BY Daniel Harkins | April 16 | 
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Pope Francis speaks of Jesus’ Passion and suffering during general audience
The Holy Father used his weekly address this Holy Week to look at the suffering of Jesus and how it is reflected in ourselves.
Pope Francis used his weekly general audience to speak about the Passion and death of Jesus and how it reflects our own suffering.
The Holy Father said that in Jesus’ passion ‘we see reflected the sufferings of all humanity and we discover God’s answer to the mystery of evil, suffering and death.’
“We often feel horror because of the evil and pain around us and we ask ‘Why does God allow this?’” the Pope said. “It hurts deeply when we see suffering and death, especially when it involves the innocent. When we see children suffering, it wounds our hearts.
“This week it will do good for us all to look to the crucifix, kissing the wounds of Jesus, kissing the crucifix. Out of love for us, Jesus freely walked the path of humiliation and self-abandonment for our salvation. He has taken upon himself the whole of human suffering.”
God gives us his Son who dies humiliated, betrayed, abandoned and reviled, the pope continued. “Yet God’s victory shines forth in what appears, in human terms, to be failure and defeat,” he added.
The Holy Father spoke in front of thousands of pilgrims and tourists who enjoyed a clear, cool day in Rome. The Pope’s address began with a Gospel reading of Judas’ betrayal of Jesus before focusing on Jesus passion, which His Holiness said is ‘the culmination of his revelation of the Father’s infinite love and his summons to faith in his word.’
“Christ takes upon himself the power of evil in order to set us free: ‘by his wounds we have been healed,’” Pope Francis said. “This week, as we follow Jesus along the way of the cross, may we imitate his loving obedience to the will of the Father, especially in times of difficulty and humiliation, and open our hearts to his gifts of reconciliation, redemption and new life.”
The Pope concluded the address by greeting pilgrims, in particular the young people present and a delegation from the NATO defence college.
“I invoke the gifts of the Spirit for a fruitful celebration of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of the Lord,” Pope Francis concluded. “God bless you all!”
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