SUMMARY:
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POPE FRANCIS: GOD’S MERCY CAN MAKE EVEN THE DRIEST LAND FLOWER
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EASTER VIGIL: DON'T BE AFRAID OF GOD'S SURPRISES. “HE ALWAYS
SURPRISES US!”
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POPE'S PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR APRIL
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NOTICE
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POPE
FRANCIS: GOD’S MERCY CAN MAKE EVEN THE DRIEST LAND FLOWER
Vatican
City, 31 March 2013 (VIS) – At 10:15 this morning, Easter Sunday,
the Holy Father Francis celebrated the Mass of the Lord's
Resurrection in St. Peter's Square. Faithful from Rome and pilgrims
from around the world participated in the celebration, which began
with the "Resurrexit" rite—in which an icon of the Risen
Lord, placed next to the papal altar, is opened and venerated to
recall St. Peter's witness of the resurrection. The Pope did not give
a homily since immediately after the Mass he gave his Easter message
and “Urbi et Orbi” blessing (to the city and to the world).
In
honour of the feast, St. Peter's Square was decorated with splendid
floral arrangements. More than 40,000 flowers, donated by Dutch
horticulturists, transformed the area around the altar into a
magnificent garden. Yellow daffodils and white lilies highlighted,
the colours of Easter and the papal flag that represent the purity of
Jesus' sacrifice and the glory of his resurrection. The pink
flowers—delphinium and cherry blossoms—symbolized the light of
the risen Christ who destroys darkness.
At
noon, from the central loggia of the Vatican Basilica, the Holy
Father Francis addressed the over 250,000 people overflowing St.
Peter's Square and those who were following the celebration by radio
or television. He delivered his Easter proclamation—“God’s
mercy can make even the driest land become a garden!”—and made a
strong appeal for peace throughout the world. He then imparted the
“Urbi et Orbi” blessing. Following is the full text of the Pope's
message:
“Dear
brothers and sisters in Rome and throughout the world, Happy Easter!
Happy Easter!”
“What
a joy it is to announce this message: Christ is risen! I would like
it to go out to every house and every family, especially where the
suffering is greatest, in hospitals, in prisons… Most of all, I
would like it to enter every heart, for it is there that God wants to
sow this Good News: Jesus is risen, there is hope for you, you are no
longer in the power of sin or of evil! Love has triumphed! Mercy has
been victorious! God's mercy always triumphs!”
“We
too, like the women who were Jesus’ disciples, who went to the tomb
and found it empty, may wonder what this event means (cf. Lk 24:4).
What does it mean that Jesus is risen? It means that the love of God
is stronger than evil and death itself; it means that the love of God
can transform our lives and let those desert places in our hearts
bloom. God's love can do this.”
“This
same love out of which the Son of God became man and followed the way
of humility and self-giving to the very end, down to hell—to the
abyss of separation from God—this same merciful love has flooded
Jesus' dead body with light and transfigured it; has made it pass
into eternal life. Jesus did not return to his former life, to an
earthly life, but entered into the glorious life of God and He
entered there with our humanity, opening us to a future of hope.”
“This
is what Easter is: it is the exodus, the passage of human beings from
the slavery to sin and evil to the freedom of love and goodness.
Because God is life, life alone, and we are his glory, the living
person.”
“Dear
brothers and sisters, Christ died and rose once for all time and for
everyone, but the power of the Resurrection, this passing from the
slavery to evil to the freedom of goodness, must be accomplished in
every age, in our concrete existence, in our everyday lives. How many
deserts, even today, do human beings need to cross! Above all, the
desert within, when are lacking love for God and neighbour, when we
fail to realize that we are guardians of all that the Creator has
given us and continues to give us. God’s mercy can make even the
driest land become a garden, can restore life to dry bones (cf. Ez
37:1-14).”
“So
this is the invitation that I address to everyone: Let us accept the
grace of Christ’s Resurrection! Let us be renewed by God’s mercy!
Let us be loved by Jesus! Let us enable the power of his love to
transform our lives too and let us become agents of this mercy,
channels through which God can water the earth, protect all creation
and make justice and peace flourish.”
“And
so we ask the risen Jesus, who turns death into life, to change
hatred into love, vengeance into forgiveness, war into peace. Yes,
Christ is our peace, and through him we implore peace for all the
world.”
“Peace
for the Middle East, in particular between Israelis and Palestinians
who struggle to find the road of agreement: that they may willingly
and courageously resume negotiations to end a conflict that has
lasted all too long. Peace in Iraq: that every act of violence may
end. And above all for dear Syria, for its people torn by conflict
and for the many refugees who await help and comfort. How much blood
has been shed! And how much suffering must there still be before a
political solution to the crisis will be found?”
“Peace
for Africa, still the scene of bloody conflicts. In Mali: may unity
and stability be restored. In Nigeria, where attacks sadly continue,
gravely threatening the lives of many innocent people, and where
great numbers of persons, including children, are held hostage by
terrorist groups. Peace in the East of the Democratic Republic of
Congo and in the Central African Republic where many have been forced
to leave their homes and continue to live in fear.”
“Peace
in Asia, above all on the Korean peninsula: may disagreements be
overcome and a renewed spirit of reconciliation grow.”
“Peace
in the whole world, still divided by greed looking for easy gain,
wounded by the selfishness which threatens human life and the family,
selfishness that continues in human trafficking, the most extensive
form of slavery in this twenty-first century. Human trafficking is
precisely the most extensive form of slavery in this twenty-first
century! Peace to the whole world, torn apart by violence linked to
drug trafficking and by the iniquitous exploitation of natural
resources! Peace to this our Earth! Made the risen Jesus bring
comfort to the victims of natural disasters and make us responsible
guardians of creation.”
“Dear
brothers and sisters, to all of you who are listening to me, from
Rome and from all over of the world, I address the invitation of the
Psalm: 'Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; for his mercy endures
for ever. Let Israel say: “His mercy endures forever”.' (Ps
118:1-2).”
“Dear
brothers and sisters who have come from all over the world to this
Square, the heart of Christianity and to all of you joining us via
the media, I repeat my wishes for a happy Easter! Bring to your
families and your nations the message of joy, of hope, and of peace
that every year, on this day, is powerfully renewed. May the Risen
Lord, who defeated sin and death, sustain us all especially the
weakest and those most in need. Thank you for your presence and the
witness of your faith. A thought and special thanks for the gift of
these beautiful flowers that come from the Netherlands. I
affectionately repeat to all of you: May the Risen Christ guide all
of you and all of humanity on the paths of justice, love, and peace!”
Then,
in Latin, Pope Francis imparted the “Urbi et Orbi” blessing.
EASTER
VIGIL: DON'T BE AFRAID OF GOD'S SURPRISES. “HE ALWAYS SURPRISES
US!”
Vatican
City, 31 March 2013 (VIS) – Yesterday at 8:30 in the evening, the
Holy Father presided at the Easter Vigil in St. Peter's Basilica. The
liturgy began in the church atrium with a blessing of the new fire
and the preparation of the Paschal candle. After processing to the
altar with the lit candle and the singing of the “Exsultet”, the
celebration continued with the Liturgy of the Word, the Baptismal
Liturgy, and the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
During
the Vigil, the Pope administered the sacraments of Christian
initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist) to four
catechumens: one from Italy, one from Albania, one from Russia, and
one from the United States. After the Gospel was read, the Holy
Father dedicated his homily to discussing the holy women who went to
the tomb and found it empty. “We are afraid of God's surprises! He
always surprises us!” Following is the full text of his homily:
“Dear
Brothers and Sisters,
In
the Gospel of this luminous night of the Easter Vigil, we are the
first to meet the women who went to Jesus' tomb with spices to anoint
his body (cf. Lk 24:1-3). They go to perform an act of compassion, of
affection, of love. It is a traditional gesture for a beloved person
who has died, just as we would do too. They had followed Jesus,
listened to him, felt themselves to be understood in their dignity,
and they had accompanied him to the end, on Calvary, an at the moment
he was taken down from the cross.”
“We
can imagine how they felt as they made their way to his tomb: a
certain sadness, sorrow because Jesus had left them and was dead, his
story was over. Now they would go back to their previous lives. But
the women continued to feel love and their love for Jesus compelled
them to go to his tomb. At this point, however, something completely
unexpected happens, something new, which upsets their hearts and
their plans and which will upset their whole lives: They see the
stone rolled away from the tomb. They draw near and they do not find
the Lord's body. It is a reality that leaves them perplexed,
doubtful, full of questions: 'What is happening?', What does this all
mean?' (cf. Lk 24:4).”
“Isn't
that also what happens to us when something truly new occurs in our
everyday lives? We stop, don't understand, don't know how to handle
it. New things often frighten us, even the newness that God brings
us, the newness that God asks of us. We are like the Apostles in the
Gospel: we often prefer to hold on to our sureties, to stop at the
tomb, to stop at just thinking about the departed one who, in the
end, lives only in our memory like great persons of the past. We're
afraid of God's surprises. Dear brothers and sisters, in our lives we
are afraid of God's surprises! He always surprises us! That is how
the Lord is!”
“Brothers
and sisters, let's not close ourselves to the newness that God wants
to bring to our lives! Often we are tired, disheartened, sad; We feel
the weight of our sins and think we're not going to make it. Let's
not get locked up in ourselves. Let's not lose our confidence. Let us
never give up. There are no situations that God cannot change; There
is no sin that He won't forgive if we open ourselves to him.”
“But
let's go back to the Gospel, to the women, and take a step forward.
They find the tomb empty. Jesus' body is not there. Something new has
happened but this still doesn't tell them anything certain. It raises
questions and leaves them perplexed without offering an answer. And
then, two men in dazzling garments who say: 'Why do you seek the
living one among the dead? He is not here, but He has been raised.'
(Lk 24:5-6). What had been a simple gesture, an act certainly
undertaken in love—going to the tomb—now transforms into an
occurrence, a truly life-changing event.”
“Nothing
remains as it was before, not only in the lives of those women, but
also in our lives and in our story of humanity. Jesus isn't someone
who has died. He is risen. He is the Living One! He has not simply
come back to life but is life itself because He is the Son of God who
is the Living God. Jesus is no longer in the past but lives in the
present and is projected toward the future. Jesus is God's eternal
'today'.This is how God's newness presents itself to the eyes of the
women, of the disciples, of all of us: victory over sin, over evil,
over death, over everything that oppresses our lives and gives them a
less human face.”
“This
is a message that is addressed to me, to you, dear sister, to you,
dear brother. How many times do we need Love to tell us: Why do you
seek the living one among the dead? Our problems and our everyday
worries tend to wrap us up in ourselves, in sadness and bitterness...
and that is where death lies. Let's not look there for He who is
alive!”
“Accept
the Risen Jesus into your life, then. Welcome him as a friend, with
confidence. He is life! If up to now you have been distant from him,
take a small step: He will welcome you with open arms. If you are
indifferent, take the risk: You will not be disappointed. If
following him seems difficult to you, don't be afraid: entrust
yourself to him and rest assured that He is close to you. He is with
you and will give you the peace you are seeking and the strength to
live as He wants you to.”
“There
is one last, simple element that I would like to emphasize in the
Gospel of this luminous Easter Vigil. The women encounter the newness
of God. Jesus is risen, He is the Living One. But, faced with the
empty tomb and the two men in dazzling garments, their first reaction
is one of fear: They 'bowed their faces to the ground', St. Luke
notes. They didn't even have the courage to look. But, when they hear
the announcement of the Resurrection, they accept it with faith. And
the two men in dazzling garments introduce a fundamental word:
remember. 'Remember what He said to you while He was still in Galilee
… And they remembered his words.' (Lk 24:6,8).”
“This
is a call to remember their encounter with Jesus, with his words, his
deeds, his life. It is precisely this loving remembrance of their
experience with the Master that leads the women to overcome every
fear and to take the announcement of the Resurrection to the Apostles
and to all the others (cf. Lk 24:9). Remembering what God has done
and continues to do for me, for us; remembering the path we have
travelled—this opens wide our hearts to hope for the future. Let's
learn to remember what God has done in our lives!”
“On
this radiant night, calling upon the intercession of the Virgin Mary
who keeps all things in her heart (Lk 2:19,51), let us ask the Lord
to give us a share in his Resurrection. May He open us to the newness
that transforms, to God's surprises that are so beautiful. May He
make us men and women who are capable of remembering what He does in
our personal lives and in the history of the world. May He make us
capable of hearing him as the Living One, who lives and is at work
amongst us. May He teach us every day, dear brothers and sisters, to
not seek among the dead for He who is living. Amen.”
POPE'S
PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR APRIL
Vatican
City, 30 March 2013 (VIS) – The Pope's general prayer intention for
April is: "That the public, prayerful celebration of faith may
give life to the faithful."
His
mission intention is: "That mission churches may be signs and
instruments of hope and resurrection.”
NOTICE
Vatican
City, 31 March 2013 (VIS) – Although there is usually no VIS
bulletin during the Easter holidays, this year the Vatican
Information Service has transmitted all the acts of the new Pope
during the Easter Triduum. With the conclusion of those holy days,
however, tomorrow and the following day—Monday 1 April and Tuesday
2 April, which are still holidays in the Vatican—there will be no
VIS bulletin. The service will resume on Wednesday, 3 April.
You
can find more information at: www.visnews.org
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