APOSTOLIC JOURNEY
OF HIS HOLINESS JOHN PAUL II
TO SPAIN

HOMILY OF JOHN PAUL II

Plaza de Colón, Madrid
Third Sunday of Easter, 4 May 2003

1. "You are witnesses of these things" (cf. Lk 24: 46-48), Jesus said to his Apostles in the Gospel account just proclaimed. This was a difficult and demanding mission, entrusted to men who did not dare to show themselves in public for fear of being recognized as disciples of the Nazarene. Nevertheless, the first reading presented to us Peter who, once he received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, has the courage to proclaim the Resurrection of Jesus to the people and urge them to repent and convert.

BEATIFICATION OF SIX NEW SERVANTS OF GOD

HOMILY OF JOHN PAUL II

II Sunday of Easter, 27 April 2003

1. "Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love endures forever (Ps 117[118]: 1). This is what the Church sings today on this Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday. In the Paschal Mystery, the comforting design of salvation, God's merciful love whose privileged witnesses are the saints and blesseds in Heaven, is fully revealed.

HOMILÍA DEL SANTO PADRE JUAN PABLO II
EN EL FUNERAL DEL CARDENAL AURELIO SABATTANI

Jueves 24 de abril de 2003

1. "Bienaventurados los que tienen hambre y sed de justicia. (...) Bienaventurados los que trabajan por la paz" (Mt 5, 6. 9).

Acabamos de escuchar nuevamente, durante esta celebración con la que despedimos al venerado cardenal Aurelio Sabattani, la página evangélica de las Bienaventuranzas. ¡Cuántas veces meditó en ella durante su larga existencia!

EASTER VIGIL

HOMILY OF THE HOLY FATHER JOHN PAUL II

Holy Saturday, 19 April 2003

1. "Do not be afraid; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here" (Mk 16,6).

At sunrise of the first day after the Sabbath, as recounted in the Gospel, some women go the sepulchre to honour the body of Jesus, who, having been crucified on Friday, was quickly wrapped in linen and placed in the tomb. They look for him, but they do not find him: he is no longer in the place where he was laid. All that remains of him are the signs of the burial: the empty tomb, the bindings, the linen shroud. The women, however, are disturbed by the sight of "a young man, dressed in a white robe", who proclaims to them: "He is risen, he is not here".

CHRISM MASS

HOMILY OF JOHN PAUL II

Holy Thursday, 17 April 2003

1. "By your Holy Spirit you annointed your only Son High Priest of the new and eternal covenant".

These words that we will shortly hear in the Preface are an appropriate catechesis on the Priesthood of Christ. He is the Supreme Pontiff of future benefits, who desired to perpetuate his Priesthood in the Church through the service of ordained ministers, to whom he entrusted the task of preaching the Gospel and of celebrating the Sacraments of salvation.

MASS OF THE LORD'S SUPPER

HOMILY OF JOHN PAUL II

Holy Thursday, 17 April 2003

1. "He loved them to the end" (Jn 13: 1).

On the eve of his passion and death, the Lord Jesus wanted to gather his Apostles around him once again to entrust his last instructions to them and to give them the supreme witness of his love.

Let us also enter the "large upper room furnished and ready" (Mk 14: 15), and dispose ourselves to listen to the most intimate thoughts that he wants to confide to us; in particular, let us be ready to receive the act and the gift that he has prepared in view of this final meeting.

PALM SUNDAY OF THE PASSION OF OUR LORD

HOMILY OF THE HOLY FATHER JOHN PAUL II

13 April 2003

18th World Youth Day
"Behold, your mother!" (Jn 19,27)

1. "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" (Mk 11: 9).

The liturgy of Palm Sunday is like a formal entrance into Holy Week. It combines two contrasting moments: the welcome of Jesus in Jerusalem and the drama of the Passion; the festive "Hosanna" and the repeated cry: "Crucify him!"; the triumphal entry and the apparent defeat through death on the Cross. The liturgy thus anticipates the "hour" in which the Messiah was to suffer greatly, to be put to death, and on the third day to rise again (cf. Mt 16: 21), and prepares us to live fully the paschal mystery.

CAPPELLA PAPALE FOR THE BEATIFICATION OF FIVE SERVANTS OF GOD

HOMILY OF JOHN PAUL II

III Sunday of Lent, 23 March 2003

1. "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son; whoever believes in him has eternal life" (chant before the Gospel, cf. Jn 3,16). These words of the liturgy of the Third Sunday of Lent invite us to contemplate with the eyes of faith the great mystery which we will celebrate a

LENTEN STATION PRESIDED OVER BY THE HOLY FATHER
IN THE BASILICA OF ST. SABINA ON THE AVENTINE HILL

HOMILY OF JOHN PAUL II

Ash Wednesday, 5 March 2003

1. "Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast; / call a solemn assembly; / gather the people, notify the congregation" (Jl 2,15-16).

These words of the Prophet Joel, that we have just heard, emphasize the communal dimension of penance. Certainly, repentance can only come from the heart, that, according to biblical anthropology, is the "seat" of the deepest human inclinations. However, penitential acts should be lived together with the members of our community.