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Pope Benedict XVI- General Audiences |
General
Audience
On the Joy of Easter
"Christ's Resurrection Gives Us the Certainty of Our Own Resurrection"
H.H. Benedict XVI
March 26, 2008
www.zenit.org
Dear brothers and sisters,
"'Et resurrexit tertia die secundum Scripturas' -- on the third day he
rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures." Every Sunday, we renew our
profession of faith in the resurrection of Christ with the Creed. This
amazing event is the keystone of Christianity. In the Church, everything
is understood to derive from this wonderful mystery that altered the
course of history and that is made present at every celebration of the
Eucharist.
There is a liturgical time, however, when this reality, central to the
Christian faith, in all its rich doctrine and inexhaustible vitality is
presented to the faithful in a particularly strong fashion because more
people rediscover it and live it more faithfully: Easter time. Each year
during the "holy triduum of Christ's crucifixion, death and
resurrection," as St. Augustine calls it, the Church goes back over the
final stages of Christ's life on earth in a climate of prayer and
penitence: his being condemned to death, his journey to Calvary carrying
the cross, the sacrifice he made for our salvation, and laying his body
to rest. On the third day, the Church relives his resurrection; it is
Easter, Jesus' journey from death to life, in which the ancient
prophesies are completely fulfilled. All of the liturgies of Easter
proclaim the certainty and the joy of Christ's resurrection.
Dear brothers and sisters, we must constantly strive to renew our
adherence to Christ who died and rose again for us. His Easter is also
our Easter because Christ's resurrection gives us the certainty of our
own resurrection. The news of Christ's resurrection never ages and Jesus
is always alive; he lives in the Gospel. "The faith of Christians,"
observes St. Augustine, "is the resurrection of Christ." The Acts of the
Apostles explains this clearly: "God has provided confirmation for all
by raising Jesus from the dead" (17:31).
The death of Jesus was not enough to prove he was truly the Son of God,
the awaited Messiah. How many people, in the course of history, have
given their lives for a cause they believed in! They did not come back.
The death of our Lord demonstrates the enormous love he felt for us,
even to the point of sacrificing himself. It is only through his
Resurrection however that we are given "confirmation," the certainty
that what he says is truth, a truth that applies to us too, forever. By
resurrecting him, God glorified him. St. Paul writes in his Letter to
the Romans: "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is the Lord and
you believe with your heart that God resurrected him, you will be saved"
(10:9).
It is important to reaffirm this truth which is fundamental to our
faith. The historical truth of this has been well documented even if
today as in the past there are people who in various ways doubt or even
deny it occurred. The weakening of faith in the resurrection of Jesus in
turn weakens the testimony of believers. In fact, if the Church's faith
in the Resurrection were reduced, everything would stop and break up. On
the other hand, adherence of the heart and mind to the belief in
Christ's death and resurrection changes your life and lights up the
lives of individuals and people everywhere.
Is it not this certainty in the risen Lord that inspires courage, bold
prophecies and perseverance in the martyrs through the ages? Is it not
this meeting with the living Christ which captivates and converts so
many men and women who from the beginning of Christianity leave all they
have to follow him and give their lives to serve the Gospel? If Christ
has not risen, said the Apostle Paul, then our preaching is in vain and
our faith is also in vain (1 Corinthians 15:14). But he has risen!
The announcement which we constantly hear during these days is this:
Christ is risen, he lives and we can meet him -- just as the women met
him, the women who on the morning of the third day, the day after
Saturday, went to the tomb; just as the disciples, surprised and upset
by what the women had told them, met him; just as many other witnesses
met him in the days following the resurrection. Even after the
ascension, Jesus continued to be present among his friends just as he
had promised: "I am with you every day until the end of the world"
(Matthew 28:20). The Lord is with you, with his Church, until the end of
time. Illuminated by the Holy Spirit, the first members of the Church
began making the Easter proclamation openly and without fear. This
announcement handed down through the generations has now reached us too
and is repeated each year at Easter with renewed vigor.
Particularly in these days of the Octave of Easter, the liturgy invites
us personally to meet with the Risen Lord and to recognize his
enlivening effect on historical events and on our daily lives. Today,
Wednesday, for example, we are reminded of the moving story of the two
disciples of Emmaus (cf. Luke 24:13-35). After the Crucifixion,
overwhelmed with sadness and delusion, they disconsolately made their
way home. While walking they talked to each other about what had
happened over the past few days in Jerusalem. Jesus approached them, he
began talking to them and teaching them, "Oh foolish men and slow of
heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken ... was it not
necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his
glory? " (Luke 24:25-26).
Beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he explained to them in all
the Scriptures the things concerning himself. The teachings of Christ --
the explanation of the prophesies -- were for the disciples of Emmaus
like an unexpected revelation, illuminating and comforting. Jesus
provided a new key to reading the Bible and everything now seemed clear,
all leading up to this moment. Won over by the words of this stranger,
they asked him to stop and eat dinner with them. He accepted and sat
down at the table with them. The Evangelist Luke tells us: "When he was
at the table with them, he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and
gave it to them" (Luke 24:29-30). It was at that precise moment that the
eyes of the two disciples were opened and they recognized him, "but he
vanished from their sight" (Luke 24:31). Overcome with surprise and with
joy, they said: "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us
on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?" (Luke 24:32).
The Lord walks with us and he explains the Scriptures throughout the
whole of the liturgical year, but particularly in Holy Week and in
Easter Week. He enables us to understand this mystery: Everything refers
to him. This should make our hearts burn too so that our eyes may be
opened. The Lord is with us and shows us the true path. Just as the two
disciples recognized Jesus when he broke the bread, we too acknowledge
his presence when we break the bread. The disciples of Emmaus recognized
him and remembered those moments when Jesus broke the bread with them
and in so doing anticipated his death and his resurrection, giving
himself to his disciples.
Jesus breaks the bread for us and with us too, he is present with us in
the holy Eucharist, he gives himself to us and opens our hearts. In the
holy Eucharist and by reading his word, we too can meet and get to know
Jesus by taking the consecrated bread and wine. Every Sunday, the
community of the Church relives the Easter of the Lord and reaps from
the savior his testament of love and brotherly service. Dear brothers
and sisters, the joy of these days strengthens our faithful adherence to
Christ who was crucified and resurrected. Above all, let us allow
ourselves to feel the wonder of the Resurrection. May Mary help us to be
messengers of the light and the joy of Easter. Again, I send you all my
warmest wishes for a Happy Easter.
[Translation by Giustina Montaque]
[After his address, the Holy Father greeted the pilgrims in various
languages. In English, he said:]
I offer a warm welcome to the international group of School Sisters of
Saint Francis gathered in Rome. I also thank the choirs for their praise
of God in song. Upon all the English-speaking pilgrims, especially those
from Wales, Ireland, Indonesia, Japan, Canada and the United States, I
cordially invoke the joy and peace of the Risen Christ.
(c) Copyright 2008 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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