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                               VIS-Press releases

EASTER SUNDAY: GOD WHO ACCEPTS OUR PAIN IS WORTHY OF FAITH

VATICAN CITY, APR 8, 2007 (VIS) - Benedict XVI celebrated the Easter Mass of
the Resurrection of the Lord at 10.30 this morning in St. Peter's Square, which
was decorated, as is traditional, with flowers, shrubs and flowering plants
from Holland. At midday, from the central loggia of the basilica, he pronounced
his Easter Message, delivered Easter greetings in various languages and
imparted his "Urbi et Orbi" blessing.

In his Message, the Holy Father spoke of the feelings of the women who on the
morning of the Resurrection found Christ's tomb open and empty: "feelings of
sadness and dismay at the death of their Lord, feelings of disbelief and
amazement before a fact too astonishing to be true." He also pointed out how
"the faith of the Apostles in Jesus, the expected Messiah, had been submitted
to a severe trial by the scandal of the cross" until "the Risen One Himself
[came] in response to their thirst for greater certainty ... and said to them,
'peace be with you.'

"At these words," the Pope added, "their faith, which was almost spent within
them, was re-kindled. The Apostles told Thomas who had been absent from that
first extraordinary encounter. ... Thomas however remained doubtful and
perplexed. When Jesus came for a second time, eight days later in the Upper
Room, He said to him: 'put your finger here and see my hands; and put out your
hand and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing!' The
Apostle's response is a moving profession of faith: 'My Lord and my God!'

"'My Lord and my God!' We too renew that profession of faith of Thomas. I have
chosen these words for my Easter greetings this year, because humanity today
expects from Christians a renewed witness to the resurrection of Christ; it
needs to encounter Him and to know Him as true God and true man. If we can
recognize in this Apostle the doubts and uncertainties of so many Christians
today, the fears and disappointments of many of our contemporaries, with him we
can also rediscover with renewed conviction, faith in Christ dead and risen for
us."

"We may all be tempted by the disbelief of Thomas. Suffering, evil, injustice,
death, especially when it strikes the innocent such as children who are victims
of war and terrorism, of sickness and hunger, does not all of this put our
faith to the test? Paradoxically the disbelief of Thomas is most valuable to us
in these cases because it helps to purify all false concepts of God and leads
us to discover His true face: the face of a God who, in Christ, has taken upon
Himself the wounds of injured humanity. Thomas has received from the Lord, and
has in turn transmitted to the Church, the gift of a faith put to the test by
the passion and death of Jesus and confirmed by meeting Him risen. His faith
was almost dead but was born again thanks to his touching the wounds of Christ,
those wounds that the Risen One did not hide but showed, and continues to point
out to us in the trials and sufferings of every human being."

"Only a God who loves us to the extent of taking upon himself our wounds and
our pain, especially innocent suffering, is worthy of faith. How many wounds,
how much suffering there is in the world! Natural calamities and human
tragedies that cause innumerable victims and enormous material destruction are
not lacking. My thoughts go to recent events in Madagascar, in the Solomon
Islands, in Latin America and in other regions of the world.

"I am thinking of the scourge of hunger, of incurable diseases, of terrorism
and kidnapping of people, of the thousand faces of violence which some people
attempt to justify in the name of religion, of contempt for life, of the
violation of human rights and the exploitation of persons," said the Holy
Father.

"I look with apprehension at the conditions prevailing in several regions of
Africa. In Darfur and in the neighboring countries there is a catastrophic, and
sad to say underestimated, humanitarian situation. In Kinshasa in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo the violence and looting of the past weeks
raises fears for the future of the Congolese democratic process and the
reconstruction of the country. In Somalia the renewed fighting has driven away
the prospect of peace and worsened a regional crisis, especially with regard to
the displacement of populations and the traffic of arms. Zimbabwe is in the
grip of a grievous crisis and for this reason the bishops of that country in a
recent document indicated prayer and a shared commitment for the common good as
the only way forward.

"Likewise the population of East Timor stands in need of reconciliation and
peace as it prepares to hold important elections. Elsewhere too, peace is
sorely needed: in Sri Lanka only a negotiated solution can put an end to the
conflict that causes so much bloodshed; Afghanistan is marked by growing unrest
and instability.

"In the Middle East, besides some signs of hope in the dialogue between Israel
and the Palestinian authority, nothing positive comes from Iraq, torn apart by
continual slaughter as the civil population flees. In Lebanon the paralysis of
the country's political institutions threatens the role that the country is
called to play in the Middle East and puts its future seriously in jeopardy.
Finally, I cannot forget the difficulties faced daily by the Christian
communities and the exodus of Christians from that blessed Land which is the
cradle of our faith. I affectionately renew to these populations the expression
of my spiritual closeness."

"Through the wounds of the Risen Christ we can see the evils which afflict
humanity with the eyes of hope," the Holy Father concluded. "In fact, by His
rising the Lord has not taken away suffering and evil from the world but has
vanquished them at their roots by the superabundance of His grace. He has
countered the arrogance of evil with the supremacy of His love. He has left us
the love that does not fear death, as the way to peace and joy."
BXVI-HOLY WEEK/EASTER SUNDAY/...VIS 070411 (1050)

SUMMARY

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