Let's not resign ourselves

Pope Francis invites the world and exhorts humanity not to lose hope in the face of "the power of evil and the icy winds of war". Not even "face to face with death". Not even if at times "we felt helpless and discouraged in the face of conflicts that tear relationships apart, the logic of calculation and indifference that seem to govern society, the cancer of corruption - there is a lot of it - the spread of injustice" . It is the encouragement that he pronounces during the Easter vigil which he presides in St. Peter's Basilica in front of 8 thousand faithful.

As happens with the women who announce the resurrection of Jesus, Son of God, "Easter pushes us to go forward, to get out of the sense of defeat, to roll away the stone from the sepulchres in which we often confine ourselves hope, to look to the future with confidence, because Christ is risen and has changed the direction of history". This is why the Pontiff asks us not to give up. Even if sometimes it happens "to think that the joy of meeting Jesus belongs to the past, while in the present we know above all sealed tombs: those of our disappointments, of our distrust". Even “we, if we have been oppressed by sadness, embittered by some failure, have seen the joy fade in our hearts. Sometimes we have simply felt the fatigue of carrying on with everyday life - observes Jorge Mario Bergoglio - tired of taking risks personally in front of the rubber wall of a world where the laws of the smartest and the strongest always seem to prevail».

And then, on various occasions "we found ourselves face to face with death": because "it took away from us the sweet presence of our loved ones or because it touched us in sickness or calamities, and we are easily fallen prey to disillusionment and the source of hope has dried up». Thus "our paths stop in front of the tombs and we remain motionless to cry and regret". But the Easter Gospel strengthens every person in every situation and pushes us "to look ahead", with the news that changes "life and history" for the better "forever: Christ is risen!".


Domenico Agasso
NP May 2023