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Skriven 2007-04-08 09:51:18 av Marc Lewis (1:396/45)
Ärende: Vatican Information Service (Press Release)
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                               VIS-Press releases

THE PASCHAL MYSTERY IS PRESENT REALITY

VATICAN CITY, APR 4, 2007 (VIS) - In today's general audience, held in St.
Peter's Square, the Pope spoke on the Easter Triduum which begins tomorrow.

"What we are celebrating over the coming days," he said, "is the supreme
confrontation between Light and Darkness, between Life and Death. We too must
place ourselves in this context - aware of our own night, our own sins, our own
responsibilities - if we wish to gain spiritual benefit from reliving the
Paschal Mystery, which is the heart of our faith."

The Holy Father recalled how on Holy Thursday, during the Chrism Mass, diocesan
bishops and priests "renew the promises they made on the day of their priestly
ordination," and "the oils used for catechumens, to anoint the sick and for
confirmation" are blessed. During Mass "in Cena Domini" the Christian community
relives "the events of the Last Supper. In the Cencacle, the Redeemer wished,
in the Sacrament of the bread and wine transformed into His Body and Blood, to
anticipate the sacrifice of His life, His definitive gift of self to humanity."

Following Mass "in Cena Domini" the faithful are invited "to adore the Blessed
Sacrament, reliving Jesus' agony in Gethsemane. ... Thus they can better
understand the mystery of Holy Thursday, which incorporates the supreme triple
gift of priestly ministry, the Eucharist and the new Commandment of love."

Holy Friday, Pope Benedict continued, "is a day of penance, of fasting and of
prayer, of participation in the death of the Lord. ... The community adores the
Cross and takes the Eucharist, consuming the sacred species conserved from the
Mass 'in Cena Domini' of the preceding day." On Holy Friday, Christian
tradition also includes "the Way of the Cross, which offers us the chance ...
to imprint the mystery of the Cross ever more deeply in our hearts."

On Holy Saturday, the Pope proceeded, "Christians are called to interior
meditation, ... something often difficult to cultivate in our own times, in
order to prepare for the Easter vigil" in which "the veil of sadness shrouding
the Church for the death and burial of the Lord will be shattered by the cry of
victory: Christ is risen and has overcome death forever!"

"The Paschal Mystery we relive in the Easter Triduum is not just a memory but a
current reality. Even today, Christ overcomes sin and death with His love. Evil
in all its forms does not have the last word. The final triumph is of Christ,
truth, love! If we are prepared to suffer and die with Him, as St. Paul reminds
us in the Easter vigil, His life become out life. It is upon this certainty,"
the Pope concluded, "that our Christian lives are built."

At the end of today's general audience, the Holy Father greeted participants in
the UNIV international congress, being promoted by the personal prelature of
Opus Dei, which has as its theme this year: "Being, appearance, communication:
trends and social models in cinema and television."

"Dear friends," the Pope told them, "may these days in Rome be for you all an
opportunity for a profound ecclesial experience, that you may return to your
homes animated by the desire to serve Christ and your fellows more generously.
'How I like that word: service,' wrote St. Josemaria Escriva, 'I really wish we
Christians knew how to serve, for only by serving can we know and love Christ
and make Him known and loved'."
AG/EASTER TRIDUUM/...VIS 070404 (590)

SUMMARY

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