RESURRECTION OF CHRIST IS CENTRAL ACT OF CHRISTIANITY

VATICAN CITY, APR 30, 2006 (VIS) - Today at noon, Pope Benedict XVI appeared at the window of his study overlooking St. Peter's Square to pray the Angelus with the thousands of pilgrims gathered there.

  "The liturgy during the Easter season" the pope said, "offers us many occasions to reinforce our faith in the resurrected Christ". The pope cited a passage from the Gospel of St. Luke retelling the encounter between Jesus and the disciples of Emmaus, and how they recognized Him at the breaking of the bread.

  "In this account and in others" explained the pontiff, "we are invited once again to dispel doubts and to believe in the resurrection of Christ. And so, the disciples are called to be witnesses to this extraordinary event. The resurrection of Christ is the central event of Christianity, a fundamental truth that we must reaffirm with vigor at all times, because to deny this truth, as has been attempted in the past and continues to this day, or to change the Resurrection into simply a spiritual fact, would make our faith in vain, as St. Paul affirms".

  "In the days that follow the Resurrection of the Lord, the apostles remained united, comforted by the presence of Mary, and after the Ascension they remained together with her waiting for Pentecost. The Virgin was for them both mother and teacher, a role that she continues to play for Christians throughout the ages. Each year, during the time of Easter, we live this experience more intensely and it was precisely this reason that tradition dedicates the month of May to Mary, which normally falls between Easter and Pentecost".
 
  "To Mary," concluded the pope, "we entrust the needs of the Church and the needs of all the world, especially in these times, marked by so much darkness".
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