“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.”
Subject: VISnews130331
From: Vatican Information Service - Eng - txt
“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.
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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
ace.”
“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.
___________________________________________________________
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