(Vatican Radio) For the third time this week Pope Francis returned to the topic of
women in the Church in his general audience catechesis. On Holy Saturday he had dedicated
his Easter Vigil Homily to the women as the first witnesses to the novelty of the
Resurrection. On Tuesday morning he had spoken of the tears of the Magdalene and how
we should follow her example of faith in our life’s journey. On Wednesday he expanded
his reflections to the women of the world, whom he said have a special and fundamental
role in the Church and the transmission of the faith . Departing from his scripted
text, as is now his very own tradition, he appealed: “Mothers go forward with this
witness to the Risen Christ!”. Emer McCarthy reports Listen:
Looking out over the tens of thousands present, Pope Francis returned
to the catechesis on teh Year of Fith and in particular the Creed. He spoke of how
the in the professions of faith of the New Testament, only men are remembered as witnesses
of the Resurrection, the Apostles, but not the women. “This is because, according
to the Jewish Law of the time, women and children were not considered reliable, credible
witnesses. In the Gospels, however, women have a primary, fundamental role. Here we
can see an argument in favor of the historicity of the Resurrection: if it were a
invented, in the context of that time it would not have been linked to the testimony
of women. Instead, the evangelists simply narrate what happened: the women were the
first witnesses. This tells us that God does not choose according to human criteria:
the first witnesses of the birth of Jesus are the shepherds, simple and humble people,
the first witnesses of the Resurrection are women. This is beautiful, and this is
the mission of women, of mothers and women, to give witness to their children and
grandchildren that Christ is Risen! Mothers go forward with this witness! What matters
to God is our heart, if we are open to Him, if we are like trusting children. But
this also leads us to reflect on how in the Church and in the journey of faith, women
have had and still have a special role in opening doors to the Lord, in following
him and communicating his face, because the eyes of faith always need the simple and
profound look of love. The Apostles and disciples find it harder to believe in the
Risen Christ, not the women however! Peter runs to the tomb, but stops before the
empty tomb; Thomas has to touch the wounds of the body of Jesus with his hands. In
our journey of faith it is important to know and feel that God loves us, do not be
afraid to love: faith is professed with the mouth and heart, with the word and love”.
The
crowds had formed queues since early morning around the entrance to St Peter’s Square
and spilled through the barricades under the eyes of the Pontifical Swiss Guard to
guarantee their place closer to where the Pope would pass in his open topped jeep,
hoping to be able to personally greet the Holy Father.
The audience began promptly
at 10:30 and - as has become the norm with Pope Francis - was in Italian with speakers
from the Secretariat of State translating summaries into the main languages.
This
morning’s audience was also enlivened by the presence of Gospel choirs composed of
young people from the US and Great Britain. Reflecting the Easter spirit, they sang
the Alleluia, to the joy and appreciation of Pope Francis who applauded them from
the raised dais in front of St Peter’s basilica.
And indeed, noting the large
presence of young people at Wednesday’s audience, the Pope added an extra unscripted
greeting for them at the end of his main catechesis: “I see that there are many young
people in the Square! Young boys and girls, to you I say bring forth this certainty
to the world: the Lord is Alive and walks beside us on our life’s journey! Bring forth
this hope, be anchored in this hope, the hope that comes from heaven! Be anchored
and bring forth the hope! You witnesses of Christ bring forth hope to this world that
is aged by wars and sin! Go forward young people!”.
Below we publish a Vatican
Radio transcript and translation of the full text of Pope Francis’ Wednesday General
Audience:
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today we turn to the Catechism
of the Year of Faith. In the Creed we repeat this phrase: "He rose again on the third
day, in accordance with the Scriptures". This is the very event that we are celebrating:
the Resurrection of Jesus, the center of the Christian message that has resounded
since the beginning and has been handed down so that it may reach us today. Saint
Paul writes to the Christians of Corinth: "For I handed on to you …what I also received:
that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures; that he
was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures;
that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve"(1 Cor 15:3-5). This brief confession
of faith announces the Paschal Mystery, with the first appearances of the Risen Christ
to Peter and the Twelve: the Death and Resurrection of Jesus is the heart of our hope.
Without this faith in the Death and Resurrection of Jesus our hope would be weak,
but it wouldn’0t even be hope, the Death and Resurrection of Jesus is the heart of
our hope. The Apostle says: "If Christ has not been raised, your faith
is vain; you are still in your sins" (v. 17).
Unfortunately, there have often
been attempts to obscure faith in the Resurrection of Jesus, and doubts have crept
in even among believers themselves. A watered down faith, as we would say, not a strong
faith. This is because of superficiality, sometimes because of indifference, occupied
by a thousand things considered more important than the faith, or because of a purely
horizontal vision of life. But it is the Resurrection that gives us the greatest hope,
because it opens our lives and the life of the world to the eternal future of God,
to full happiness, to the certainty that evil, sin, death can be defeated. And this
leads us to live everyday realities with more confidence, to face them with courage
and commitment. The Resurrection of Christ shines a new light on these daily realities.
The Resurrection of Christ is our strength!
But how was the truth of faith
in Christ’s Resurrection transmitted? There are two kinds of witness in the New Testament:
some are in the form of the profession of the faith, namely, synthetic formulas that
indicate the center of the faith. Instead, others are in the form of an account of
the event of the Resurrection and the facts connected to it. The form of the profession
of faith, for example, is what we have just heard, or that of the Letter to the
Romans where Paul writes: " for, if you confess with your mouth that
Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will
be saved "(10.9). From the earliest days of the Church, faith in the Mystery of Death
and Resurrection of Jesus is steadfast and clear.
Today, however, I would
like to dwell the second, on testimony in the form of the accounts that we find in
the Gospels. First, we note that the first witnesses to this event were the women.
At dawn, they go to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus, and find the first sign:
the empty tomb (Mk 16:1). This is followed by an encounter with a Messenger of God
who proclaims: Jesus of Nazareth, the Crucified One, he is not here, he is risen (cf.
vv. 5-6). The women are driven by love and know how to accept this proclamation with
faith: they believe, and immediately transmit it, they do not keep it for themselves.
They cannot contain the joy of knowing that Jesus is alive, the hope that fills their
heart. This should also be the same in our lives. Let us feel the joy of being Christian!
We believe in the Risen One who has conquered evil and death! Let us also have the
courage to "go out" to bring this joy and light to all the places of our lives! The
Resurrection of Christ is our greatest certainty, it is our most precious treasure!
How can we not share this treasure, this beautiful certainty with others! It’s not
just for us it’s to be transmitted, shared with others this is our testimony!
Another
element. In the professions of faith of the New Testament, only men are remembered
as witnesses of the Resurrection, the Apostles, but not the women. This is because,
according to the Jewish Law of the time, women and children were not considered reliable,
credible witnesses. In the Gospels, however, women have a primary, fundamental role.
Here we can see an argument in favor of the historicity of the Resurrection: if it
were a invented, in the context of that time it would not have been linked to the
testimony of women. Instead, the evangelists simply narrate what happened: the women
were the first witnesses. This tells us that God does not choose according to human
criteria: the first witnesses of the birth of Jesus are the shepherds, simple and
humble people, the first witnesses of the Resurrection are women. This is beautiful,
and this is the mission of women, of mothers and women, to give witness to their children
and grandchildren that Christ is Risen! Mothers go forward with this witness! What
matters to God is our heart, if we are open to Him, if we are like trusting children.
But this also leads us to reflect on how in the Church and in the journey of faith,
women have had and still have a special role in opening doors to the Lord, in following
him and communicating his face, because the eyes of faith always need the simple and
profound look of love. The Apostles and disciples find it harder to believe in the
Risen Christ, not the women however! Peter runs to the tomb, but stops before the
empty tomb; Thomas has to touch the wounds of the body of Jesus with his hands. In
our journey of faith it is important to know and feel that God loves us, do not be
afraid to love: faith is professed with the mouth and heart, with the word and love.
After
the apparitions to women, there were others: Jesus becomes present in a new way: He
is the Crucified One, but his body is glorious; He did not return to an earthly life,
but a new condition. At first they did not recognize him, and only through his words
and deeds were their eyes opened: the encounter with the Risen Lord transforms, it
gives new strength to faith, an unshakable foundation. The Risen Christ also reveals
Himself to us with many signs: Sacred Scripture, the Eucharist, the other Sacraments,
charity, these gestures of love bring a ray of the Risen One.
Let us be enlightened
by the Resurrection of Christ, let us be transformed by His power, so that through
us the signs of death give way to signs of life in the world! I see that there are
many young people in the Square! Young boys and girls, to you I say bring forth this
certainty to the world: the Lord is Alive and walks beside us on our life’s journey!
Bring forth this hope, be anchored in this hope, the hope that comes from heaven!
Be anchored and bring forth the hope! You witnesses of Christ bring forth hope to
this world that is aged by wars and sin! Go forward young people!
Below
we publish the English summary of the Wednesday General Audience catechesis.
Taking
up the series of Catechesis on the Creed, we now turn to the passage: “He rose again
on the third day, in accordance with the Scriptures”. Our belief in Christ’s Resurrection
is the very heart of our faith, the basis of our hope in God’s promises and our trust
in his victory over sin and death. The first witnesses of the Resurrection were women:
moved by love to go to the tomb, they accept with joy the message of the Resurrection
and then tell the good news to the Apostles. So it must be with us; we need to share
the joy born of our faith in the Resurrection! In Church’s history, women have had
a special role in opening doors to faith in Christ, for faith is always a response
to love. With the eyes of faith, we too encounter the risen Lord in the many signs
of his presence: the Scriptures, the Eucharist and the other sacraments, and the acts
of charity, goodness, forgiveness and mercy which bring a ray of his Resurrection
into our world. May our faith in the risen Christ enable us to be living signs in
our world of the triumph of life and hope over evil, sin and death.
* * *
I
offer a warm welcome to all the English-speaking visitors present at today’s Audience,
including those from England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Australia,
the Philippines, Canada and the United States. In a special way I greet the newly-ordained
deacons from the Pontifical Irish College and their families. My greeting also goes
to the delegation from the United States Senate. I thank the choirs for their praise
of God in song. With great affection I invoke upon all of you the joy and peace which
are the abiding gifts of the risen Lord.
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