Today's General Audience began at 10:00am in Saint Peter's Square. The Holy Father, Pope Francis met groups of pilgrims and the faithful who had come from various parts of Italy and from every corner of the world.
During his speech, the Pope added his meditation on the Easter Triduum. Following the resumes of His catechesis, presented in various languages, the Holy Father offered greetings to the various groups of the faithful who were present.
The General Audience concluded with the chanting of the Our Father and the imparting of the Apostolic Blessing.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Tomorrow is Holy Thursday. IN the afternoon, with the celebration of the Holy Mass of the Lord's Supper, we will begin the Easter Triduum, commemorating the death and the resurrection of Christ which is the culmination of the entire liturgical year and also the high point of our Christian life.
The Triduum opens with the commemoration of the Last Supper. On the night before his passion, Jesus offers to the Father his body and blood under the species of bread and wine and gives these to the Apostles as sources of nutrition while commanding them to perpetuate this offering in his memory. The gospel for this celebration, recalling the washing of the feet, expresses the same significance as the Eucharist in a different way. Like a servant, Jesus washes the feet of Simon Peter and the other eleven disciples (cf John 13:4-5). With this prophetic gesture, He expresses the sense of his life and his passion, that of service to God and to our neighbour: The Son of man did not come to be served but rather to serve (Mark 10:45).
This also took place at our baptism, when the grace of God cleansed us from sin and clothed us in Christ (cf Colossians 3:10). This happens every time we observe the memorial of the Lord in the Eucharist: entering into communion with the Servant Christ in obedience to his commandment, to love others as He has loved us (cf John 13:34; 15:12). If we go to Communion without being sincerely disposed to washing each other's feet, we will not be able to recognize the Lord's body, and the service of Jesus who gives himself totally.
Then, the day after tomorrow, in the liturgy of Good Friday, we will meditate upon the mystery of the death of Christ and adore the Cross. In the final moments of life, before handing his spirit over to the Father, Jesus said: It is accomplished! (John 19:30). What is the meaning of this expression that Jesus uses: It is accomplished? It means that the work of salvation is accomplished, that all of the scriptures find their full accomplishment in the love of Christ, the lamb who is slain. Jesus, with his sacrifice, has transformed the greatest sin into the greatest love.
Over the centuries there have been men and women who through the witness of their existence have reflected a ray of perfect love, full, uncontaminated. I like to remember a heroic witness of our time, Father Andrea Santoro, a priest of the Diocese of Rome and a missionary in Turkey. A few days before being assassinated in Trebisonda, he wrote: I am here to live among these people and to allow Jesus to live among them through me ... We become capable of salvation only by offering our own bodies. Evil in the world must be borne and pain must be shared, absorbed in our own flesh as Jesus did (A. Polselli, Father Andrea Santoro, Inheritances, New Town, Rome, 2008, p. 31). This example of a man of our time, and many others, supports us as we offer our lives as gifts of love for our brothers, in imitation of Jesus. Even today, there are many men and women, true martyrs who offer their lives with Jesus in order to confess their faith, solely for this purpose. This is a service, a service of Christian witness to the point of shedding blood, a service that Jesus himself demonstrated: redeeming us to the very end. This is the significance of the word It is accomplished. How beautiful it would be if all of us, at the end of our lives, even with all our failures, all our sins, even with our good works, with our love for others, could say to the Father like Jesus did: It is accomplished; not as perfectly as He himself said it, but to be able to say: Lord, I did the best I could. It is accomplished. Adoring the Cross, looking toward Jesus, thinking about love, about service, about our lives, about the Christian martyrs and it would also be good to think about the end of our lives. None of us knows when this will come, but we can ask for the grace to be able to say: Father, I have done what I could. It is accomplished.
Holy Saturday is the day when the Church contemplates the resting of Christ in the tomb after his victorious battle on the cross. On Holy Saturday, the Church once again identifies with Mary: all her faith is placed in Him, the first and the most perfect disciple, the first and the most perfect believer. In the darkness that surrounds the creator, She remains the only one to keep the flame of faith alive, hoping against all hope (cf Romans 4:18) in the Resurrection of Jesus.
During the great Easter Vigil, in which the Alleluia resounds once more, we celebrate the Risen Christ, the centre and the ultimate end of history; we awaken full of hope in anticipation of his return, when Easter will be fully revealed.
Sometimes, the darkness of night seems to penetrate the soul; sometimes we think: now there is nothing more to do, and our hearts no longer find the strength to love ... But in the midst of that darkness, Christ lights the fire of God's love: a glow breaks through the darkness and announces a new initiative, something begins in the deepest darkness. We know that the night is always darkest just before the beginning of the new day, but in the midst of the darkness, it is Christ who wins and who lights the fire of love. The stone of suffering is overturned, leaving space for hope. This is the great mystery of Easter! On this holy night, the Church gives us the light of the Resurrection, so that within us, there should be no regret on the part of those who say now ... , but rather the hope of those who are open to a present moment filled with promise for the future: Christ has won the victory over death, and we too have won this battle with Him. Our lives do not end in the stone of a tomb, our lives continue through hope in Christ who rose from the tomb. As Christians, we are called to be sentinels of the morning, capable of seeing the signs of the Resurrection, like the women and the disciples who gathered at the tomb at the dawn of the first day of the week.
Dear brothers and sisters, during these days of the Holy Triduum, let us not be confined to commemorating the passion of the Lord, but let us enter into the mystery, making his concerns and attitudes ours as the Apostle Paul invites us to do: Bear within you the same sentiments as Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5). Then we will truly have a happy Easter.
The Holy Father's catechesis was summarized in various languages, and he offered greetings to each of the groups of pilgrims who were present for today's audience. To English-speaking pilgrims, he said:
I offer an affectionate greeting to all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present at today’s Audience, including those from England, Denmark, Indonesia, Japan, Hong Kong and the United States. May the Risen Lord confirm you in faith and make you witnesses of his love and resurrection. May God bless you!
During his speech, the Pope added his meditation on the Easter Triduum. Following the resumes of His catechesis, presented in various languages, the Holy Father offered greetings to the various groups of the faithful who were present.
The General Audience concluded with the chanting of the Our Father and the imparting of the Apostolic Blessing.
Catechesis of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the General Audience
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Tomorrow is Holy Thursday. IN the afternoon, with the celebration of the Holy Mass of the Lord's Supper, we will begin the Easter Triduum, commemorating the death and the resurrection of Christ which is the culmination of the entire liturgical year and also the high point of our Christian life.
The Triduum opens with the commemoration of the Last Supper. On the night before his passion, Jesus offers to the Father his body and blood under the species of bread and wine and gives these to the Apostles as sources of nutrition while commanding them to perpetuate this offering in his memory. The gospel for this celebration, recalling the washing of the feet, expresses the same significance as the Eucharist in a different way. Like a servant, Jesus washes the feet of Simon Peter and the other eleven disciples (cf John 13:4-5). With this prophetic gesture, He expresses the sense of his life and his passion, that of service to God and to our neighbour: The Son of man did not come to be served but rather to serve (Mark 10:45).
This also took place at our baptism, when the grace of God cleansed us from sin and clothed us in Christ (cf Colossians 3:10). This happens every time we observe the memorial of the Lord in the Eucharist: entering into communion with the Servant Christ in obedience to his commandment, to love others as He has loved us (cf John 13:34; 15:12). If we go to Communion without being sincerely disposed to washing each other's feet, we will not be able to recognize the Lord's body, and the service of Jesus who gives himself totally.
Then, the day after tomorrow, in the liturgy of Good Friday, we will meditate upon the mystery of the death of Christ and adore the Cross. In the final moments of life, before handing his spirit over to the Father, Jesus said: It is accomplished! (John 19:30). What is the meaning of this expression that Jesus uses: It is accomplished? It means that the work of salvation is accomplished, that all of the scriptures find their full accomplishment in the love of Christ, the lamb who is slain. Jesus, with his sacrifice, has transformed the greatest sin into the greatest love.
Over the centuries there have been men and women who through the witness of their existence have reflected a ray of perfect love, full, uncontaminated. I like to remember a heroic witness of our time, Father Andrea Santoro, a priest of the Diocese of Rome and a missionary in Turkey. A few days before being assassinated in Trebisonda, he wrote: I am here to live among these people and to allow Jesus to live among them through me ... We become capable of salvation only by offering our own bodies. Evil in the world must be borne and pain must be shared, absorbed in our own flesh as Jesus did (A. Polselli, Father Andrea Santoro, Inheritances, New Town, Rome, 2008, p. 31). This example of a man of our time, and many others, supports us as we offer our lives as gifts of love for our brothers, in imitation of Jesus. Even today, there are many men and women, true martyrs who offer their lives with Jesus in order to confess their faith, solely for this purpose. This is a service, a service of Christian witness to the point of shedding blood, a service that Jesus himself demonstrated: redeeming us to the very end. This is the significance of the word It is accomplished. How beautiful it would be if all of us, at the end of our lives, even with all our failures, all our sins, even with our good works, with our love for others, could say to the Father like Jesus did: It is accomplished; not as perfectly as He himself said it, but to be able to say: Lord, I did the best I could. It is accomplished. Adoring the Cross, looking toward Jesus, thinking about love, about service, about our lives, about the Christian martyrs and it would also be good to think about the end of our lives. None of us knows when this will come, but we can ask for the grace to be able to say: Father, I have done what I could. It is accomplished.
Holy Saturday is the day when the Church contemplates the resting of Christ in the tomb after his victorious battle on the cross. On Holy Saturday, the Church once again identifies with Mary: all her faith is placed in Him, the first and the most perfect disciple, the first and the most perfect believer. In the darkness that surrounds the creator, She remains the only one to keep the flame of faith alive, hoping against all hope (cf Romans 4:18) in the Resurrection of Jesus.
During the great Easter Vigil, in which the Alleluia resounds once more, we celebrate the Risen Christ, the centre and the ultimate end of history; we awaken full of hope in anticipation of his return, when Easter will be fully revealed.
Sometimes, the darkness of night seems to penetrate the soul; sometimes we think: now there is nothing more to do, and our hearts no longer find the strength to love ... But in the midst of that darkness, Christ lights the fire of God's love: a glow breaks through the darkness and announces a new initiative, something begins in the deepest darkness. We know that the night is always darkest just before the beginning of the new day, but in the midst of the darkness, it is Christ who wins and who lights the fire of love. The stone of suffering is overturned, leaving space for hope. This is the great mystery of Easter! On this holy night, the Church gives us the light of the Resurrection, so that within us, there should be no regret on the part of those who say now ... , but rather the hope of those who are open to a present moment filled with promise for the future: Christ has won the victory over death, and we too have won this battle with Him. Our lives do not end in the stone of a tomb, our lives continue through hope in Christ who rose from the tomb. As Christians, we are called to be sentinels of the morning, capable of seeing the signs of the Resurrection, like the women and the disciples who gathered at the tomb at the dawn of the first day of the week.
Dear brothers and sisters, during these days of the Holy Triduum, let us not be confined to commemorating the passion of the Lord, but let us enter into the mystery, making his concerns and attitudes ours as the Apostle Paul invites us to do: Bear within you the same sentiments as Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5). Then we will truly have a happy Easter.
The Holy Father's catechesis was summarized in various languages, and he offered greetings to each of the groups of pilgrims who were present for today's audience. To English-speaking pilgrims, he said:
I offer an affectionate greeting to all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present at today’s Audience, including those from England, Denmark, Indonesia, Japan, Hong Kong and the United States. May the Risen Lord confirm you in faith and make you witnesses of his love and resurrection. May God bless you!
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