Let Us Confidently Welcome Christ Our High Priest

"At the end of these days of Spiritual Exercises, I would like to give a heartfelt thanks to you, your Eminence, for your spiritual guidance, which has been offered with such theological competence and spiritual depth. From my angle of vision, I have been able to see, on the wall of the Chapel, the image of Jesus kneeling before St Peter in order to wash his feet. Through your meditations, this image has spoken to me. I have recognized that precisely here, in this attitude, in this act of extreme humility, the new priesthood of Jesus is realized. It is realized in his act of solidarity with us, with our weaknesses, our suffering, and our temptations, even to the point of death. I have also seen the red vestments of Jesus with new eyes that speak to me of his blood. You, worthy Cardinal, have taught us that the blood of Jesus was, on account of his prayer, "oxygenated" by the Holy Spirit. In this way, it has become the power of resurrection and the source of life for us". POPE BENEDICT XVI