Saint Gertrude Parish - Lasne

HOMILY OF POPE FRANCIS

Today, the Church repeats, sings, and shouts: “Jesus is risen!” But how is this possible? Peter, John, and the women went to the tomb, and it was empty. He was not there. They went there with hearts hardened by sorrow, the sorrow of defeat: the Master, their Master, the one they loved so much, had been executed, he was dead. And one does not return from death. This is defeat, this is the path of defeat, the path to the tomb. But the angel told them: “He is not here; he has risen!”

This is the first announcement: “He is risen.” Then comes the confusion, the hardened hearts, the apparitions. But the disciples remain locked in the Upper Room all day, because they were afraid that the same thing would happen to them as to Jesus. And the Church never ceases to say to our defeated, to our closed and fearful hearts: “Stop, the Lord is risen!” But if the Lord is risen, how can these things happen? How is it that so much misfortune, disease, human trafficking, wars, destruction, mutilation, revenge, and hatred occur? But where is the Lord?

Yesterday I called a young man with a serious illness, a well-educated young man, an engineer, and speaking as a sign of faith, I told him: "There's no explanation for what's happening to you. Look at Jesus on the cross: God did that with his Son, and there's no other explanation." And he replied: "Yes, but he asked his Son, and the Son said yes. I wasn't asked if I wanted this." This moves us deeply. None of us are asked: "Are you happy with what's happening in the world? Are you ready to bear this cross?" And the cross moves forward, and faith in Jesus crumbles. Today, the Church continues to say: "Stop, Jesus is risen!" And this isn't a figment of the imagination; the Resurrection of Christ isn't a celebration with lots of flowers. It's beautiful, but it's not that; it's something more. It's the mystery of the rejected stone that ultimately becomes the foundation of our existence. Christ is risen—that's what it means.

In this culture of rejection, where what is not useful is discarded, this stone—Jesus—is rejected, and yet it is a source of life. And we too, little pebbles on the ground, on this earth of pain and tragedy, with faith in the risen Christ, have meaning amidst so much catastrophe. The meaning of looking beyond, the meaning of saying: “Look, there is no wall, there is the horizon, there is life, there is joy, there is the cross with its inherent ambiguity. Look ahead, don't close yourself off! You, little pebble, have meaning in life because you are a small pebble near this great rock, this stone that was rejected by the wickedness of sin.” What does the Church say in the face of so many tragedies? Simply this: the rejected stone was not truly rejected. The small pebbles that believe and cling to this stone are not rejected, they have meaning, and, with this feeling, the Church repeats from the bottom of its heart: "Christ is risen!"

Let us each reflect for a moment on our daily struggles, on the illnesses we have endured, or on the loss of a loved one. Let us think of wars, of human tragedies, and simply, in a humble voice, without embellishment, alone before God, before ourselves, let us say: “I don’t know how this happened, but I am certain that Christ has risen, and I’m betting on it.” Brothers and sisters, this is what I wanted to tell you. Go home today, repeating in your hearts: “Christ is risen!”

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EASTER SUNDAY — DAILY MASS

HOMILY OF POPE FRANCIS

Saint Peter's Square

Easter Sunday, April 16, 2017

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