Pope Francis at the Easter vigil in St. Peter’s Basilica, 3 April 2021. Image ©Vatican Media
— Rome — “The women thought they would find a body to anoint; instead they found an empty tomb. They went to mourn the dead; instead they heard a proclamation of life.” Pope Francis began his homily for the Easter vigil in St. Peter’s Basilica — celebrated at the Altar of the Chair, with only some 200 faithful present due to coronavirus restrictions — noting the “fear mingled with joy” that took the hearts of the women who had gone to anoint the Lord “by surprise.”
Pope Francis reflected on the wonder of the women at hearing the angel’s words: “Do not be afraid! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen,” and, “He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.”
“Let us go to Galilee,” he said, “where the Risen Lord has gone ahead of us.”
Pope Francis said going to Galilee meant, for the disciples, “going back to the place where the Lord first sought them out and called them to follow him, the place of their first encounter and their first love.” He invited the faithful to do the same, even and especially when we are broken and heartbroken: “From the rubble of our hearts,” he said, “God can create a work of art; from the ruined remnants of our humanity, God can prepare a new history.”
Going to Galilee, Pope Francis went on to say, means walking away from the tomb and embracing new adventures — dangers and possibilities — against the pull of mere habit and familiar recollection. “Let us go to Galilee,” he said, “to discover that God cannot be filed away among our childhood memories, but is alive and filled with surprises.”
“Risen from the dead,” Pope Francis continued, “Jesus never ceases to amaze us.”
“Jesus, the Risen Lord, loves us without limits and is there at every moment of our lives,” Pope Francis said. “Having made himself present in the heart of our world, he invites us to overcome barriers, banish prejudices and draw near to those around us every day in order to rediscover the grace of everyday life.”
The post Christ is Risen! appeared first on Catholic Herald.
Recent Comments