Dear brothers and sisters in Rome and throughout the world, Happy Easter!
What a joy it is for me to announce this message: Christ is risen! I
would like it to go out to every house and every family, especially
where the suffering is greatest, in hospitals, in prisons …
Most of
all, I would like it to enter every heart, for it is there that God
wants to sow this Good News: Jesus is risen, there is hope for you, you
are no longer in the power of sin, of evil! Love has triumphed, mercy
has been victorious!
We too, like the women who were Jesus’
disciples, who went to the tomb and found it empty, may wonder what this
event means (cf.
Lk 24:4). What does it mean that Jesus is
risen? It means that the love of God is stronger than evil and death
itself; it means that the love of God can transform our lives and let
those desert places in our hearts bloom.
This same love for which
the Son of God became man and followed the way of humility and
self-giving to the very end, down to hell - to the abyss of separation
from God - this same merciful love has flooded with light the dead body
of Jesus and transfigured it, has made it pass into eternal life. Jesus
did not return to his former life, to earthly life, but entered into
the glorious life of God and he entered there with our humanity, opening
us to a future of hope.
This is what Easter is: it is the exodus,
the passage of human beings from slavery to sin and evil to the freedom
of love and goodness. Because God is life, life alone, and his glory is
the living man (cf. Irenaeus,
Adversus Haereses, 4,20,5-7).
Dear brothers and sisters, Christ died and rose once for all, and for
everyone, but the power of the Resurrection, this passover from slavery
to evil to the freedom of goodness, must be accomplished in every age,
in our concrete existence, in our everyday lives. How many deserts, even
today, do human beings need to cross! Above all, the desert within,
when we have no love for God or neighbour, when we fail to realize that
we are guardians of all that the Creator has given us and continues to
give us. God’s mercy can make even the driest land become a garden, can
restore life to dry bones (cf.
Ez 37:1-14).
So this is the
invitation which I address to everyone: Let us accept the grace of
Christ’s Resurrection! Let us be renewed by God’s mercy, let us be
loved by Jesus, let us enable the power of his love to transform our
lives too; and let us become agents of this mercy, channels through
which God can water the earth, protect all creation and make justice and
peace flourish.
And so we ask the risen Jesus, who turns death into
life, to change hatred into love, vengeance into forgiveness, war into
peace. Yes, Christ is our peace, and through him we implore peace for
all the world.
Peace for the Middle East, and particularly between
Israelis and Palestinians, who struggle to find the road of agreement,
that they may willingly and courageously resume negotiations to end a
conflict that has lasted all too long. Peace in Iraq, that every act of
violence may end, and above all for dear Syria, for its people torn by
conflict and for the many refugees who await help and comfort. How much
blood has been shed! And how much suffering must there still be before
a political solution to the crisis will be found?
Peace for Africa,
still the scene of violent conflicts. In Mali, may unity and stability
be restored; in Nigeria, where attacks sadly continue, gravely
threatening the lives of many innocent people, and where great numbers
of persons, including children, are held hostage by terrorist groups.
Peace in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and in the
Central African Republic, where many have been forced to leave their
homes and continue to live in fear.
Peace in Asia, above all on the Korean peninsula: may disagreements be overcome and a renewed spirit of reconciliation grow.
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. 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.
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 steadfast love endures for ever. Let Israel
say: ‘His steadfast love endures for ever’” (
Ps 117:1-2).
Dear
brothers and sisters, who have come from all over the world to this
Square, the heart of Christianity, and all of you joining us via
communications media, I renew my wishes for a Happy Easter! Bring to
your families and your nations the message of joy of hope and peace that
each year is powerfully renewed on this day. May the Risen Lord, who
defeated sin and death, support us all especially the weakest and those
most in need. Thank you for your presence and the witness of your
faith. A thought and a particular thanks for the gift of these
beautiful flowers from the Netherlands. I affectionately repeat to all
of you: May the Risen Christ guide you and all humanity on the paths of
justice, love and peace!
