Pope Francis: Resurrection is ‘the basis of hope’
Pope Francis, seated in a wheelchair, waved from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica to cheering crowds below, saying: “Dear brothers and sisters, Happy Easter.” His appearance was greeted by the crowds, who had looked forward to his brief appearance following a prolonged hospital stay for double pneumonia. After the blessing, he was driven around the square to meet the people and babies were presented to him for a blessing.
The Pope’s traditional blessing, “urbi et orbi,” was read by Archbishop Diego Ravelli, the Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations. He said the resurrection is the basis of hope. “In the light of this event, hope is no longer an illusion.. 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”. He appealed to world leaders not to yield to the “logic of fear which only leads to isolation from others, but rather to use the resources available to help the needy, to fight hunger and to encourage initiatives that promote development. These are the ‘weapons’ of peace: weapons that build the future, instead of sowing seeds of death!”. He spoke of the need for freedom of religion, prayed for the Christian population in Lebanon and Syrira, encouraged people in Mayanmar recovering from the earthquake, and remembered the Christian population in Gaza, where there was a “deplorable humanitarian situation”. Full text here
Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell – Resurrection means Jesus is all around
In the Easter Sunday sermon at York Minster, the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, said the resurrection story means “Christ is here and can be found in surprising places – in broken bread, in a breakfast by the beach, and behind closed doors – but he is not always recognised. And you may only recognise him if you are looking for him .. He cries out in the voices of the hungry, the oppressed, the abused and the vulnerable…Jesus is just as likely to be found in the beggar who sits outside the door of the church as in the building itself”. Reflecting on his pilgrimage walking the Camino de Santiago across Spain, he said it wasn’t about walking towards God because: “God doesn’t live in Santiago. Or York Minster. Or Jerusalem. God is either present in your next step and the next breath you are about to take, or not really present at all.” He said the values of Jesus Christ were in danger of being lost in this ‘troubled world’ – “Values of trust and compassion which bind us, one to another across the world and across barriers of difference. Without the peace of Christ our Risen Saviour, we are adrift. We are all at sea. We need this peace. In our homes. In our streets. In our world. In Israel and Gaza. In Ukraine. In Myanmar. In Sudan. In the DRC. In all the places of conflict that convulse our world – and against the madness of a world which ‘others’ others, drives wedges between communities, breeds hatred and promotes greed”. Sermon in full here
Many churches held dawn services at around 6am, remembering the Bible story of women who found the empty tomb in the early hours of the morning. Congregations gathered on beaches, hilltops and on land outside their churches, with some lighting fires and then candles to signify light in the world. The dawn service at Magheramason Presbyterian Church, Co Tyrone, pictured, was among many that took place in Northern Ireland.
