The Pope said this at the Regina Coeli prayer today, emphasising that “the International Community must not remain silent and inert” and recalling that “Christ’s resurrection brightens up our darkest moments”.
“The International Community must not remain silent and inert in the face of the persecution of Christians,” Pope Francis urged, adding that it would do us good to read the Gospel every day. The Pope called for help for those in the world who are persecuted, exiled, killed and beheaded simply because they are Christians. They are our martyrs of today and there are many of them, we can say that there are more of them now than there were in other times.” “I hope that the International Community will not stand by, silent and inert, as we witness this unacceptable crime, which represents a worrying violation of the most basic human rights. I earnestly hope that the International Community will not turn a blind eye,” Francis said during the Regina Coeli prayer.
The Pope encouraged peaceful initiatives and took the presence in St. Peter’s Square of a delegation from the Shalom movement as an opportunity to give impetus to his appeal. The delegation “was completing the last leg of a solidarity relay to spread awareness about the persecution of Christians around the world” and was among the crowd of pilgrims present in St. Peter’s Square today. “Your itinerary through the streets has come to and end,” the Pope told the Shalom delegation, “but everyone must continue the spiritual path of intense prayer”. “The Gospel must” therefore “be brought to the peripheries and we must carry it with us in our darkest moments.”
After the Resurrection it was Jesus who asked his people for the Gospel message to start in the peripheries. The Pope commented on the Risen Christ’s encounter with the women at the tomb. At the Regina Coeli, which in this liturgical time replaces the Angelus, the Pope pronounced an intense reflection on evangelisation from the window of the Apostolic Palace Study overlooking St. Peter’s Square. Jesus asks the women to “tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me”. Galilee is the “periphery” where Jesus had began his preaching and this is where the Gospel of the Resurrection will start from once again, so that it may be proclaimed to all and everyone may meet Him, the Risen Christ, present and active through history.” “He is here with us in this square today ,” Francis added off the cuff.
“We announce Christ’s resurrection when his light brightens up the darkest moments of our life and we can share it with others; when we are able to smile with those who smile and cry with those who cry; when we walk alongside those who are sad and risk losing hope; when we describe our experience of faith to those who are in search of meaning and happiness,” Francis said before the Marian prayer which replaces the Angelus during the Easter period. Francis’ reflections were inspired by the Risen Christ’s call to his male and female disciples, an unusual expression which he used during the Easter Vigil. “This is the announcement the Church has repeated ever since the very first day: ‘Christ is risen!’” And through the sacrament of Baptism, in Him, we too are risen, we passed from death to life, from the slavery of sin to the freedom of love. This is the good news we are called to bring to others and in every context, with the impulse of the Holy Spirit.”
According to Francis “Faith in the resurrection of Jesus and the hope He has brought to us is the most beautiful gift that a Christian can and must offer his brothers and sisters. To one and all, therefore, do not tire of repeating: Christ is risen! Let s repeat it with words but above all by bearing witness of it in our own lives. The good news of the Resurrection should shine on our face, in our feelings and in our behaviour, in the way in which we treat others.” “We are within the Octave of Easter, when we feel the joy of the Resurrection,” the Pope underlined. “Curiously”, the Liturgy treats the entire Octave – eight days – of Easter as one day, to help us enter into the mystery of the feast, so that its grace may impress itself upon one’s heart and life. Easter is the even which brought about radical change in every human being, in history and in the world: it is the triumph of life over death; it is a feast of reawakening and of regeneration. Let us allow our lives to be conquered and transformed by the Resurrection.”
“Let us ask the Virgin Mary, a silent witness of her Son’s death and resurrection, to allow the joy of Easter to grow within us,” Francis said addressing the crowds of faithful. “We do now with the recitation of the Regina Coeli. In this prayer with the Alleluia chorus, we ask the Virgin Mary to fill us with joy because He whom she bore in her belly has risen as promised and let us entrust ourselves to her intercession.” “Our joy is in fact a reflection of Mary’s joy because it is She who watched over and continues to watch over Jesus’ events, with faith. So let us recite this prayer with the emotion of children who are happy because their Mother is happy.” “I wish each and every one of you a joyful and peaceful week in the joy of Christ’s Resurrection. In order to live this period more intensely it would be good for us to read a passage on the Resurrection from the Gospel every day.”
