“…Love has triumphed over hatred, light over darkness and truth over falsehood. Forgiveness has
triumphed over revenge.
Evil has not disappeared from history; it will remain until the end, but it no
longer has the upper hand; it no longer has power over those who accept the grace of this day.
Sisters and brothers, especially those of you experiencing pain and sorrow, your silent cry has been
heard and your tears have been counted; not one of them has been lost! In the passion and death of
Jesus, God has taken upon himself all the evil in this world and in his infinite mercy has defeated it.
He has uprooted the diabolical pride that poisons the human heart and wreaks violence and corruption
on every side. The Lamb of God is victorious! That is why, today, we can joyfully cry out:
“Christ, my hope, has risen!” (Easter Sequence).
The resurrection of Jesus is indeed the basis of our hope. For in the light of this event, hope is no
longer an illusion. Thanks to Christ — crucified and risen from the dead — hope does not disappoint!
That hope is not an evasion, but a challenge; it
does not delude, but empowers us.
All those who put their hope in God place their feeble
hands in his strong and mighty hand; they let themselves
be raised up and set out on a journey. Together
with the risen Jesus, they become pilgrims of hope, witnesses
of the victory of love and of the disarmed power
of Life….
On this day, I would like all of us to hope anew and to
revive our trust in others, including those who are different
than ourselves, or who come from distant lands,
bringing unfamiliar customs, ways of life and ideas! For
all of us are children of God!
In the Lord’s Paschal Mystery, death and life contended
in a stupendous struggle, but the Lord now lives forever
(cf. Easter Sequence).
He fills us with the certainty that
we too are called to share in the life that knows no end,
when the clash of arms and the rumble of death will be
heard no more.
Let us entrust ourselves to him, for he
alone can make all things new.” (cf. Rev. 21:5)!