VATICAN CITY, APRIL 23, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave Sunday before and after praying the midday Regina Caeli with those gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
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Dear brothers and sisters!
Today, the third Sunday of Easter, we meet in Luke’s Gospel the risen Jesus, who appears in the midst of the disciples (cf. Luke 24:36), who, incredulous and afraid, think they see a ghost (cf. Luke 24:37). «Our Lord is changed. He no longer lives as before. His existence … is incomprehensible. And yet he is bodily, he does not leave behind … the whole life that he has lived, the destiny that he has faced, his passion and his death. Everything is real. Although he has changed, he is still a tangible reality» («Il Signore: Meditazioni sulla persona e vita di N.S. Gesù Cristo,” Milano: 1949, 433). Because the resurrection does not eliminate the signs of the crucifixion Jesus shows the Apostles his hands and feet. And to convince them, he asks for something to eat. So, the disciples “offered him a piece of roasted fish; he took it and ate it in their presence (Luke 24:42-43). St. Gregory the Great comments that “the fish roasted over the fire signifies nothing other than the passion of Jesus, the mediator between God and men. He, in fact, deigned to hide himself in the waters of the human race, he allowed himself to be ensnared by our death and was, so to speak, placed on the fire by the pains he endured in the time of his passion” (Hom. in Evang. XXIV, 5: CCL141, Turnhout 1999, 201).
Thanks to these very real signs, the disciples overcame their initial doubt and opened themselves to the gift of faith; this faith permitted them to understand the things written about the Christ “in the law of Moses, in the Prophets and in the Psalms” (Luke 24:44).
We read, in fact, that Jesus “open their mind to understand the Scriptures and said to them: ‘Thus it is written: the Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and in his name conversion and forgiveness of sins will be preached to all peoples…you are witnesses of this” (Luke 24:45-48). The Lord assures us of his real presence among us through the Word and the Eucharist. As the disciples of Emmaus recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread (cf. Luke 24:35), we too encounter the Lord in the eucharistic celebration. St. Thomas Aquinas explains in this regard that “it is necessary to recognize according to the Catholic faith, that the whole Christ is present in this Sacrament… because the divinity has never left the body that he has assumed” (S.Th. III, q. 76, a. 1).
Dear friends, it is usually during Eastertide that the Church administers First Communion to children. Therefore, I exhort the parish priests, parents and catechists to prepare well for this feast of faith, with great fervor but also with sobriety. “This day remains rightly impressed on the memory as the first moment in which… the importance of the first encounter with Jesus is perceived” (Sacramentum caritatis, 19). May the Mother of God help us to listen attentively to the Word of the Lord and to worthily participate at the Table of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, to become witnesses of the new humanity.
[Following the Regina Caeli, the Holy Father greeted those present in various languages. In Italian he said:]Dear brothers and sisters,
I am happy to say that yesterday in Mexico María Inés Teresa of the Most Holy Sacrament, the foundress of the Congregation of Poor Clare Missionary Sisters of the Most Holy Sacrament, was proclaimed blessed. We thank God for this exemplary sister of the land of Mexico, which I had the joy to visit not long ago and that I carry always in my heart.
Today in Italy we celebrate the special day of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Catholic University of the Sacred Heart), which this year has the theme: “The Country’s Future is the Heart of Young People.” It is important that young people are formed in values and not only in scientific and technical knowledge. It was for this reason that Father Gemelli founded the Catholic University, which I hope will always be in step with the times but every faithful to its origins.
[In English he said:]I am pleased to greet all the English-speaking visitors and pilgrims present for this Easter prayer to Our Lady. In today’s Gospel, the risen Lord opens the minds of the disciples to the meaning of his suffering and death, and sends them out to preach repentance. With courage and joy, may we too be authentic witnesses to Christ. God bless all of you!
[Concluding in Italian, he said:]I wish everyone a good Sunday and a good week. Thank you.
[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]
