Pope Sends Message to Vatican Holy Week Liturgies
by Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- For the first time in 26 years, Pope John Paul II
did not preside over the Vatican's Holy Thursday liturgies, although he assured participants
he was with them in spirit.
The 84-year-old pope, still convalescing from a Feb. 24 tracheotomy to ease breathing difficulties, sent messages read at the March 24 morning chrism Mass and the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper.
Pope John Paul told those gathered in St. Peter's Basilica in the morning, "From my apartment, through the television, I am with you spiritually."
To priests from the Diocese of Rome and from around the world he said, "With you I thank God for the gift and mystery of our priesthood; with you and the whole family of believers, I pray that the church will never lack numerous and holy priests."
The 84-year-old pope, still convalescing from a Feb. 24 tracheotomy to ease breathing difficulties, sent messages read at the March 24 morning chrism Mass and the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper.
Pope John Paul told those gathered in St. Peter's Basilica in the morning, "From my apartment, through the television, I am with you spiritually."
To priests from the Diocese of Rome and from around the world he said, "With you I thank God for the gift and mystery of our priesthood; with you and the whole family of believers, I pray that the church will never lack numerous and holy priests."
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Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops,
presided in the pope's place at the chrism Mass, during which priests renewed the promises made
at their ordination and Cardinal Re blessed the oils used for baptism, confirmation, ordination
and the anointing of the sick.
In his homily, Cardinal Re told the congregation that with Pope John Paul's absence "he is more present than ever at this chrism Mass and we want to thank him for the witness he continues to give us, including with his example of serene abandonment to God, which associates him with the mystery of the cross."
Although the Vatican had announced March 8 that various cardinals would stand in for Pope John Paul at the liturgies from Palm Sunday to Easter, the fact that the pope appeared to have lost weight since being released from the hospital March 13 and that he had not spoken publicly since returning to the Vatican raised new concern about his condition.
But the prayer offered for Pope John Paul during the chrism Mass did not mention his health.
Instead, the congregation prayed that "he would be faithful to the apostolic service entrusted to him and would become for us more and more a living and authentic image of Christ, the priest, good shepherd, teacher and servant of all."
Pope John Paul's message to those at the chrism Mass focused on Holy Thursday as the day Jesus shared his priesthood with the apostles.
"We priests relive those moments of spiritual intimacy that Jesus in the upper room shared with his friends on the eve of his passion, death and resurrection," the pope wrote.
"We are his friends and with hearts full of gratitude we renew the priestly promises made with generous enthusiasm on the day of our ordination," he wrote.
In his homily, Cardinal Re said he and the other priests present at the Mass "want to renew, despite our fragility, our commitment to being witnesses of Christ's love so that in our smallness the love of God can reach the people we meet on our journey."
"With joy and decisiveness, we want to renew our priestly fidelity to him who with his blood freed us from our sins, and we want to persevere with coherence and dedication in our pastoral service as ministers of Christ," he said.
Colombian Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, presided at the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper and washed the feet of 12 priests.
He began the liturgy by saying Pope John Paul wanted to be present not only by watching the Mass on television, but by sending a message to the congregation.
"With my mind and heart, I am close to you," the pope wrote.
With the ritual foot washing and the commemoration of Jesus' institution of the Eucharist, the pope said, the Mass of the Lord's Supper "helps us enter into the mystery of his passion."
"First, he washed the feet of the apostles, giving them an example of a love that is one of humble and concrete service," the pope wrote. "Then he consecrated the bread and wine as the sacrament of his body and blood given in sacrifice for our salvation."
During the Mass a special collection was taken, which the pope decided would be used to assist victims of a February flood in Venezuela.
In his homily Cardinal Lopez said Christ's gift of his body and blood and his sacrifice on the cross were lessons in "extreme love."
In the modern world, he said, "the tragedy of man lies in not understanding how he is loved by God" and how that love was clear from the beginning of creation, especially when God created man and woman.
When people lose sight of God's love and his decision to create human beings in his image, they get confused about what it means to be human, the cardinal said.
"They end up moving in the void that today can be seen in certain political projects and some parliaments against the identity and mission of the family and the dignity of life," the cardinal said.
Only "in the light of the full love of God" can people understand the sacredness of human life and their obligation to protect it at every stage, Cardinal Lopez said.
The cardinal ended his homily by asking for prayers for Pope John Paul, "a strenuous defender and witness of that which is a true quality of life, which we must proclaim and defend."
The church, he said, must give thanks "to the Lord of life" for the pope's "generous service to the church and humanity."
In his homily, Cardinal Re told the congregation that with Pope John Paul's absence "he is more present than ever at this chrism Mass and we want to thank him for the witness he continues to give us, including with his example of serene abandonment to God, which associates him with the mystery of the cross."
Although the Vatican had announced March 8 that various cardinals would stand in for Pope John Paul at the liturgies from Palm Sunday to Easter, the fact that the pope appeared to have lost weight since being released from the hospital March 13 and that he had not spoken publicly since returning to the Vatican raised new concern about his condition.
But the prayer offered for Pope John Paul during the chrism Mass did not mention his health.
Instead, the congregation prayed that "he would be faithful to the apostolic service entrusted to him and would become for us more and more a living and authentic image of Christ, the priest, good shepherd, teacher and servant of all."
Pope John Paul's message to those at the chrism Mass focused on Holy Thursday as the day Jesus shared his priesthood with the apostles.
"We priests relive those moments of spiritual intimacy that Jesus in the upper room shared with his friends on the eve of his passion, death and resurrection," the pope wrote.
"We are his friends and with hearts full of gratitude we renew the priestly promises made with generous enthusiasm on the day of our ordination," he wrote.
In his homily, Cardinal Re said he and the other priests present at the Mass "want to renew, despite our fragility, our commitment to being witnesses of Christ's love so that in our smallness the love of God can reach the people we meet on our journey."
"With joy and decisiveness, we want to renew our priestly fidelity to him who with his blood freed us from our sins, and we want to persevere with coherence and dedication in our pastoral service as ministers of Christ," he said.
Colombian Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, presided at the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper and washed the feet of 12 priests.
He began the liturgy by saying Pope John Paul wanted to be present not only by watching the Mass on television, but by sending a message to the congregation.
"With my mind and heart, I am close to you," the pope wrote.
With the ritual foot washing and the commemoration of Jesus' institution of the Eucharist, the pope said, the Mass of the Lord's Supper "helps us enter into the mystery of his passion."
"First, he washed the feet of the apostles, giving them an example of a love that is one of humble and concrete service," the pope wrote. "Then he consecrated the bread and wine as the sacrament of his body and blood given in sacrifice for our salvation."
During the Mass a special collection was taken, which the pope decided would be used to assist victims of a February flood in Venezuela.
In his homily Cardinal Lopez said Christ's gift of his body and blood and his sacrifice on the cross were lessons in "extreme love."
In the modern world, he said, "the tragedy of man lies in not understanding how he is loved by God" and how that love was clear from the beginning of creation, especially when God created man and woman.
When people lose sight of God's love and his decision to create human beings in his image, they get confused about what it means to be human, the cardinal said.
"They end up moving in the void that today can be seen in certain political projects and some parliaments against the identity and mission of the family and the dignity of life," the cardinal said.
Only "in the light of the full love of God" can people understand the sacredness of human life and their obligation to protect it at every stage, Cardinal Lopez said.
The cardinal ended his homily by asking for prayers for Pope John Paul, "a strenuous defender and witness of that which is a true quality of life, which we must proclaim and defend."
The church, he said, must give thanks "to the Lord of life" for the pope's "generous service to the church and humanity."
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