In his homily, the Holy Father offered a brief reflection on the liturgical readings of the day and, in particular, on the passage from the Gospel of John (11:45-56) where we read the words of the high priest Caiaphas to the chief priests and Pharisees gathered in the sanhedrin and the comment of the evangelist: "Jesus had to die for the nation, and not only for the nation, but also to gather together the children of God who were scattered. Jesus died for his people and he died for everyone. But this - noted the Pope - is not to be understood in the sense of globality: it means that Jesus died for each man individually. Every Christian must therefore say: 'Christ died for me'.

This is the highest expression of Jesus' love for every man. And from the awareness of this love,' Pope Francis emphasised, 'a thank you should arise. A thank you so profound and passionate that it could even turn into tears of joy on the face of every believer.

[Pope Francis, St Marta homily, in L'Osservatore Romano 24/03/2013]