As Jesus walks the Way of the Cross, we place ourselves behind him, following in his footsteps. As we walk with him, we contemplate his passion for the sake of humanity, his broken heart, and his life as a gift of love.
✦ Following in His Footsteps
Pope Leo begins where every Christian must begin on Palm Sunday — behind Jesus, following in His footsteps. Not ahead of Him. Not beside Him giving advice. Behind Him. Walking the same road He walks, contemplating what He carries, watching how He carries it. His passion — for the sake of humanity. His broken heart — broken willingly. His life — not taken from Him, but given. A gift of love. 🙏
We turn our gaze to Jesus, who reveals himself as King of Peace, even as war abounds around him. He remains steadfast in meekness, while others are stirring up violence. He offers himself to embrace humanity, even as others raise swords and clubs. He is the light of the world, though darkness is about to engulf the earth. He came to bring life, even as plans unfold to condemn him to death.
✦ Steadfast in Meekness
Contrast after contrast — and every one reveals who He is by showing what He is not. War abounds — He remains steadfast in meekness. Others stir up violence — He offers Himself to embrace. Others raise swords and clubs — He opens His arms. Darkness is about to engulf the earth — He is the light of the world. Plans unfold to condemn Him to death — He came to bring life.
This is not weakness. This is the most radical strength the world has ever seen — the strength of the One who could command twelve legions of angels and chose not to. The King of Peace is not peaceful because He lacks power. He is peaceful because He has all power and chooses not to use it for Himself. 🙏
King of Peace. Jesus enters into Jerusalem not upon a horse, but upon a donkey, fulfilling the ancient prophecy that calls for rejoicing at the arrival of the Messiah: "Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war-horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall command peace to the nations."
✦ A Donkey, Not a Horse
Every king in history chose the horse — the symbol of military power, of conquest, of dominion by force. This King chose the donkey. The animal of the common people. The beast of burden. The humble creature that carries loads and asks for nothing.
And Zechariah says what happens next: He will cut off the chariot. He will cut off the war-horse. The battle bow shall be cut off. Not added to His arsenal — cut off. Eliminated. Removed from the equation entirely. The King of Peace does not win the arms race. He ends it. And he shall command peace to the nations. Not negotiate peace. Not enforce peace. Command it — with the authority of the One who made the nations and the donkey and the horse and the bow. 🙏
King of Peace. When one of his disciples drew his sword to defend him and struck the high priest's servant, Jesus immediately stopped him, saying: "Put your sword back into its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword."
✦ The Sword Put Back
The disciple thought he was helping. The sword was drawn in defense of Jesus — the most justified violence imaginable. If ever there was a reason to fight, this was it. The Son of God was being arrested unjustly. The cause was righteous. The enemy was real.
And Jesus said: put it back. Not later. Not after you've won. Now. Because the Kingdom of Peace cannot be defended by the weapons of war. The means must match the end. A King who commands peace cannot be served by soldiers who draw swords. All who take the sword will perish by the sword — not as punishment, but as consequence. Violence begets violence. The sword never stays in one hand. 🙏
King of Peace. While he was burdened with our sufferings and pierced for our sins, Jesus "did not open his mouth, like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent."
He did not arm himself, or defend himself, or fight any war. He revealed the gentle face of God, who always rejects violence. Rather than saving himself, he allowed himself to be nailed to the cross, embracing every cross borne in every time and place throughout human history.
✦ Rather Than Saving Himself
Isaiah 53:7 — the lamb led to slaughter, the sheep silent before the shearers. Not silent because He had nothing to say. Silent because the silence was the message. The God of the universe, who spoke creation into existence with a word, chose to say nothing in His own defense.
He revealed the gentle face of God, who always rejects violence. Always. Not sometimes. Not when it is convenient. Always. The face of God is gentle. And the gentleness is not the absence of strength — it is the fullness of it. The lion chooses to be the lamb. The King chooses the cross.
Rather than saving himself, he allowed himself to be nailed to the cross, embracing every cross borne in every time and place throughout human history. Every cross. Every suffering. Every war. Every wound. Every tear. He did not avoid any of them. He embraced them all. 🙏
"He revealed the gentle face of God, who always rejects violence. Rather than saving himself, he allowed himself to be nailed to the cross."
Pope Leo XIV · Palm Sunday 2026Brothers and sisters, this is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war. He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them, saying: "Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood."
✦ Whom No One Can Use to Justify War
Pope Leo says what needs to be said in every generation: no one can use Jesus to justify war. Not this war. Not any war. Not the righteous war. Not the defensive war. Not the war fought in His name. The King of Peace rejects war — and He rejects the prayers of those who wage it. Isaiah 1:15 — your hands are full of blood. The most devastating thing God can say to the one who prays: I will not listen.
This does not mean God is absent from the suffering of war. It means He stands with the victims — not with the ones holding the swords. 🙏
As we set our gaze upon him who was crucified for us, we can see a crucified humanity. In his wounds, we see the hurts of so many women and men today. In his last cry to the Father, we hear the weeping of those who are crushed, who have no hope, who are sick and who are alone.
Above all, we hear the painful groans of all those who are oppressed by violence and are victims of war.
Christ, King of Peace, cries out again from his cross: God is love! Have mercy! Lay down your weapons! Remember that you are brothers and sisters!
✦ Four Cries From the Cross
The cross speaks — not only then, but now. The crucifixion is not a historical event sealed in the past. It is happening today. Humanity is being crucified — by war, by violence, by the swords that should have been put back in their place. And from the cross, the King of Peace cries out four things:
God is love. The foundation. The first truth. Before anything else — before the commands, before the pleas — the declaration. Everything flows from this.
Have mercy. The cry of every soul who has ever stood before the cross and understood what it cost. Mercy — not justice. Mercy — because justice alone would condemn us all.
Lay down your weapons. Put the sword back. The chariot, the war-horse, the battle bow — cut them off. The Kingdom of Peace cannot be built by the instruments of war.
Remember that you are brothers and sisters. The simplest and hardest of all. The one truth that war requires us to forget — that the enemy is a brother, that the stranger is a sister, that the one on the other side of the line is made in the same image of the same God. Remember. 🙏
Holy Mary, woman of the third day, grant us the certainty that, in spite of all, death will no longer hold sway over us; that the injustices of peoples are numbered; that the flashes of war are fading into the twilight; that the sufferings of the poor are breathing their last.
And grant, finally, that the tears of all the victims of violence and pain will soon be dried up like frost beneath the spring sun. 🙏
✦ Frost Beneath the Spring Sun
Woman of the third day. Bishop Tonino Bello does not call Mary the woman of sorrow, or the woman of the cross, or the woman of Friday. He calls her the woman of the third day — the day of resurrection. The sorrow is real. The cross is real. The tears are real. But they are not the last word. The third day is coming.
The tears of all the victims will soon be dried up like frost beneath the spring sun. Frost — real, cold, painful. But temporary. The spring sun is stronger. The warmth is coming. The tears will not last forever. They will be dried — not wiped away by human effort, but melted by the warmth of the Son.
Grant us the certainty. Not the hope. Not the wish. The certainty. That death will no longer hold sway. That the injustices are numbered. That the flashes of war are fading. That the sufferings are breathing their last. This is the prayer of Palm Sunday — the day the King enters, humble on a donkey, commanding peace to the nations, on His way to the cross that will make the third day possible. 🙏
"The tears of all the victims of violence and pain will soon be dried up like frost beneath the spring sun."
Bishop Tonino Bello · Through Mary · Palm Sunday 2026A Donkey, Not a Horse
Every king in history chose the horse. This King chose the donkey. He did not win the arms race — He ended it. The chariot, the war-horse, the battle bow — cut off. And He shall command peace to the nations.
The Gentle Face of God
He did not arm himself, defend himself, or fight any war. He revealed the gentle face of God, who always rejects violence. Rather than saving himself, He chose the nails. The gentleness is not the absence of strength — it is the fullness of it.
Four Cries From the Cross
God is love. Have mercy. Lay down your weapons. Remember that you are brothers and sisters. Four cries — the foundation, the plea, the command, and the truth that war requires us to forget.
Frost Beneath the Spring Sun
The tears of all the victims will soon be dried up — like frost beneath the spring sun. The sorrow is real, but the third day is coming. Death will no longer hold sway. The warmth of the Son is stronger than the cold.