Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle blesses the palms with holy water at the start of Palm Sunday Mass at the Manila Cathedral, March 23, 2018.ROY LAGARDE
Roy Lagarde
March 25, 2018
Manila, Philippines
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila criticized “powerful” leaders who use intimidation and violence to gain what they want.
In his Palm Sunday homily at the Manila cathedral, he lamented how modern day “kings” abuse their power over the weak.
“In our world today, many kings filled with arrogance and lacking in humility are reigning,” Tagle said.
“In our time, many of us follow kings that use violence, arms, fear… clearly showing lack of understanding and solidarity with the weak,” he said.
The cardinal opened the Palm Sunday celebration of the Lord’s Passion with the blessing of the palms and a procession to the cathedral from the adjacent Plaza Roma with hundreds of Catholics clutching braided palm fronds.
He then encouraged the faithful to imitate Christ’s attitude of humiliation, stressing that Holy Week is about humility.
Reflecting on the day’s second reading, which recounts how Jesus emptied himself and became human, Tagle said that God’s way is no other than humility.
He said that Christ in his divine nature did not cling to that. “Why? So that he may be one of us. He humbled himself. That is his power: to be in solidarity with the weak and sinners.”
And that strength, according to him, came from trust in God and not from violence or arms.
“The serene dignity and silence of the person who trusts in God and who is full solidarity with sinful humanity, that is true authority. That is our true king. That is the king that will save the world,” Tagle said.
