Holy Father Moved When Celebrating Mass in Place of Jesus' Tomb
JERUSALEM, MAR 26 (ZENIT.org).- John Paul II finished his pilgrimage to the Holy Land with his visit to the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, built in the place where, according to tradition, Jesus was crucified, buried and rose from the dead. For 2000 years this place has given witness to the event that gives the reason for being a Christian and which the Pontiff wished to venerate, first with a profound prayer by the Lord' empty tomb, and then with the celebration of the Eucharist.
John Paul II entered the Basilica accompanied by the 3 Patriarchs and the leaders of other Christian Churches. The procession was led by macebearers who announced their entrance by loud thumping on the ground. The friars' singing and the pealing bells added to the solemnity of the occasion.
In the atrium, at the foot of Golgotha where Jesus was crucified, the Pope knelt to kiss the Rock of the Anointing. Overwhelmed, he then knelt before the sarcophagus of the Holy Sepulcher, kissed the stone and stayed for a long moment in prayer, contemplating the central mystery of the Christian faith. «For almost 2000 years the empty tomb has borne witness to the victory of Life over death. The tomb is empty. It is a silent witness to the central event of human history,» the Holy Father said.
From this Church, which St. John Damascene called the Mother of all Churches, the Pontiff recalled that Jesus' resurrection is the definitive seal of all God's promises and the place of birth of a new and resurrected humanity. «At the dawn of the new millennium, Christians can and must look to the future with steadfast trust in the glorious power of the Risen One to make all things new. He is the One who frees all creation from its bondage to futility. By his Resurrection he opens the way to the great Sabbath rest, the Eighth day, when mankind 's pilgrimage will come to its end and God will be all in all.»
From the Holy Sepulcher, John Paul II repeated those words of Jesus that have become his motto, «Do not be afraid, I have overcome the world!» and he invited all Christians to carry the Gospel to the ends of the earth. «Jesus Christ is risen! he is truly risen!»
At the end of the celebration, the hour of the Angelus, John Paul II joined Mary, Jesus' Mother, at the foot of the cross, to weep with her for the sorrow of Jerusalem and the sins of the world, thus renewing his prayer for forgiveness: «Realizing the terrible consequences of sin, we are moved to repentance for our own sins and for the sins of the Church's children in every age.»
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