After the proclamation of the Gospel of John\u2019s account of Christ\u2019s passion, the papal preacher, Father Roberto Pasolini, OFMCap, delivered a homily.<\/p>\n
VATICAN \u2014 Pope Leo XIV presided over the Celebration of the Lord\u2019s Passion in St. Peter\u2019s Basilica on Good Friday during which the preacher of the papal household exhorted Christians to \u201capproach the Lord\u2019s cross without fear.\u201d<\/p>\n
The liturgy began with the pope lying prostrate before the cross and then unfolded in three parts: the Liturgy of the Word, veneration of the cross, and Holy Communion.<\/p>\n
There was no opening antiphon; the solemn liturgy began with silent prayer, the unifying thread through the entire celebration.<\/p>\n
After the proclamation of the Gospel of John\u2019s account of Christ\u2019s passion, the papal preacher, Father Roberto Pasolini, OFMCap, delivered a homily.<\/p>\n
Pope Leo XIV lies prostrate before the altar in St. Peter\u2019s Basilica during the Liturgy of the Lord\u2019s Passion, Friday, April 3, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ib\u00e1\u00f1ez\/EWTN News<\/p>\n
\u2018The greatest act of love\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a time like ours, still torn apart by hatred and violence, when even the name of God is invoked to justify wars and deadly decisions, we Christians are called to approach the Lord\u2019s Cross without fear \u2014 indeed, with full trust \u2014 knowing that it is a throne upon which one sits and learns to reign with him by placing one\u2019s life at the service of others,\u201d Pasolini said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we can hold fast to the profession of this faith, then our days too will be able to give voice to the songs of both joy and suffering, that mysterious score of the Cross in which the notes of the greatest love can be clearly recognized,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n
The preacher recalled that the day\u2019s liturgy invites Catholics to contemplate the Passion: \u201cYet the Cross of Christ risks remaining incomprehensible if we look at it only as an isolated fact, as a sudden event. In reality, it is the highest point of a journey, the fulfillment of an entire life in which Jesus learned to listen to and welcome the voice of the Father, allowing himself to be guided day by day all the way to the greatest act of love.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJesus is the man of sorrows who knows suffering well \u2014 no violence, no resort to force, no temptation to destroy everything and start over from scratch. We know how difficult it is to embrace such a mission. We are tempted to use aggression and violence, thinking that without them nothing can ever be resolved. But only meekness is the true strength for confronting the darkness of evil,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n
Father Roberto Pasolini preaches during the Liturgy of the Lord\u2019s Passion in St. Peter\u2019s Basilica, Friday, April 3, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ib\u00e1\u00f1ez\/EWTN News<\/p>\n
Example of the Servant Songs<\/p>\n
In his homily, Pasolini referred to the Servant Songs, four poetic texts found in the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (42, 49, 50, 52\u201353), which describe a mysterious figure \u2014 the \u201cServant\u201d\u2014 who fulfills God\u2019s will through vicarious suffering.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo understand this journey during the days of Holy Week, the liturgy has had us listen to the so\u2011called Songs of the Servant of the Lord. These are poetic texts in which the prophet Isaiah sketched the figure of a mysterious servant through whom God would be able to save the world from evil and sin. Christian tradition has recognized in these songs a striking and dramatic foreshadowing,\u201d Pasolini explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the third song, a new surprise emerges: The servant wants to help, but people respond with anger and violence,\u201d Pasolini said. \u201cThose who live in darkness do not always welcome the light, because the light also exposes what we would prefer to keep hidden \u2014 our wounds, our ambiguities.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the fourth song, something deeply unsettling occurs: The violence inflicted on the servant is so intense that it disfigures his face. He has no appearance or beauty, yet the servant has learned not to return the evil he has received,\u201d the preacher said.<\/p>\n
The servant “does not resign himself to this logic [of violence]; he absorbs everything without retaliating. For this reason, he bore the sin of many,\u201d the priest explained.<\/p>\n
For the papal preacher, the Lord Jesus \u201cdid not merely listen to these songs; he lived them intensely, with complete trust in the Father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe see it constantly in wars, in divisions, in wounds: evil keeps circulating because it always finds someone willing to pass it on. Jesus broke this chain by accepting what happened to him. In the Passion, he recognized the score of the songs of love and service that the Father had entrusted to him. In this way, he learned the most difficult obedience \u2014 the obedience of loving the other,\u201d Pasolini continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe voice of God no longer guides us \u2014 not because it has disappeared, but because it has become just one voice among many, the others promising security and well\u2011being,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is missing is a word, a song capable of guiding our steps toward a more just world,\u201d he added. \u201cAnd yet, if we look closely, we can glimpse a silent crowd of people who choose a different voice \u2014 a voice that does not shout, that does not impose itself by force, a quiet and persistent song that invites us to love and never return evil for evil. They do not perform extraordinary deeds, but each day they try to make their lives serve not only themselves, but others as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pope Leo XIV prays in St. Peter\u2019s Basilica during the Liturgy of the Lord\u2019s Passion, Friday, April 3, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ib\u00e1\u00f1ez\/EWTN News<\/p>\n
\u2018Lay down the weapons\u2019<\/p>\n
Referencing the act of venerating the cross, Pasolini encouraged those present to use the opportunity to \u201clay down the weapons\u201d they are holding.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey may not seem as dangerous as those wielded by the powerful of this world. Yet they, too, are instruments of death, because they are enough to weaken, wound, and drain meaning and love from our daily relationships,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSalvation will not drop down from above, nor can it be guaranteed by political, economic, or military decisions. The world is constantly being saved by those who are willing to embrace the Songs of the Servant of the Lord as the shape of their own lives,\u201d the preacher encouraged. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis is what the Lord Jesus did. He took the Father\u2019s will seriously, accepting it as a score to be carried out to the end, with loud cries and tears.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTonight we too are handed the score of the cross. We can freely accept it if we acknowledge that there is no difficulty that cannot be faced, no guilty party we must point to, no enemy who can prevent us from loving and serving.”<\/p>\n
“There is only ourselves \u2014 who, by choosing not to return evil, by remaining patient in trials, by believing in good even when darkness seems to swallow everything, can become day by day those servants the Lord needs to bring salvation into the world,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
This story was originally\u00a0published by ACI Stampa, EWTN News’ Italian-language partner agency. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.<\/p>\n