VATICAN CITY, APR 9, 2007 (VIS) - At midday today, Easter Monday, the Pope appeared at the balcony of the Apostolic Palace of Castelgandolfo to pray the Regina Coeli with pilgrims gathered in the square below and, through a television linkup, with faithful in St. Peter's Square. The Pope travelled to his Castelgandolfo residence yesterday evening to rest after the Easter celebrations.
Before the Marian prayer, the Pope mentioned "the unspeakable joy" of Mary Magdalene and the women to whom Jesus appeared on the morning of His resurrection, and he recalled how, "full of enthusiasm, they ran to tell the disciples.
"To us too today," the Pope added, "just as to those women who remained next to Jesus during the Passion, the Risen One tells us not to be afraid to become messengers announcing His resurrection. Those who encounter the Risen Jesus and meekly entrust themselves to Him have nothing to fear. This is the message that Christians are called to spread to the ends of the earth. Christian faith arises not from the acceptance of a doctrine but from the meeting with a Person, with Christ Who died and rose again.
"In our daily lives, there are many occasions in which to communicate this faith of ours to others in a simple and confident way. And it is more than ever vital for the men and women of our time to know and meet Jesus and, thanks also to our own example, to let themselves be conquered by Him."
The Pope concluded by calling upon the Virgin Mary to sustain "faith in the resurrection in each one of us, and to make us messengers of the hope and love of the Risen Christ."
ANG/RESURRECTION/... VIS 20070411 (300)
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