Pope Francis: Mercy and love have conquered sin at
Easter
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis
said “we also stand today before the empty tomb of Jesus, and meditate with
wonder and gratitude on the great mystery of the Resurrection of the Lord”
during his Easter Monday Regina Coeli address.
“Life has conquered death.
Mercy and love have conquered sin! There is need of faith and hope to open this
new and wonderful horizon,” Pope Francis said.
“And we know that faith and
hope are a gift from God, and we have to ask: ‘Lord, give me faith, give me
hope! We have so much need!’. Let us by pervaded by the emotions that resonate
in the Easter sequence: ‘Yes, we are certain: Christ is truly risen.’ The Lord
has risen among us! This truth marked in an indelible way the lives of the
Apostles who, after the Resurrection, again felt the need to follow their
Master and, receiving the Holy Spirit, went without fear to proclaim to all
what they had seen with their own eyes and personally experienced.”
The Holy Father said “in this
Jubilee Year we are called to rediscover and to welcome with particular
intensity the comforting announcement of the resurrection: ‘Christ, my hope, is
risen!’”, adding “if Christ is risen, we can look with new eyes and hearts at
every event of our lives, even the most negative.”
“The moments of darkness, of
failure, and also of sin can be transformed and announce a new path. When we
have reached the base of our misery and our weakness, the risen Christ gives us
the strength to lift ourselves up. If we have faith in Him, His grace saves
us!” – Pope Francis continued – “The crucified and risen Lord is the full
revelation of mercy, present and active in history. This is the Easter message
that still resonates today and that will resonate throughout the time of Easter
until Pentecost.”
The Pope said “the silent
witness to the events of the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus was Mary.”
“She was standing next to the
cross: She did not collapse in the face of grief, but her faith made her
stronger” – he explained – “In the broken heart of a mother, there was always
the flame of hope. We ask her to also help us to accept in fullness the Easter
proclamation of resurrection, to embody it concretely in our daily lives.”
He then invoked Our Lady
before reciting the Regina Coeli prayer, which is prayed instead of the Angelus
during the Easter season: “May the Virgin Mary give us the certainty of faith
that suffered every step of our journey, illuminated by the light of Easter;
that it will become a blessing and joy for us and for others, especially for
those who suffer because of selfishness and indifference.”
After reciting the Regina
Coeli, Pope
Francis condemned the “reprehensible” terrorist attack in Lahore, Pakistan,
and called on civil and other authorities to “do everything possible to restore
security and peace to the population and, in particular, to the most vulnerable
religious minorities.”
At the end of his address,
the Holy Father encouraged everyone to spend a little bit of time every day
reading from the Gospels.
“It takes no more than five
minutes to read a passage from the Gospel. Remember this!...And do not forget
to pray for me!” Pope Francis concluded.
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