procession towards the altar with the singing of the "Exultet". Then came the
Liturgy of the Word and the Baptismal and Eucharistic Liturgies which the Holy
Father concelebrated with cardinals.
During the course of the vigil, the Holy Father administered the Sacraments of
Baptism and Confirmation to eight catechumens from Italy, Albania, Slovakia,
Germany, Turkmenistan, Cameroon and the U.S.A.
Following the Gospel reading, the Holy Father delivered his homily, which
focused on the triumph of light over darkness.
"Easter is the feast of the new creation", he said. "Jesus is risen and dies
no more. He has opened the door to a new life, one that no longer knows
illness and death. He has taken mankind up into God Himself. ... Creation
Subject: VISnews120411
From: Vatican Information Service - Eng - txt
has become greater and
broader. Easter Day ushers in a new creation, but that is precisely why the
Church starts the liturgy on this day with the old creation, so that we can
learn to understand the new one aright. ... Two things are particularly
important here in connection
with this liturgy. On the one hand, creation is presented as a whole that
includes the phenomenon of time. The seven days are an image of completeness,
unfolding in time. They are ordered towards the seventh day, the day of the
freedom of all creatures
for God and for one another. Creation is therefore directed towards the coming
together of God and His creatures; it exists so as to open up a space for the
response to God’s great glory, an encounter between love and freedom. On
th
e
other hand, what the Church hears on Easter night is above all the first
element of the creation account: “God said, ‘let there be
light!’”".
"What is the creation account saying here?", the Holy Father asked. "Light
makes life possible. ... Evil hides. ... To say that God created light means
that God created the world as a space for knowledge and truth, as a space for
encounter and freedom,
as a space for good and for love. Matter is fundamentally good, being itself
is good. And evil does not come from God-made being, rather, it comes into
existence through denial. It is a “no”.
"At Easter, on the morning of the first day of the week, God said once again:
“Let there be light”. The night on the Mount of Olives, the solar
eclipse of Jesus’ passion and death, the night of the grave had all
passed. Now it is the
first day once again - creation is beginning anew. ... Jesus rises from the
grave. Life is stronger than death. Good is stronger than evil. ... But this
applies not only to Him, not only to the darkness of those days. With the
resurrection of Jesus,
light itself is created anew. He draws all of us after Him into the new light
of the resurrection and he conquers all darkness".
"Through the Sacrament of Baptism and the profession of faith, the Lord has
built a bridge across to us, through which the new day reaches us. The Lord
says to the newly-baptised: 'Fiat lux' - let there be light. God’s new
day - the day of
indestructible life, comes also to us".
"The darkness enshrouding God and obscuring values is the real threat to our
existence and to the world in general. ... Today we can illuminate our cities
so brightly that the stars of the sky are no longer visible. Is this not an
image of the problems
caused by our version of enlightenment? With regard to material things, our
knowledge and our technical accomplishments are legion, but what reaches
beyond, the things of God and the question of good, we can no longer identify.
Faith, then, which
reveals God’s light to us, is the true enlightenment, enabling
God’s light to break into our world, opening our eyes to the true light".
"On Easter night, the night of the new creation, the Church presents the
mystery of light using a unique and very humble symbol: the Paschal candle.
This is a light that lives from sacrifice. The candle shines inasmuch as it is
burnt up. ... Thus the
Church presents most beautifully the paschal mystery of Christ, Who gives
Himself and so bestows the great light. Secondly, we should remember that the
light of the candle is a fire. ... Here too the mystery of Christ is made
newly visible. Christ, the
light, is fire, flame, burning up evil and so reshaping both the world and
ourselves. ... And this fire is both heat and light: not a cold light, but one
through which God’s warmth and goodness reach down to us".
In conclusion, Benedict XVI recalled that the the candle "has its origin in
the work of bees. So the whole of creation plays its part. In the candle,
creation becomes a bearer of light. But in the mind of the Fathers, the candle
also in some sense
contains a silent reference to the Church. The cooperation of the living
community of believers in the Church in some way resembles the activity of
bees. It builds up the community of light. So the candle serves as a summons
to us to become involved in
the community of the Church, whose raison d’etre is to let the light of
Christ shine upon the world".
___________________________________________________________
EASTER MESSAGE: THE POPE CALLS FOR PEACE IN SYRIA, NIGERIA AND PALESTINE
Vatican City, 8 April 2012 (VIS) - Given below are extracts from the message
which His Holiness Benedict XVI read out during the course of the Easter Mass
of the Resurrection of the Lord, celebrated this morning in St. Peter's Square
in the presence of
more than 100,000 faithful.
"Dear brothers and sisters in Rome and throughout the world! ... May the
jubilant voice of the Church reach all of you with the words which the ancient
hymn puts on the lips of Mary Magdalene, the first to encounter the risen
Jesus on Easter morning.
... “I have seen the Lord!”".
"Every Christian relives the experience of Mary Magdalene. It involves an
encounter which changes our lives: the encounter with a unique Man Who lets us
experience all God’s goodness and truth, Who frees us from evil not in a
superficial and
fleeting way, but sets us free radically, heals us completely and restores our
dignity. ... All my yearnings for goodness find in Him a real possibility of
fulfilment: with Him I can hope for a life that is good, full and eternal, for
God Himself has
drawn near to us, even sharing our humanity".
"In this world, hope can not avoid confronting the harshness of evil. It is
not thwarted by the wall of death alone, but even more by the barbs of envy
and pride, falsehood and violence. Jesus passed through this mortal mesh in
order to open a path to
the kingdom of life. For a moment Jesus seemed vanquished: darkness had
invaded the land, the silence of God was complete, hope a seemingly empty word.
"And lo, on the dawn of the day after the Sabbath, the tomb is found empty.
... The signs of the resurrection testify to the victory of life over death,
love over hatred, mercy over vengeance".
"If Jesus is risen, then - and only then - has something truly new happened,
something that changes the state of humanity and the world. Then He, Jesus, is
someone in Whom we can put absolute trust; we can put our trust not only in
His message but in
Jesus himself, for the Risen One does not belong to the past, but is present
today, alive. Christ is hope and comfort in a particular way for those
Christian communities suffering most for their faith on account of
discrimination and persecution. And He
is present as a force of hope through His Church, which is close to all human
situations of suffering and injustice.
"May the risen Christ grant hope to the Middle East and enable all the ethnic,
cultural and religious groups in that region to work together to advance the
common good and respect for human rights. Particularly in Syria, may there be
an end to bloodshed
and an immediate commitment to the path of respect, dialogue and
reconciliation, as called for by the international community. May the many
refugees from that country who are in need of humanitarian assistance find the
acceptance and solidarity capable
of relieving their dreadful sufferings. May the paschal victory encourage the
Iraqi people to spare no effort in pursuing the path of stability and
development. In the Holy Land, may Israelis and Palestinians courageously take
up anew the peace process.
"May the Lord, the victor over evil and death, sustain the Christian
communities of the African continent; may He grant them hope in facing their
difficulties, and make them peacemakers and agents of development in the
societies to which they belong.
"May the risen Jesus comfort the suffering populations of the Horn of Africa
and favour their reconciliation; may He help the Great Lakes Region, Sudan and
South Sudan, and grant their inhabitants the power of forgiveness. In Mali,
now experiencing
delicate political developments, may the glorious Christ grant peace and
stability. To Nigeria, which in recent times has experienced savage terrorist
attacks, may the joy of Easter grant the strength needed to take up anew the
building of a society
which is peaceful and respectful of the religious freedom of its citizens.
Happy Easter to all!"
Following his Message, the Pope extended Easter greetings in sixty-five
languages before imparting the "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world)
blessing.
___________________________________________________________
POPE HIGHLIGHTS THE SPECIAL BOND WOMEN HAVE WITH JESUS
Vatican City, 9 April 2012 (VIS) - Yesterday evening the Holy Father travelled
to his residence at Castelgandolfo outside Rome for a brief period of rest. At
midday today he appeared on the balcony of the apostolic palace there to pray
the Regina Coeli
with faithful gathered below in the building's internal courtyard. The Regina
Coeli replaces the Angelus during the Easter season.
"In many countries Easter Monday is a holiday. People make trips to the
countryside, or mover further afield to visit relatives and to be together as
a family. However I would like Christians to keep the reason for this holiday
in their minds and
hearts: the Resurrection of Christ, the definitive mystery of our faith", the
Pope said.
"The moment of the resurrection per se is not described by the Evangelists. It
remains a mystery, not in the sense that it is less real, but that it is
hidden, beyond the scope of our understanding, like a light so bright that we
cannot look at it
without our eyes being blinded. The narratives begin when, at dawn on the day
after the Saturday, the women went to the tomb and found it open and empty.
... Having received the announcement of the resurrection from the Angel they
ran, full of fear and
joy, to give the news to the disciples. At that very moment they met Jesus,
bowing before His feet and worshipping Him as He said: 'Do not be afraid, go
and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me'.
"All the Gospels dedicate a lot of space to the women in the narratives of the
apparitions of the Risen Jesus, just as they do in those of His passion and
death. In Israel at that time the testimony of women did not have official
juridical weight, but
women experienced a special bond with the Lord and this is fundamental for the
real life of the Christian community, in all times and ages, not just in the
early days of the Church".
The Pope concluded by recalling that the model for this relationship with
Jesus, especially in the Easter mystery, is Mary, Mother of the Lord. "Through
the transforming experience of her Son's passion, the Virgin Mary also became
Mother of the Church;
that is, of each believer and of the entire community".
___________________________________________________________
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VISnews120411
VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE YEAR XXII - N° 72DATE 11-04-2012
Summary: - FAITH IN CHRIST TRANSFORMS OUR
LIVES, FREES US FROM FEAR AND
FILLS US WITH HOPE - IN BRIEF - OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS Holy Week - CHRISM MASS:
PRIESTS CONFIGURED TO CHRIST - HOLY THURSDAY: JESUS RESOLVES THE FALSE
OPPOSITION BETWEEN OBEDIENCE
AND FREEDOM - THE MYSTERY OF THE PASSION INSPIRES US TO CONTINUE IN
HOPE - EASTER SATURDAY: EASTER IS THE FEAST OF THE NEW CREATION -
EASTER MESSAGE: THE POPE CALLS FOR PEACE IN SYRIA, NIGERIA AND PALESTINE
- POPE HIGHLIGHTS THE
SPECIAL BOND WOMEN HAVE WITH JESUS ___________________________________________________________
FAITH IN CHRIST TRANSFORMS OUR LIVES, FREES US FROM FEAR AND FILLS US WITH
HOPE
Vatican City, 11 April 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father dedicated his
catechesis during this morning's general audience to the transformation which
Jesus' Resurrection brought about in His disciples, also reflecting on the
meaning that Easter has for
Christians today. Faith in the Risen One, he said, "transforms our lives; it
frees them from fear, gives them firm hope, and infuses them with something
that provides existence with full meaning: the love of God".
Benedict XVI explained how on the evening of the day of the Resurrection
the disciples were at home behind locked doors, full of fear and doubt at the
recollection of the passion of their Lord. "This situation of anguish changed
radically when Jesus
arrived. He entered through the closed doors, was among them and brought them
peace", peace which "for the community became source of joy, certainty of
victory, trusting reliance on God".
After His greeting, Jesus showed His wounds to the disciples, "signs of
what had befallen and would never be cancelled. His glorious humanity remained
'wounded'. The gesture had the aim of confirming the new reality of the
Resurrection. The Christ
Who returned among His followers was a real person, the same Jesus Who three
days earlier had been nailed to the cross. Thus, in the shining light of
Easter, in the meeting with the Risen One, the disciples came to understand
the salvific meaning of His
passion and death. Then sadness and fear became overwhelming joy".
Jesus greeted them again: "Peace be with you". Yet this, the Pope
explained, was not just a greeting, "it was a gift, the gift the Risen One
made to His friends. At the same time it was a commission: the peace which
Christ had bought with His blood
was for them, but it was also for everyone else, and the disciples would have
to carry it throughout the world". Jesus "had completed His mission in the
world, now it was up to them to to sow faith in people's hearts".
However, the Lord knew that His followers were still afraid. "For this
reason He breathed upon them and regenerated them in His Spirit. This gesture
was the sign of the new creation. With the gift of the Holy Spirit which came
from the Risen Christ,
a new world began".
"Today too the Risen One enters our homes and hearts, although sometimes
the doors are closed", the Pope said, "He enters bringing joy and peace, life
and hope, gifts we need for our human and spiritual rebirth". Only He can put
an end to division,
enmity, rancour, envy, mistrust and indifference. Only He can give meaning to
the lives of those who are weary, sad and without hope.
This was the experience of the two disciples who were walking to Emmaus,
full of foreboding at the recent death of their Master. Jesus came up to them
and accompanied them without being recognised, explaining the meaning of
Sacred Scripture to help
them understand His salvific mission. Later they asked Jesus to stay with them
and recognised him as He blessed and broke the bread. "This episode", said the
Holy Father, "shows us two privileged 'places' in which we can meet the Risen
One Who
transforms our lives: ... the Word and the Eucharist".
The disciples of Emmaus returned to Jerusalem to join the others. "Their
enthusiasm for the faith was reborn, their love for the community and their
need to communicate the good news. The Master rose and with Him all life
resurges. Bearing witness to
this event became an irrepressible need for them".
For Christians, Easter must be a time for the joyful and enthusiastic
rediscovery of the sources of the faith. "This means following the same path
as that along which Jesus directed the two disciples of Emmaus, through the
rediscovery of the Word of
God and the Eucharist. The culmination of this journey, then as now, is
Eucharistic communion. In communion Jesus nourishes us with His Body and His
Blood, becoming present in our lives, making us new and animating us with the
power of the Holy
Spirit".
In conclusion the Holy Father invited Christians to remain faithful to the
Risen One Who "living and true, is always present among us, Who walks with us
to guide our lives", and Who "has the power to give life, to make us reborn as
children of God,
capable of believing and loving".
HIS BEATITUDE CARDINAL IGNACE MOUSSA I DAOUD, prefect emeritus of the
Congregation for Oriental Churches and patriarch emeritus of Antioch of the
Syrians, died in Rome on 7 April at the age of 82. In a telegram of condolence
sent to His Beatitude
Ignace Youssif III Younan, patriarch of Antioch of the Syrians, Benedict XVI
expresses his closeness to that patriarchal Church of which the deceased was
"a committed pastor". The Pope also mentions the peoples of the region, who
are currently
experiencing moments of great difficulty. The cardinal's funeral was held in
St. Peter's Basilica on 10 April.
A LETTER WAS MADE PUBLIC ON 7 APRIL in which the Holy Father appoints
Cardinal Marc Ouellet P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, as his
special envoy to the opening celebrations for the pilgrimage of the "Holy
Robe", marking the fifth
centenary of the first public display of the relic. The event will be held in
the cathedral of Trier, Germany on 13 April, the cardinal will be accompanied
on his mission by Msgr. Rainer Scherschel and Fr. Reinhold Bohlen, canons of
the cathedral.
BENEDICT XVI HAS SENT A TELEGRAM OF CONDOLENCE to Archbishop Roberto
Octavio Gonzalez Nieves O.F.M. of San Juan de Puerto Rico for the death of
Cardinal Luis Aponte Martinez, archbishop emeritus of the same archdiocese.
The cardinal died on 10 April
at the age of 89. In the telegram the Holy Father recalls how the late
cardinal participated in Vatican Council II and "introduced its dispositions
into his particular Church". Cardinal Aponte Martinez likewise "bore witness
to his great love for God
and the Church, and his great dedication to the cause of the Gospel".
Vatican City, 7 April 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Cardinal Marc
Ouellet P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, as pontifical legate
for the celebration of the fiftieth International Eucharistic Congress, which
is due to take
place in Dublin, Ireland, from 10 to 17 June.
Vatican City, 5 April 2012 (VIS) - In the Vatican Basilica at 9.30 a.m.
today, Holy Thursday, the Holy Father presided at the Chrism Mass, which is
celebrated on this day in churches and cathedrals throughout the world.
Cardinals, bishops and around
1,600 priests present in Rome concelebrated with the Pope.
During the course of the celebration, priests renew the vows they made at
their ordination, and the oil used for catechumens, the sick and those being
confirmed is blessed. Extracts from the homily of the Holy Father are given
below.
"At this Holy Mass our thoughts go back to that moment when, through prayer
and the laying on of hands, the bishop made us sharers in the priesthood of
Jesus Christ, so that we might be “consecrated in truth”, as Jesus
besought the Father
for us in His high-priestly prayer. He himself is the truth. He has
consecrated us, that is to say, handed us over to God for ever, so that we can
offer men and women a service that comes from God and leads to Him. But does
our consecration extend to
the daily reality of our lives - do we operate as men of God in fellowship
with Jesus Christ? ... We need, I need, not to claim my life as my own, but to
place it at the disposal of another - of Christ. I should be asking not what I
stand to gain, but
what I can give for Him and so for others. Or to put it more specifically,
this configuration to Christ, Who came not to be served but to serve, Who does
not take, but rather gives - what form does it take in the often dramatic
situation of the Church today? Recently a group of priests from a European
country issued a summons to disobedience, and at the same time gave concrete
examples of the forms this disobedience might take, even to the point of
disregarding definitive
decisions of the Church’s Magisterium, such as the question of
women’s ordination, for which Blessed Pope John Paul II stated
irrevocably that the Church has received no authority from the Lord.
"Is disobedience a path of renewal for the Church? We would like to believe
that the authors of this summons are motivated by concern for the Church, that
they are convinced that the slow pace of institutions has to be overcome by
drastic measures,
in order to open up new paths and to bring the Church up to date. But is
disobedience really a way to do this? Do we sense here anything of that
configuration to Christ which is the precondition for all true renewal, or do
we merely sense a desperate
push to do something to change the Church in accordance with one’s own
preferences and ideas?
"But let us not oversimplify matters. Surely Christ Himself corrected human
traditions which threatened to stifle the word and the will of God? Indeed He
did, so as to rekindle obedience to the true will of God, to His ever enduring
word. His concern
was for true obedience, as opposed to human caprice. Nor must we forget: He
was the Son, possessed of singular authority and responsibility to reveal the
authentic will of God, so as to open up the path for God’s word to the
world of the nations.
And finally: He lived out His task with obedience and humility all the way to
the Cross, and so gave credibility to His mission. Not my will, but thine be
done: these words reveal to us the Son, in His humility and His divinity, and
they show us the
true path.
"Let us ask again: do not such reflections serve simply to defend inertia,
the fossilisation of traditions? No. Anyone who considers the history of the
post-conciliar era can recognise the process of true renewal, which often took
unexpected forms in
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