Through Lent with Pope Francis
This, then, is what the Pasch of the Lord accomplishes: it motivates us to move forward, to leave behind our sense of defeat, to roll away the stone of the tombs in which we often imprison our hope, and to look with confidence to the future, for Christ is risen and has changed the direction of history. Yet, to do this, the Pasch of the Lord takes us back to the grace of our own past; it brings us back to Galilee, where our love story with Jesus began, where the first call took place. In other words, it asks us to relive that moment, that situation, that experience in which we met the Lord, experienced his love and received a radiantly new way of seeing ourselves, the world around us and the mystery of life itself. Brothers and sisters, to rise again, to start anew, to take up the journey, we always need to return to Galilee, that is, to go back, not to an abstract or ideal Jesus, but to the living, concrete and palpable memory of our first encounter with him. Yes, to go forward we need to go back, to remember; to have hope, we need to revive our memory. This is what we are asked to do: to remember and go forward! If you recover that first love, the wonder and joy of your encounter with God, you will keep advancing. So remember, and keep moving forward.
Homily, Easter, 2023
Scripture
John 20:11-18 NCB
Mary Magdalene remained weeping outside the tomb. And as she wept, she bent down to look into the tomb, and she saw two angels in white sitting there where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head and the other at the feet.
They asked her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
She answered, “They have taken my Lord away, and I do not know where they have put him.”
As she said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realise that it was Jesus.
Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?”
Thinking he was the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have removed him, tell me where you have put him, and I will take him away.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” which means “Teacher”.
Jesus then said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to my Father.
But go to my brethren and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ”
Mary Magdalene then went and announced to the disciples,
“I have seen the Lord,” and repeated what he had said to her.
Thought for Today
Was there a time and place when you really felt the reality of Jesus in your life? From last year’s Easter homily, Pope Francis suggests we return to an experience of Jesus that was most real for us. From that memory we move forward.
What do I ask from Jesus today?
Music
Hallelujah Chorus – sung by choirs in Bangalore written by G. F. Handel
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