Vatican
City, 27 November 2013 (VIS) – The Pope is now concluding his
catechesis on the Creed, pronounced during the Year of Faith which
came to an end last Sunday. Today's focus, which will also be the
theme of next Wednesday's general audience, was the resurrection of
the flesh, our death and resurrection in Christ; today he analysed
the first element, our death in Christ, and will turn to the aspect
of our resurrection next week.
The
Pope first thanked the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square –
over 50,000 participants – praising them for braving the cold
weather that has affected the Italian capital in these days, and
complementing them on their “resistance” before beginning the
catechesis.
“There
is a wrong way of looking at death”, he said. “Death affects all
of us, and challenges us profoundly, especially when it touches
someone close to us, or when it strikes the very young or defenceless
in a way that appears 'scandalous' to us. I am always struck by the
question, 'why do children suffer? Why do children die?'. If it is
understood as the end of everything, death … terrifies us; it is
transformed into a threat that … stops us in our tracks. This
happens when we consider our life as a period of time closed between
two poles, birth and death; when we do not believe in a horizon that
goes beyond that of our present life; when we live as if God did not
exist. This concept of death is typical of atheist thought, which
interprets existence as a matter of appearing in the world by chance
and walking a path towards nothingness. But there also exists a form
of practical atheism, which involves living only for one's own
interests and for earthly goods. If we allow ourselves to be ensnared
by this erroneous view of death, we have no choice other than that of
evading death, denying it, or of trivialising it so that it no longer
frightens us.
“But
man's heart - the desire we all have for the infinite, our nostalgia
for eternity – rebels against this false solution. And so what is
the Christian meaning of death? If we look at the most painful
moments of our lives, when we have lost someone dear to us … we
realise that, even in the drama of loss, there rises from the heart
the conviction that it cannot all be over. … There is a powerful
instinct within us that tells us that our life does not end with
death”.
“This
thirst for life finds its true and reliable answer in the
resurrection of Jesus Christ. The resurrection of Jesus not only
gives us the certainty of life beyond death, but it also casts light
on the mystery of the death of every one of us. If we live united
with Jesus, faithful to Him, we will be capable of facing even the
passage of death with hope and serenity”.
From
this perspective, “we understand Jesus' invitation to always be
ready and watchful in the knowledge that life in this world is given
to us also in preparation for the other life, that with the celestial
Father. And for this there is a sure way: preparing oneself well for
death, staying close to Jesus in prayer, in the Sacraments and also
in the practice of charity. Remember that He is present in the
weakest and neediest among us. He himself identified with them, in
the famous parable of the final judgement, when he says 'Whatever you
did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you
did for me'. Therefore a sure way is to recover the meaning of
Christian charity and fraternal sharing, curing the bodily and
spiritual wounds of our neighbour”.
“Those
who live with mercy”, he concluded, “do not fear death, because
they face it directly in the wounds of their brothers, and overcome
it with Jesus Christ's love”.
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