Besides the papal tweet I commented on last time, I would like to comment on two other tweets by Pope Francis; also because their subject dovetails with the events we are commemorating and re-living during Holy Week.

1. Pope Francis ‏@Pontifex 19 Mar. “True power is service.  The Pope must serve all people, especially the poor, the weak, the vulnerable.”

This tweet is so applicable for Maundy Thursday. Christ did not only preach that “true power is service” but he gave a concrete example of how this service could be put into practice. The washing of the Apostles’ feet, a task usually done by slaves, was executed by the Lord Himself as a clear sign that power is service. He did the act and He clearly explained it. Do we follow it?

This evening Pope Francis will not commemorate this event in some majestic basilica but in a prison for young people. Away from the glare of the media he will meet these young people, many of them victims of drugs, wash their feet and pray with them.

He also addressed this subject during his homily on the occasion of his inauguration. This quote amply explains what he wanted to say:

“Today, together with the feast of Saint Joseph, we are celebrating the beginning of the ministry of the new Bishop of Rome, the Successor of Peter, which also involves a certain power. Certainly, Jesus Christ conferred power upon Peter, but what sort of power was it? Jesus’ three questions to Peter about love are followed by three commands: feed my lambs, feed my sheep. Let us never forget that authentic power is service, and that the Pope too, when exercising power, must enter ever more fully into that service which has its radiant culmination on the Cross. He must be inspired by the lowly, concrete, and faithful service which marked Saint Joseph and, like him, he must open his arms to protect all of God’s people and embrace with tender affection the whole of humanity, especially the poorest, the weakest, the least important, those whom Matthew lists in the final judgement on love: the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and those in prison (cf. Mt 25:31-46). Only those who serve with love are able to protect!”

2. Pope Francis ‏@Pontifex 19 March. “Let us keep a place for Christ in our lives, let us care for one another and let us be loving custodians of creation.”

There is no week more than this week which so strongly invites us to meditate on the place of Jesus in our lives. Let me reproduce without any comments a couple of quotes from the Pope’s homily last Sunday which was Palm Sunday.

Read this paragraph. Isn’t the Pope’s comment on Jesus accompanying us such a beautiful comment?

“Do not be men and women of sadness: a Christian can never be sad! Never give way to discouragement!

Ours is not a joy that comes from having many possessions, but from having encountered a Person: Jesus, from knowing that with him we are never alone, even at difficult moments, even when our life’s journey comes up against problems and obstacles that seem insurmountable, and there are so many of them! We accompany, we follow Jesus, but above all we know that he accompanies us and carries us on his shoulders. This is our joy, this is the hope that we must bring to this world of ours. Let us bring the joy of the faith to everyone!”

Now please read the following paragraph and let the description of the love of Jesus for all of us engulf you.

“Before Pilate, Jesus says: "I am a King"; but his power is God’s power which confronts the world’s evil and the sin that disfigures man’s face.  Jesus takes upon himself the evil, the filth, the sin of the world, including our own sin, and he cleanses it, he cleanses it with his blood, with the mercy and the love of God.

Let us look around: how many wounds are inflicted upon humanity by evil! Wars, violence, economic conflicts that hit the weakest, greed for money, power, corruption, divisions, crimes against human life and against creation!

And our personal sins: our failures in love and respect towards God, towards our neighbour and towards the whole of creation.

Jesus on the Cross feels the whole weight of the evil, and with the force of God’s love he conquers it, he defeats it with his resurrection.  

Dear friends, we can all conquer the evil that is in us and in the world: with Christ, with the force of good!  Do we feel weak, inadequate, powerless? But God is not looking for powerful means: it is through the Cross that he has conquered evil!”

I hope these words help you meditate during this Sacred Triduum that we are celebrating.