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April 29, 2014
Pope Francis/Holy Week
During Holy Week
Pope asks which Gospel character you resemble
By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Preceded by
young people and clergy waving tall
palm branches, Pope Francis began his
Holy Week liturgies by encouraging
people to ask t hemselves wh ich
personality in the Gospel accounts of
Jesus’ passion, death and Resurrection
they resemble most.
“Where is my heart? Which of these
people do I resemble most?” Pope Francis asked April 13 as he celebrated Palm
Sunday Mass.
Joined by thousands of young
people for the local celebration of
World Youth Day, the pope set aside
his prepared homily and urged people
to adopt an exercise recommended by
St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the
Jesuits: imagining themselves as one
of the characters in the Gospel story.
Throughout Holy Week liturgies
-- Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good
Friday, the Easter vigil and Easter
morning Mass -- “it would do us good
to ask one question: Who am I? Who
am I before my Lord?” the pope said.
“Am I able to express my joy, to
praise him?” the pope asked. “Or do
I keep my distance? Who am I before
Jesus who is suffering?”
Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of
silver. “Am I like Judas?” the pope asked.
“Am I a traitor? The disciples didn’t understand anything and they fell asleep
while the Lord suffered. Is my life one
of sleeping?”
When Jesus was about to be arrested,
one of the disciples cut off the ear of the
high priest’s servant; “am I like that disciple who wanted to resolve everything
with the sword?” the pope asked. “Am I
Pope Francis holds palms at start of Palm
Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square at the
Vatican April 13. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
like those courageous women and like
Jesus’ mom, who were there suffering
in silence?” he asked.
Prisoners from a jail in Sanremo,
Italy, sent Pope Francis a new pastoral
staff, which he used during the Mass.
Carved out of olive wood, it featured a
simple cross on top and elements from
Pope Francis’ coat of arms.
At the end of Mass, turning his attention to the young people, Pope Francis
presided over the transfer of the World
Youth Day cross from young representatives of the Archdiocese of Rio de
Janeiro, site of World Youth Day 2013, to
youths from the Archdiocese of Krakow,
Poland, where th H