EASTER 2008
 Resurrexi, et
adhuc tecum sum. Alleluia!
- I have risen, I am still with
you. Alleluia! Dear brothers and
sisters, Jesus, crucified and risen, repeats
this joyful proclamation to us today: the Easter
proclamation. Let us welcome it with
deep wonder and gratitude!
Resurrexi et adhuc tecum sum – I
have risen, I am still with you, for ever. These
words, taken from an ancient version of Psalm
138 (v. 18b), were sung at the beginning of today’s
Mass. In them, at the rising of the Easter
sun, the Church recognizes the voice of Jesus
himself who, on rising from death, turns to the
Father filled with gladness and love, and exclaims: My
Father, here I am! I have risen, I am still
with you, and so I shall be for ever; your Spirit
never abandoned me. In this way we can
also come to a new understanding of other passages
from the psalm: “If I climb the heavens,
you are there; if I descend into the underworld,
you are there … Even darkness is not dark
for you, and the night is as clear as day; for
you, darkness is like light” (Ps 138:8,12). It
is true: in the solemn Easter vigil, darkness
becomes light, night gives way to the day that
knows no sunset. The death and resurrection
of the Word of God incarnate is an event of invincible
love, it is the victory of that Love which has
delivered us from the slavery of sin and death. It
has changed the course of history, giving to
human life an indestructible and renewed meaning
and value.
“I have risen and I am still with you,
for ever.” These words invite us
to contemplate the risen Christ, letting his
voice resound in our heart. With his redeeming
sacrifice, Jesus of Nazareth has made us adopted
children of God, so that we too can now take
our place in the mysterious dialogue between
him and the Father. We are reminded of
what he once said to those who were listening: “All
things have been delivered to me by my Father;
and no one knows the Father except the Son and
any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Mt 11:27). In
this perspective, we note that the words addressed
by the risen Jesus to the Father on this day – “I
am still with you, for ever” – apply
indirectly to us as well, “children of
God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we
suffer with him in order that we may also be
glorified with him” (cf. Rom 8:17). Through
the death and resurrection of Christ, we too
rise to new life today, and uniting our voice
with his, we proclaim that we wish to remain
for ever with God, our infinitely good and merciful
Father.
In this way we enter the depths of the Paschal
mystery. The astonishing event of the resurrection
of Jesus is essentially an event of love: the
Father’s love in handing over his Son for
the salvation of the world; the Son’s love
in abandoning himself to the Father’s will
for us all; the Spirit’s love in
raising Jesus from the dead in his transfigured
body. And there is more: the Father’s
love which “newly embraces” the Son,
enfolding him in glory; the Son’s love
returning to the Father in the power of the Spirit,
robed in our transfigured humanity. From
today’s solemnity, in which we relive the
absolute, once-and-for-all experience of Jesus’s
resurrection, we receive an appeal to be converted
to Love; we receive an invitation to live by
rejecting hatred and selfishness, and to follow
with docility in the footsteps of the Lamb that
was slain for our salvation, to imitate the Redeemer
who is “gentle and lowly in heart”,
who is “rest for our souls” (cf. Mt 11:29).
Dear Christian brothers and sisters in every
part of the world, dear men and women whose spirit
is sincerely open to the truth, let no heart
be closed to the omnipotence of this redeeming
love! Jesus Christ died and rose for all;
he is our hope – true hope for every human
being. Today, just as he did with his disciples
in Galilee before returning to the Father,
the risen Jesus now sends us everywhere as witnesses
of his hope, and he reassures us: I am
with you always, all days, until the end of the
world (cf. Mt 28:20). Fixing the
gaze of our spirit on the glorious wounds of
his transfigured body, we can understand the
meaning and value of suffering, we can tend the
many wounds that continue to disfigure humanity
in our own day. In his glorious wounds
we recognize the indestructible signs of the
infinite mercy of the God of whom the prophet
says: it is he who heals the wounds of
broken hearts, who defends the weak and proclaims
the freedom of slaves, who consoles all the afflicted
and bestows upon them the oil of gladness instead
of a mourning robe, a song of praise instead
of a sorrowful heart (cf. Is 61:1,2,3). If
with humble trust we draw near to him, we encounter
in his gaze the response to the deepest longings
of our heart: to know God and to establish
with him a living relationship in an authentic
communion of love, which can fill our lives,
our interpersonal and social relations with that
same love. For this reason, humanity needs
Christ: in him, our hope, “we have
been saved” (cf. Rom 8:24).
How often relations between individuals, between
groups and between peoples are marked not by
love but by selfishness, injustice, hatred and
violence! These are the scourges of humanity,
open and festering in every corner of the planet,
although they are often ignored and sometimes
deliberately concealed; wounds that torture the
souls and bodies of countless of our brothers
and sisters. They are waiting to be tended
and healed by the glorious wounds of our Risen
Lord (cf. 1 Pet 2:24-25) and by the
solidarity of people who, following in his footsteps,
perform deeds of charity in his name, make an
active commitment to justice, and spread luminous
signs of hope in areas bloodied by conflict and
wherever the dignity of the human person continues
to be scorned and trampled. It is hoped
that these are precisely the places where gestures
of moderation and forgiveness will increase!
Dear brothers and sisters! Let us allow
the light that streams forth from this solemn
day to enlighten us; let us open ourselves in
sincere trust to the risen Christ, so that his
victory over evil and death may also triumph
in each one of us, in our families, in our cities
and in our nations. Let it shine forth
in every part of the world. In particular,
how can we fail to remember certain African regions,
such as Dafur and Somalia, the tormented Middle
East, especially the Holy Land, Iraq, Lebanon,
and finally Tibet, all of whom I encourage to
seek solutions that will safeguard peace and
the common good! Let us invoke the fullness
of his Paschal gifts, through the intercession
of Mary who, after sharing the sufferings of
the passion and crucifixion of her innocent Son,
also experienced the inexpressible joy of his
resurrection. Sharing in the glory of Christ,
may she be the one to protect us and guide us
along the path of fraternal solidarity and peace. These
are my Easter greetings, which I address to all
who are present here, and to men and women of
every nation and continent united with us through
radio and television. Happy Easter!
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2008 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana |
