Jesus' power was the power of love, pope says on Palm Sunday

Published: 2008-03-17

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The power Jesus demonstrated was the power of love, which heals and reconciles, Pope Benedict XVI said. "He did not come as one who destroys; he did not come with the revolutionary's sword. He came with the gift of healing," the pope said March 16 as he celebrated Mass on Palm Sunday in St. Peter's Square. Along with the pope, more than 350 young people and more than 200 cardinals, bishops and priests processed through the square carrying palm and olive branches as they marked Jesus' entry into Jerusalem before his arrest, passion and death. The young people chosen for the procession to represent their peers around the world were a special part of the liturgy, which also marked the diocesan celebration of World Youth Day. Pope Benedict noted how the Gospel tells of the young people of Jerusalem waving palm branches and exclaiming "Hosanna" as Jesus entered the city.

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