
Cross, Pope Benedict XVI’s reflections at the via crucis on Good Friday evening at
the Colosseum in Rome were focused on the family:
“In times of trial and tribulation,”
said Pope Benedict, “we are not alone; the family is not alone. Jesus is present
with his love, he sustains them by his grace and grants the strength needed to carry
on, to make sacrifices and to evercome every obstacle.”
The Holy Father went
on to say:
It is to this love of Christ that we must turn when human turmoil
and difficulties threaten the unity of our lives and our families.”
The Pope
spoke of how the mystery of Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection inspires us
to go on in hope: times of trouble and testing, when endured with Christ, with faith
in him, already contain the light of the resurrection, the new life of a world reborn,
the passover of all those who believe in his word.
“In that crucified Man who
is the Son of God,” he said, “even death itself takes on new meaning and purpose:
it is redeemed and overcome, it becomes a passage to new life.”
The Pope concluded
with an exhortation, asking all the faithful to entrust themselves to the Blessed
Virgin, Mary.
He prayed:
May Mary, who accompanied her Son along his
way of sorrows, who stood beneath the cross at the hour of his death, and who inspired
the Church at its birth to live in God’s presence, lead our hearts and the hearts
of every family through the vast mysterium passionis towards the mysterium paschale,
towards that light which breaks forth from Christ’s resurrection and reveals the definitive
victory of love, joy and life over evil, suffering and death.
The evening of
Holy Saturday, in St Peter’s Basilica, the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI will celebrate
the Easter Vigil Mass. Listen:
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Below,
please find the full text of Pope Benedict XVI's remarks to the faithful gathered
at the Colosseum in Rome for the via crucis on Good Friday.
Dear Brothers
and Sisters, Once more in meditation, prayer and song, we have recalled Jesus’s
journey along the way of the cross: a journey seemingly hopeless, yet one that changed
human life and history, and opened the way to “new heavens and a new earth” (cf. Rev
21:1). Especially today, Good Friday, the Church commemorates with deep spiritual
union the death of the Son of God on the cross; in his cross she sees the tree of
life, which blossoms in new hope. The experience of suffering and of the cross
touches all mankind; it touches the family too. How often does the journey become
wearisome and difficult! Misunderstandings, conflicts, worry for the future of our
children, sickness and problems of every kind. These days too, the situation of many
families is made worse by the threat of unemployment and other negative effects of
the economic crisis. The Way of the Cross which we have spiritually retraced this
evening invites all of us, and families in particular, to contemplate Christ crucified
in order to have the force to overcome difficulties. The cross of Christ is the supreme
sign of God’s love for every man and woman, the superabundant response to every person’s
need for love. At times of trouble, when our families have to face pain and adversity,
let us look to Christ’s cross. There we can find the courage and strength to press
on; there we can repeat with firm hope the words of Saint Paul: “Who will separate
us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine,
or nakedness, or peril, or sword? … No, in all these things we are more than conquerors
through him who loved us” (Rom 8:35,37). In times of trial and tribulation, we
are not alone; the family is not alone. Jesus is present with his love, he sustains
them by his grace and grants the strength needed to carry on, to make sacrifices and
to evercome every obstacle. And it is to this love of Christ that we must turn when
human turmoil and difficulties threaten the unity of our lives and our families.
The mystery of Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection inspires us to go on in
hope: times of trouble and testing, when endured with Christ, with faith in him, already
contain the light of the resurrection, the new life of a world reborn, the passover
of all those who believe in his word. In that crucified Man who is the Son of
God, even death itself takes on new meaning and purpose: it is redeemed and overcome,
it becomes a passage to new life. “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and
dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it produces much fruit” (Jn
12:24). Let us entrust ourselves to the Mother of Christ. May Mary, who accompanied
her Son along his way of sorrows, who stood beneath the cross at the hour of his death,
and who inspired the Church at its birth to live in God’s presence, lead our hearts
and the hearts of every family through the vast mysterium passionis towards the mysterium
paschale, towards that light which breaks forth from Christ’s resurrection and reveals
the definitive victory of love, joy and life over evil, suffering and death. Amen.