Text of the Eucharistic adoration of April 14, 2019
Palm Sunday
Jesus the Eucharist, today we want to keep You company, we want to follow You and share with You the joy of your triumphal entry in Jerusalem, where many people, with songs of joy, showed that they love you and recognize you as the Savior, the King of Israel. You showed to the world as a king without a crown, against every human logic linked to wealth, success and subjection. For all there was joy and fun, but only for You there was also pain, in fact for You it had come "the hour" when you had to show as King and Messiah. You went from the palms to the cross with an extraordinary interweaving of melodies: from the Hosanna to the "Crucifige"; from the cries of joy accompanied by the olive branches in celebration, to the silence of the Mount of Olives in Gethsemane, where you experienced the spasmodic suffering of abandonment; from the crowd that acclaimed you as king, to the pious women who beat their breasts and whined along the Calvary. It is love that triumphs and wins but through the Cross.
You, Jesus, in a letter from God, said to us: "Bless the Cross, rejoice in the Cross, live in the Cross. Long live the Cross. I died on the cross for all of you present here, for all the people in the world and I open again the Heaven and lead you to the Father. I didn't look at those who loved me, who wanted me wrong, who wanted to kill me; I died for everyone. For this reason I invite you to love the Cross, to rejoice in the Cross, to die for the Cross". (From the letter of God, March 2, 1997)
Hosanna to you, obedient Lord until death and death on the cross!
Hosanna to You, Crucified and humiliated Messiah who gave all of Yourself to us to open the doors of Heaven!
Hosanna to you, Jesus our Brother and Friend, who carries on the shoulders the whole history of man’s pain, all the tears and the physical and spiritual sufferings!
Hosanna to you, Jesus our Savior, really present in the Eucharist and continue to pour out your blood for the forgiveness of our sins and to take on your shoulders all our sorrows.
Hymn to the Cross
The glorious cross of the risen Lord
it is the tree of my salvation
on it I feed, in it I delight,
in its roots I grow,
in its branches I lie down.
its dew makes me glad,
its breeze fecundates me,
in its shadow I set my tent.
In hunger the food, in thirst the fountain,
in nudity the clothing.
A narrow path, my narrow road
Jacob’s ladder, bed of love
where the Lord espoused us.
The glorious cross of the risen Lord
it is the tree of my salvation
on it I feed, in it I delight,
in its roots I grow,
in its branches I lie down.
In fear the defense,
in stumbling the support,
in victory the crown,
in the struggle you are the prize.
Tree of eternal life,
pillar of the universe,
skeleton of the earth, your top touches the sky,
and in your open arms
shines the love of God.
The glorious cross of the risen Lord
it is the tree of my salvation
on it I feed, in it I delight,
in its roots I grow,
in its branches I lie down.
Before the Messianic entrance of Jesus in Jerusalem, an episode is reported in the Gospel, a scene that anticipates the paschal mystery: the anointing of Bethany.
Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages. He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” (Jn 12:1-8)
Here it is, Jesus, we cannot remain unconcerned about your suffering, during the intense and dramatic moments of the Easter Triduum: the agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, the arrest, Peter's denial, the mistreatment, the trial, the condemnation, crucifixion and death on the cross. We want to "shout to you our love and show you the will to walk the road that you started and traveled before us". (From the Via Crucis explained by Bishop Claudio Gatti)
We want to be like the woman who, in Bethany, poured the precious perfume on your head from the alabaster vase, before Your passion. Our perfume is all our love, all our big and small sacrifices that we made during the Eucharistic Lent, all our crosses that you ask us to embrace according to our strength. We do not fear judgments, disapprovals and jeers, like those conventional thinkers of your days: "Why waste all this perfume?" We don't care if we are considered fools or dupes. Nothing is wasted in the name of Your love.