Pope Francis presided over the Palm Mass and opened Holy Week

ROME.- After spending three days hospitalized in the Gemelli hospital for “infectious bronchitis” that alarmed the world, demonstrating his determination as a shepherd who wants to be with his sheep at all costs, Pope Francis today presided over the solemn Mass of Ramos and the Passion of the Lord, a liturgy that opened Holy Week. From there, looking surprisingly good, after remembering the suffering of Jesus on the cross, he made a strong call to take care of the “many abandoned Christs of today.”

At the celebration, which took place in Saint Peter’s Square with more than 60,000 faithful from all over the world with their olive branches and palms, the 86-year-old Pope appeared in good condition. He was able to get on and off the white jeep that took him to the obelisk in the square, where, as is tradition, the blessing of the palms took place after a procession. He had a good voice and stood up, without problems, when he was needed, in a mass that, as had been anticipated, was celebrated by a compatriot, the Argentine cardinal Leonardo Sandri, vice dean of the College of Cardinals. As explained by the Vatican, this format had already been decided before hospitalization, due to Francisco’s knee problem. At the end of the ceremony, apart from greeting the cardinals with a smile and joking, he was cheered by the crowd when he toured the Plaza aboard his white jeep to greet the faithful who had come from all over the world, while the church bells rang. Basilica. At that time he also looked good, showing off energy, raising his arm and blessing people.

On a sunny but cool day, warmer than normal, with a white overcoat and then guessing sweaters under the red paraments, Francisco was accompanied in this ceremony of enormous importance for the Catholic Church and which he did not want to miss, by 40 cardinals , 30 bishops and 300 priests.

In the homily, which revolved around the invocation of Jesus “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me”, pronounced on the cross, heard in the Gospel, the Pope recalled that, in truth, this sacrifice shows how much God He loves us.

“Brothers and sisters, a love like this, everything for us, to the extreme, can transform our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh, capable of pity, tenderness, compassion,” he explained, his voice clear and firm. “Christ abandoned moves us to seek him and love him in the abandoned. Because in them there are not only people in need, but also He, the abandoned Jesus, the One who saved us by descending to the depths of our human condition. That is why he wants us to take care of the brothers and sisters who are most like him, in the extreme moment of pain and loneliness ”, he continued.

“Today there are so many ‘Christ abandoned’. There are entire towns exploited and abandoned to their fate; there are poor people who live at the crossroads of our streets, with whom we do not dare to meet eyes; immigrants who are no longer faces but numbers; rejected prisoners, people classified as problems, ”he denounced. At that moment, departing from the already prepared text, he recalled a homeless German who died last week under Bernini’s colonnade in St. Peter’s Square, “alone and abandoned.”

Francis also lamented that “there are so many invisible, hidden abandoned Christs who are discarded with a white glove: unborn children, the elderly who have been left alone, the sick who are not visited, the disabled who are ignored, young people who feel a great interior emptiness without anyone really listening. their cry of pain and that they find no other way than suicide”.

After emphasizing that “the abandoned Jesus asks us to have eyes and a heart for the abandoned”, he went further and cried out: “no one can be marginalized, no one can be abandoned to their fate”. “Because, let us remember, the rejected and excluded people are living icons of Christ. They remind us of the madness of his love, his abandonment that saves us from all loneliness and desolation, ”he added. “Today let us ask for the grace to know how to love Jesus abandoned and to know how to love Jesus in each abandoned person. Let us ask for the grace to know how to see and recognize the Lord who continues to shout in them. Let’s not let his voice get lost in the deafening silence of indifference. God has not left us alone: ​​let us take care of those who have been left alone”, he exhorted.

The Pope never referred to his hospitalization – as a result of an illness that was feared to be a heart problem, last Wednesday that forced him to stay at the Gemelli hospital until Saturday -, except at the end of the ceremony, when, in the traditional Angelus at noon, which he recited from the Plaza, thanked the good wishes for a speedy recovery from all over the world.

“I thank you for your participation and also for your prayers, which have intensified in recent days. Thank you!” she said, drawing applause from the thousands of people present.

As every Sunday, he also recalled the “martyred” Ukrainian people by mentioning a peace caravan that left Italy for Ukraine carrying basic necessities, as well as olive branches, a symbol of Christ’s peace. “We join this gesture with prayer, which will be more intense in the days of Holy Week,” he said.

Finally, he once again emphasized the importance of the celebration, which marked the beginning of Holy Week: “I invite you to live it as the tradition of the Holy Faithful People of God teaches us, that is, accompanying the Lord Jesus with faith and love ”. “Let us learn from our Mother, the Virgin Mary: she followed her Son with the closeness of her heart, she was one soul with Him and, even without understanding, together with Him she gave herself fully to the will of God the Father. . May Our Lady help us to remain close to Jesus present in people who suffer, discarded, abandoned. To all, a good road to Easter ”, she wished.