(Vatican Radio) Below a Vatican Radio translation of the General Audience catechesis,
Wednesday, April 10, 2013: Emer McCarthy reports:
On the third
day he rose again: the salvific meaning and purpose of the Resurrection
Dear
Brothers and Sisters, good day!
in the last Catechesis we have focused on the
event of the Resurrection of Jesus, in which women have played a special role. Today
I would like to reflect on its meaning for salvation. What does the Resurrection mean
for our lives? And why, without it, is our faith in vain? Our faith is based on the
death and resurrection of Christ, just like a house built on foundations: if they
give in, the whole house collapses. On the Cross, Jesus offered himself taking sins
upon himself our and going down into the abyss of death, and in the Resurrection he
defeats them, he removes them and opens up to us the path to be reborn to a new life.
St. Peter expresses it briefly at the beginning of his First Letter, as we have heard:
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy gave
us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the
dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven
for you"(1:3-4).
The Apostle tells us that the Resurrection of Jesus is
something new: we are freed from the slavery of sin and become children of God, that
we are born to a new life. When does this happen to us? In the Sacrament of Baptism.
In ancient times, it was normally received through immersion. Those to be baptized
immersed themselves in the large pool within the Baptistery, leaving their clothes,
and the bishop or the priest would pour water over their head three times, baptizing
them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Then the baptized would
emerge from the pool and put on a new vestment, a white one: they were born to a new
life, immersing themselves in the death and resurrection of Christ. They had become
children of God. In the Letter to the Romans Saint Paul writes: you " For you did
not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit
of adoption, through which we cry, “Abba,Father! '"(Rom. 8:15). It is
the Holy Spirit that we received in baptism that teaches us, leads us to say to God,
"Father." Or rather, Abba Father. This is our God, He is a father to us. The Holy
Spirit produces in us this new status as children of God, and this is the greatest
gift we receive from the Paschal Mystery of Jesus. And God treats us as His children,
He understands us, forgives us, embraces us, loves us even when we make mistakes .
In the Old Testament, the prophet Isaiah said that even though a mother may forget
her child, God never, ever forgets us (cf. 49:15). And this is a beautiful thing,
beautiful!
However, this filial relationship with God is not like a treasure
to be kept in a corner of our lives. It must grow, it must be nourished every day
by hearing the Word of God, prayer, participation in the sacraments, especially the
Sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist and charity. We can live as children! We can
live as children! And this is our dignity. So let us behave as true children! This
means that each day we must let Christ transform us and make us like Him; it means
trying to live as Christians, trying to follow him, even if we see our limitations
and our weaknesses. The temptation to put God to one side, to put ourselves at the
center is ever-present and the experience of sin wounds our Christian life, our being
children of God. This is why we must have the courage of faith, we must resist being
led to the mentality that tells us: "There is no need for God, He is not that important
for you". It is the exact opposite: only by behaving as children of God, without being
discouraged by our falls, can we feel loved by Him, our life will be new, inspired
by serenity and joy. God is our strength! God is our hope!
Dear brothers
and sisters, we must first must firmly have this hope and we must be visible, clear,
brilliant signs of hope in world. The Risen Lord is the hope that never fails, that
does not disappoint (cf. Rom 5:5). God’s hope never disappoints!. How many times in
our life do our hopes vanish, how many times do the expectations that we carry in
our heart not come true! The hope of Christians is strong, safe and sound in this
land, where God has called us to walk, and is open to eternity, because it is founded
on God, who is always faithful. We should never forget this; God is always faithful!
God is always faithful! Be risen with Christ through Baptism, with the gift of faith,
to an imperishable inheritance, leads us to increasingly search for the things of
God, to think of Him more, to pray more. Christianity is not simply a matter of following
commandments; it is about living a new life, being in Christ, thinking and acting
like Christ, and being transformed by the love of Christ, it is allowing Him take
possession of our lives and change them, transform them, to free them from the darkness
of evil and sin.
Dear brothers and sisters, to those who ask us our reasons
for the hope that is in us (cf. 1 Pt 3:15), let us point to the Risen Christ. Let
us point to Him with the proclamation of the Word, but especially with our resurrected
life. Let us show the joy of being children of God, the freedom he gifts us to live
in Christ, who is true freedom, freedom from the slavery of evil, sin and death! In
looking to our heavenly home, we will also have a new light and strength in our commitment
and in our daily efforts. It is a precious service that we give to our world, which
is often no longer able to lift its gaze upwards, it no longer seems able to lift
its gaze towards God.