ROMA, 30 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Pope has reflected on the various tolls that society suffers “suffocating life” and “extinguishing trust” and has cried out for “the longing for peace broken by the cruelty of hatred and the ferocity of war.”
Francis presided over and celebrated the Easter Vigil this Holy Saturday in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, a long ceremony of around two hours. The Pontiff, who read the homily without difficulty, named in this way “the fears and bitterness” that block the path “towards joy and hope.”
The Pontiff referred to “all the experiences and situations” that steal “the enthusiasm and strength to move forward.” “The death of our loved ones, which leaves voids in us that are impossible to fill; the failures and fears that prevent us from achieving the good we desire; the closures that stop our impulses of generosity and do not allow us to open ourselves to love; the walls of selfishness and indifference, which repel the commitment to building cities and societies that are more just and dignified for man; the desire for peace broken by the cruelty of hatred and the ferocity of war,” he stressed.
During the Easter Vigil, one of the most suggestive liturgical celebrations of Holy Week, which began with St. Peter’s Basilica plunged into total darkness to symbolize the death of Jesus, the Pope referred to the
“stone” that represents “the end of the story of Jesus, buried in the darkness of death.”
“That rock, an insurmountable obstacle, was the symbol of what the women carried in their hearts, the end of their hope. Everything had shattered against this slab, with the dark mystery of a tragic pain that had prevented their dreams from coming true. “, has added.
In this way, the Pope explained that what is commemorated in the Easter festival is “the strength of God, the victory of life over death, the triumph of light over darkness, the rebirth of hope among the rubble of failure”, which cannot be considered an experience only of the past. “It means that no experience of failure or pain, no matter how much it hurts us, can have the last word on the meaning and destiny of our life,” he reflected.
The Holy Saturday ceremony is the third and last of the days of the Easter Triduum in which Catholics especially remember the Virgin Mary after the loss of her son, making it a day related to pain, sadness and reflection. .
The liturgical rite began in the atrium of St. Peter’s Basilica with the blessing of the fire and the preparation of the Easter candle. After the procession to the altar, with the Easter candle lit, the Pope administered the sacrament of baptism to 8 adults – four Italians, two Koreans, one Japanese and one Albanian.
