Along with two other friends, I was present in Saint Peter's Square for the General Audience which took place on Wednesday of Easter Week, April 23. The Audience began at 10:30 that morning. Pope Francis had already met with some of the sick and suffering in the Paul VI Hall before coming to the Square to meet with other groups of pilgrims like us who had come from all corners of the world.
Speaking in Italian, the Holy Father shared with us that day, a mediation on the Resurrection of Jesus, and as is the custom, a resume of the catechesis was also shared in various languages. The Holy Father also spoke greetings to each group of pilgrims before concluding the Audience with the chanting of the Pater Noster and the imparting of the Apostolic Blessing.
Catechesis of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
This is the week of joy: let us celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus. This is a true, profound joy that is based on the certitude that Jesus is risen and will never die again. He is living and working in the Church and in the world. This certainty was alive in the hearts of the believers that first Easter morning, when the women went to the tomb and the angels told them: Why are you looking among the dead for the one who is living (Lk 24:5). Why are you looking among the dead for the one who is living? These words are like milestones which mark out history, but they can also be stumbling blocks, if we are not willing to welcome the good news, if we think that it is easier to believe that Jesus died than that he is living! Instead of this, many times throughout our daily lives, we need to hear these words: Why are you looking among the dead for the one who is living? How often we seek the living among things that are already dead, among things that cannot give life, among things that are here today and will be gone tomorrow, among things that are only temporary ... Why are you looking among the dead for the one who is living?
We are in need of this when we shut ourselves in some form of egoism or self-complacency; when we allow ourselves to be seduced by earthly powers and by the things of this world, forgetting God and our neighbor; when we put our hopes in worldly vanity, in money, in success. Then the Word of God says to us: Why do you seek the living among the dead? Why are you looking there? That thing cannot give you life! Yes, perhaps it will give you the joy of a minute, a day, a week, a month … and then? Why do you seek the living among the dead? This phrase must enter our heart and we must repeat it. Can we repeat it together three times? Can we make the effort? All: Why do you seek the living among the dead? (he repeated with the crowd). Today, when we go home, we will say it from our heart, in silence, and we will ask ourselves this question: why do I in life seek the living among the dead? It will do us good.
It is not easy to be open to Jesus. To accept the life of the Risen One and his presence in our midst is not something to be taken for granted. The Gospel makes us see different reactions: that of the Apostle Thomas, of Mary of Magdala and of the two disciples of Emmaus: it would do us good to compare ourselves with them. Thomas puts a condition on his faith, he asks to touch the evidence, the wounds. Mary Magdalene weeps, she sees him but does not recognize him, she realizes it is Jesus only when he calls her by name. The disciples of Emmaus, depressed and with feelings of defeat, encounter Jesus and allow themselves to be accompanied by that mysterious wayfarer. Each one of them was on a different path! They were seeking the living among the dead, and it was the Lord himself who corrected their route. And what do I do? What route do I follow to encounter the living Christ? He will always be close to us to correct our route if we have made a mistake.
Why do you seek the living among the dead? (Luke 25:5). This questions makes us overcome the temptation to look back, to what was yesterday, and pushes us forward towards the future. Jesus is not in the sepulchre, he is the Risen One! He is the Living One, the One who always renews his Body which is the Church and makes it walk, drawing it to himself. Yesterday is the tomb of Jesus and the tomb of the Church, the sepulchre of truth and justice; today is the everlasting resurrection towards which the Holy Spirit drives us, asking of us full liberty.
Today this question is also addressed to us. You, why do you seek the living among the dead, you who shut yourself in after a failure and you who no longer have the strength to pray? Why do you seek the living among the dead, you who feel alone, abandoned by friends and perhaps also by God? Why do you seek the living among the dead, you who have lost hope and you who feel imprisoned by your sins? Why do you seek the living among the dead, you who aspire to beauty, to spiritual perfection, to justice, to peace?
We are in need of hearing this repeated many times, and we need to remind one another of the Angel’s admonition! This admonition, Why do you seek the living among the dead, helps us to come out of our experiences of sadness and opens us to the horizons of joy and of hope. Hope removes the stones of the sepulchres and encourages us to proclaim the Good News, and makes us capable of generating new life for others. Let us repeat this phrase of the Angel to have it in our heart and in our memory and then each one should answer in silence. Why do you seek the living among the dead? Let’s repeat it! (he repeats it with the crowd). Look brothers and sisters, He is alive, he is with us! We go to so many sepulchres that today promise something, some beauty, and then do not give anything! He is alive! Let us not seek the living among the dead! Thank you.
When this catechesis had been delivered in its entirety in Italian, a condensed version of it was also spoken in various other languages. To English-speaking pilgrims who were present for the General Audience, the Holy Father said:
I greet all the English-speaking pilgrims taking part in today’s Audience, including those from Scotland, Sweden, Finland and the United States. I offer a special greeting to the newly-ordained deacons from the Pontifical Irish College, as well as their families and friends. Upon all of you, and upon your families, I invoke the joy and peace of the Risen Lord. God bless you all!
Speaking in Italian, the Holy Father shared with us that day, a mediation on the Resurrection of Jesus, and as is the custom, a resume of the catechesis was also shared in various languages. The Holy Father also spoke greetings to each group of pilgrims before concluding the Audience with the chanting of the Pater Noster and the imparting of the Apostolic Blessing.
Catechesis of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the General Audience
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
This is the week of joy: let us celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus. This is a true, profound joy that is based on the certitude that Jesus is risen and will never die again. He is living and working in the Church and in the world. This certainty was alive in the hearts of the believers that first Easter morning, when the women went to the tomb and the angels told them: Why are you looking among the dead for the one who is living (Lk 24:5). Why are you looking among the dead for the one who is living? These words are like milestones which mark out history, but they can also be stumbling blocks, if we are not willing to welcome the good news, if we think that it is easier to believe that Jesus died than that he is living! Instead of this, many times throughout our daily lives, we need to hear these words: Why are you looking among the dead for the one who is living? How often we seek the living among things that are already dead, among things that cannot give life, among things that are here today and will be gone tomorrow, among things that are only temporary ... Why are you looking among the dead for the one who is living?
We are in need of this when we shut ourselves in some form of egoism or self-complacency; when we allow ourselves to be seduced by earthly powers and by the things of this world, forgetting God and our neighbor; when we put our hopes in worldly vanity, in money, in success. Then the Word of God says to us: Why do you seek the living among the dead? Why are you looking there? That thing cannot give you life! Yes, perhaps it will give you the joy of a minute, a day, a week, a month … and then? Why do you seek the living among the dead? This phrase must enter our heart and we must repeat it. Can we repeat it together three times? Can we make the effort? All: Why do you seek the living among the dead? (he repeated with the crowd). Today, when we go home, we will say it from our heart, in silence, and we will ask ourselves this question: why do I in life seek the living among the dead? It will do us good.
It is not easy to be open to Jesus. To accept the life of the Risen One and his presence in our midst is not something to be taken for granted. The Gospel makes us see different reactions: that of the Apostle Thomas, of Mary of Magdala and of the two disciples of Emmaus: it would do us good to compare ourselves with them. Thomas puts a condition on his faith, he asks to touch the evidence, the wounds. Mary Magdalene weeps, she sees him but does not recognize him, she realizes it is Jesus only when he calls her by name. The disciples of Emmaus, depressed and with feelings of defeat, encounter Jesus and allow themselves to be accompanied by that mysterious wayfarer. Each one of them was on a different path! They were seeking the living among the dead, and it was the Lord himself who corrected their route. And what do I do? What route do I follow to encounter the living Christ? He will always be close to us to correct our route if we have made a mistake.
Why do you seek the living among the dead? (Luke 25:5). This questions makes us overcome the temptation to look back, to what was yesterday, and pushes us forward towards the future. Jesus is not in the sepulchre, he is the Risen One! He is the Living One, the One who always renews his Body which is the Church and makes it walk, drawing it to himself. Yesterday is the tomb of Jesus and the tomb of the Church, the sepulchre of truth and justice; today is the everlasting resurrection towards which the Holy Spirit drives us, asking of us full liberty.
Today this question is also addressed to us. You, why do you seek the living among the dead, you who shut yourself in after a failure and you who no longer have the strength to pray? Why do you seek the living among the dead, you who feel alone, abandoned by friends and perhaps also by God? Why do you seek the living among the dead, you who have lost hope and you who feel imprisoned by your sins? Why do you seek the living among the dead, you who aspire to beauty, to spiritual perfection, to justice, to peace?
We are in need of hearing this repeated many times, and we need to remind one another of the Angel’s admonition! This admonition, Why do you seek the living among the dead, helps us to come out of our experiences of sadness and opens us to the horizons of joy and of hope. Hope removes the stones of the sepulchres and encourages us to proclaim the Good News, and makes us capable of generating new life for others. Let us repeat this phrase of the Angel to have it in our heart and in our memory and then each one should answer in silence. Why do you seek the living among the dead? Let’s repeat it! (he repeats it with the crowd). Look brothers and sisters, He is alive, he is with us! We go to so many sepulchres that today promise something, some beauty, and then do not give anything! He is alive! Let us not seek the living among the dead! Thank you.
When this catechesis had been delivered in its entirety in Italian, a condensed version of it was also spoken in various other languages. To English-speaking pilgrims who were present for the General Audience, the Holy Father said:
I greet all the English-speaking pilgrims taking part in today’s Audience, including those from Scotland, Sweden, Finland and the United States. I offer a special greeting to the newly-ordained deacons from the Pontifical Irish College, as well as their families and friends. Upon all of you, and upon your families, I invoke the joy and peace of the Risen Lord. God bless you all!
No comments:
Post a Comment