In a context marked by war and limitations, this morning, on Holy Thursday, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattist of Pizzaball, presided over the Mass of the Lord's Supper behind closed doors at the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. In his homily, the cardinal recalled that “we are in the place where the stone sealed death. And yet now we are here to celebrate life."
The Patriarch referred to the climate at this peculiar historical point in the mediate East. – There's a tension we can't ignore – he noted. – The door of the Lord's grave is closed. The war turned this place into asylum, an interior separated from a tense environment. We're here like in the womb of peace, while the planet around us is torn apart, and we'd like to change it all. – he added.
In this context, the cardinal considered washing his feet as the heart of the Christian Passover. – Jesus transforms the motion of departure into a motion of service. Exiting, according to God’s logic, is not an escape from the world, but a complete immersion in it. Jesus ’ girded hips are no longer a sign of him who escapes from bondage, but of him who becomes a slave from love – he said. For this reason, he warned, “the washing of your feet is not a moral gesture, a building example, a moving scene. It is simply a concrete form of the Passover of Jesus. It is the way God goes through history. It is the way love decides to enter the world."
Recalling the dialog of the Lord Jesus with Peter from the Gospel, the cardinal emphasized the extremist nature of Gospel love: If I don't wash you, you won't have a share with me.. Words that, as he explained, indicate not only belonging but deep communion: You can admire me, you can follow me... but if you don't accept this way of love, you won't get in my way. Hence the invitation to let Christ love us without resistance. And in the present context of the Holy Land, marked by force and fear, we may not be able to "change the large dynamics of history," but we can "decide whether to share with Christ his way of being in history: not above, not against, but alongside."
For the local Church, frequently "weary and tested, sometimes tempted to defend itself alternatively than to give up," it is about accepting the logic of the service: We are not asked to be powerful, but to share with Him. He does not ask us to solve everything, but not to reject his way of love. due to the fact that the Church shares with Christ not erstwhile he is safe, but erstwhile he agrees to share His lowliness. – Sharing with him, for us who live and bear witness to the Gospel in this country means learning the language of leaning The cardinal confessed.
Hence, the final question addressed to the full community: Do we want to be a part of him? Do we want to enter a love that humbles ourselves? Do we desire salvation that comes through service?. A choice that becomes a fresh exodus: The transition from defence to giving, from fear to trust, from pride to communion. In the Holy Land wounded by war – Easter begins this way: allowing us to be loved and learned to descend to others. Today, celebrating the Eucharist, we ask for a basic grace: to let ourselves be cleansed. To let them service us. To let myself be loved unconditionally. due to the fact that that's the only way we can truly be a part of him. And only in this way will our life slow take form in His Passover – finished the card. Pizzaball Pierbattist.
Source: Vatican News / KAI
Blood Palm Sunday in Nigeria. respective victims of the attack.
