Scottish Catholic Observer

Catholics should welcome Jesus by laying down their lives for Him, much as the people of Jerusalem once laid down their coats and palm branches, Pope Benedict XVI said in his Palm Sunday homily.

“Before Christ, we must spread out our lives, ourselves, in an attitude of gratitude and adoration,” he said last Sunday.

The Holy Father urged pilgrims, and particularly the young people present, to make the decision to ‘say yes to the Lord.’

He promised them that this decision is one that leads to ‘true joy.’

Palm Sunday

The Pope presided at Palm Sunday Mass in St Peter’s Square as tens of thousands of pilgrims joined him beneath a cloudy Roman sky to mark the beginning of Holy Week. The ceremonies opened with the traditional procession of cardinals carrying braided palms, followed by the Pope himself.

The Pope told the open-air congregation that the next seven days should call forth two sentiments: praise and thanksgiving. The Holy Father said this is because ‘in this Holy Week the Lord Jesus will renew the greatest gift we could possibly imagine: He will give us His life, His body and His blood, His love.’

“But we must respond worthily to so great a gift,” he said. “With the gift of ourselves, our time, our prayer, our entering into a profound communion of love with Christ who suffered, died and rose for us.”

Holy Week

At the conclusion of Mass, the Pope prayed the traditional midday Angelus with the gathered pilgrims and wished them well for the next seven days.

“This Holy Week, may we be moved again by Christ’s passion and death, put our sins behind us and, with God’s grace, choose a life of love and service to our brethren,” he said.

As the dark clouds above St Peter’s Square turned to sunshine, he then made his way around St Peter’s Square by Popemobile and blessed the cheering crowds as he went.