Serious Words

This is Pope Benedict's homily for Palm Sunday. Whatever our relationship to the Church which he leads, these are serious words by a serious man about eternal truths. In a world whose contemporary narrative is so dominated by what is merely transient -by  both the foolishly fashionable and the downright deceptive - we could do worse this Holy Week than listen very carefully to what he says:

".... The majority, in fact, was disappointed by the way Jesus chose to present himself as Messiah and King of Israel. This is the heart of today’s feast, for us too. Who is Jesus of Nazareth for us? What idea do we have of the Messiah, what idea do we have of God? It is a crucial question, one we cannot avoid, not least because during this very week we are called to follow our King who chooses the Cross as his throne. We are called to follow a Messiah who promises us, not a facile earthly happiness, but the happiness of heaven, divine beatitude. So we must ask ourselves: what are our true expectations? What are our deepest desires, with which we have come here today to celebrate Palm Sunday and to begin our celebration of Holy Week?...."

Read it all here