Much speculation has followed the General
Audience of Pope Francis on Wednesday 3 April 2013. As usual we have people joyously reading into
the Pope’s message that which they would clearly love to read or hear in his
message, even if it is not actually in his message.
I find that it is always best to simply go
directly to the actual text and read it all for myself, instead of taking
another persons word for it. In this way
I can completely ignore all the wild speculation, misinterpretation and general
confusion that people gleefully like to create.
For those of you who wish to do the same, I
include the full text below.
Alternatively, just in case I slipped in some special words or emphases
of my own, you can find it here where I did. (I must admit I would love to hear him say some things, but that's why there is no way I would ever be a priest, let alone a Pope.)
I would also recommend reading the summary that was put together by Catholic Voices. I find that they tend to keep to the facts and do not introduce that which is not there in the Popes actual address.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today we turn to the Catechism of the Year of Faith. In the Creed we
repeat this phrase: "He rose again on the third day, in accordance with
the Scriptures". This is the very event that we are celebrating: the
Resurrection of Jesus, the center of the Christian message that has resounded
since the beginning and has been handed down so that it may reach us today.
Saint Paul writes to the Christians of Corinth: "For I handed on to you
…what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the
scriptures; that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in
accordance with the scriptures; that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve"(1
Cor 15:3-5). This brief confession of faith announces the Paschal Mystery, with
the first appearances of the Risen Christ to Peter and the Twelve: the Death
and Resurrection of Jesus is the heart of our hope. Without this faith in the
Death and Resurrection of Jesus our hope would be weak, but it wouldn’t even be
hope, the Death and Resurrection of Jesus is the heart of our hope. The Apostle
says: "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in
your sins" (v. 17).
Unfortunately, there have often been attempts to obscure faith in
the Resurrection of Jesus, and doubts have crept in even among believers
themselves. A watered down faith, as we would say, not a strong faith. This is
because of superficiality, sometimes because of indifference, occupied by a
thousand things considered more important than the faith, or because of a
purely horizontal vision of life. But it is the Resurrection that gives us the
greatest hope, because it opens our lives and the life of the world to the eternal
future of God, to full happiness, to the certainty that evil, sin, death can be
defeated. And this leads us to live everyday realities with more confidence, to
face them with courage and commitment. The Resurrection of Christ shines a new
light on these daily realities. The Resurrection of Christ is our strength!
But how was the truth of faith in Christ’s Resurrection transmitted?
There are two kinds of witness in the New Testament: some are in the form of
the profession of the faith, namely, synthetic formulas that indicate the
center of the faith. Instead, others are in the form of an account of the event
of the Resurrection and the facts connected to it. The form of the profession
of faith, for example, is what we have just heard, or that of the Letter to the
Romans where Paul writes: " for, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus
is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will
be saved "(10.9). From the earliest days of the Church, faith in the
Mystery of Death and Resurrection of Jesus is steadfast and clear.
Today, however, I would like to dwell the second, on testimony in
the form of the accounts that we find in the Gospels. First, we note that the
first witnesses to this event were the women. At dawn, they go to the tomb to
anoint the body of Jesus, and find the first sign: the empty tomb (Mk 16:1).
This is followed by an encounter with a Messenger of God who proclaims: Jesus
of Nazareth, the Crucified One, he is not here, he is risen (cf. vv. 5-6). The
women are driven by love and know how to accept this proclamation with faith:
they believe, and immediately transmit it, they do not keep it for themselves.
They cannot contain the joy of knowing that Jesus is alive, the hope that fills
their heart. This should also be the same in our lives. Let us feel the joy of
being Christian! We believe in the Risen One who has conquered evil and death!
Let us also have the courage to "go out" to bring this joy and light
to all the places of our lives! The Resurrection of Christ is our greatest
certainty, it is our most precious treasure! How can we not share this
treasure, this beautiful certainty with others! It’s not just for us it’s to be
transmitted, shared with others this is our testimony!
Another element. In the professions of faith of the New Testament,
only men are remembered as witnesses of the Resurrection, the Apostles, but not
the women. This is because, according to the Jewish Law of the time, women and
children were not considered reliable, credible witnesses. In the Gospels,
however, women have a primary, fundamental role. Here we can see an argument in
favor of the historicity of the Resurrection: if it were a invented, in the
context of that time it would not have been linked to the testimony of women.
Instead, the evangelists simply narrate what happened: the women were the first
witnesses. This tells us that God does not choose according to human criteria:
the first witnesses of the birth of Jesus are the shepherds, simple and humble
people, the first witnesses of the Resurrection are women. This is beautiful,
and this is the mission of women, of mothers and women, to give witness to
their children and grandchildren that Christ is Risen! Mothers go forward with
this witness! What matters to God is our heart, if we are open to Him, if we
are like trusting children. But this also leads us to reflect on how in the
Church and in the journey of faith, women have had and still have a special
role in opening doors to the Lord, in following him and communicating his face,
because the eyes of faith always need the simple and profound look of love. The
Apostles and disciples find it harder to believe in the Risen Christ, not the
women however! Peter runs to the tomb, but stops before the empty tomb; Thomas
has to touch the wounds of the body of Jesus with his hands. In our journey of
faith it is important to know and feel that God loves us, do not be afraid to
love: faith is professed with the mouth and heart, with the word and love.
After the apparitions to women, there were others: Jesus becomes
present in a new way: He is the Crucified One, but his body is glorious; He did
not return to an earthly life, but a new condition. At first they did not
recognize him, and only through his words and deeds were their eyes opened: the
encounter with the Risen Lord transforms, it gives new strength to faith, an
unshakable foundation. The Risen Christ also reveals Himself to us with many
signs: Sacred Scripture, the Eucharist, the other Sacraments, charity, these
gestures of love bring a ray of the Risen One.
Let us be enlightened by the Resurrection of Christ, let us be
transformed by His power, so that through us the signs of death give way to
signs of life in the world! I see that there are many young people in the
Square! Young boys and girls, to you I say bring forth this certainty to the
world: the Lord is Alive and walks beside us on our life’s journey! Bring forth
this hope, be anchored in this hope, the hope that comes from heaven! Be
anchored and bring forth the hope! You witnesses of Christ bring forth hope to
this world that is aged by wars and sin! Go forward young people!
Here is the English summary of the Wednesday General Audience
catechesis.
Taking up the series of Catechesis on the Creed, we now turn to the
passage: “He rose again on the third day, in accordance with the Scriptures”.
Our belief in Christ’s Resurrection is the very heart of our faith, the basis
of our hope in God’s promises and our trust in his victory over sin and death.
The first witnesses of the Resurrection were women: moved by love to go to the
tomb, they accept with joy the message of the Resurrection and then tell the
good news to the Apostles. So it must be with us; we need to share the joy born
of our faith in the Resurrection! In Church’s history, women have had a special
role in opening doors to faith in Christ, for faith is always a response to
love. With the eyes of faith, we too encounter the risen Lord in the many signs
of his presence: the Scriptures, the Eucharist and the other sacraments, and
the acts of charity, goodness, forgiveness and mercy which bring a ray of his
Resurrection into our world. May our faith in the risen Christ enable us to be
living signs in our world of the triumph of life and hope over evil, sin and
death.
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