Vatican City, Apr 1, 2018 / 03:30 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Easter morning Pope Francis said God’s announcement to his people always comes as a surprise, like the shock of the disciples who found Jesus’ tomb empty after his resurrection, and told Christians not to waste time responding to the good news they’ve been given.
“The announcements of God are always a surprise, because ours is a God of surprises,” the Pope said April 1, on Easter morning. “From the beginning of the history of salvation, from Abraham, who God tells to ‘go, get up and go to the land I send you to,’ there’s always one surprise after another.”
“God doesn’t know how to make an announcement, a proclamation without surprising us,” he said, “and that surprise moves your heart, it touches you. It happens when you don’t expect it.”
Francis also spoke of the haste with which the women and the disciples in John’s Gospel responded when they heard news of the empty tomb and Jesus’ resurrection, and he posed a question to those present for the Mass, asking “what about you?”
“What about me? Is my heart open to God’s surprises?” he said, urging Christians to ask themselves: “Am I able to go with great haste, or do I stay back and say, ‘I’ll go tomorrow’?”
Pope Francis celebrated Easter Mass in St. Peter’s Square after presiding over the Easter Vigil inside the basilica the night before, bringing a close to the Easter Triduum and the events of Holy Week.
The altar during Mass was bedecked with some 50,000 flowers of different varieties, which were a gift from florists in Holland.
Though he usually sticks to his text during formal liturgies, Francis did not prepare a homily for Easter morning, and spoke to pilgrims in brief, off-the-cuff remarks. He did the same thing last year, meaning a spontaneous reflection Easter morning could be a new trend for the Argentine pope.
In his short homily, the pope focused on three aspects of the day’s Gospel passage from John, in which Peter and John run to the tomb after Mary Magdalene tells them she found it empty earlier that morning.
The three aspects Pope Francis focused on are the surprise of the announcement, the haste with which the women and the disciples ran to the tomb, and the personal response of each
Please see below for the full text of Pope Francis’ homily:
After having listened to the word of God, this passage from the Gospel, I want to say three things. First, the announcement: the Lord is Risen. That proclamation, that from the tine of the early Christians they would greet each other this way: the Lord is risen! And the women that were there to anoint the Lord’s body, they found themselves in front of a surprise. The surprise. The announcements of God are always a surprise, because ours is a God of surprises. So from the beginning of the history of salvation, from Abraham, who God tells to ‘go, get up and go to the land I send you to,’ there’s always one surprise after another. God doesn’t know how to make an announcement, a proclamation without surprising us. And that surprise moves you heart, it touches you. It happens when you don’t expect it. It’s a surprise from ‘down low’, it takes you off guard. God’s announcement was a surprise.
The rush, the women ran, they went in a hurry to get to the tomb, to say ‘we found this!’ The surprises of God put us on the path, on the journey right away, without waiting. So they run to see, and Peter and John, they run. The shepherds, the night of Christmas when Jesus was born in Bethlehem, ran…the Samaritan woman runs to tell her people, ‘this is new, I met a man who told me everything I have ever done!’ These people run, they leave what they’re doing. The housewife leaves the potatoes in the pot, and they’ll be burned, but it’s important to run, to see that surprise that announcement. Today this also happens to us in our neighborhoods, when something happens and people go to see it. People go with great haste. Andrew didn’t waste time and he went to Peter to say: ‘we found the Messiah!’ The surprises, the good news, are always given like this, with great haste. But in the Gospel there is a person who takes their time, who doesn’t want to take a risk, but the Lord is good, and he waits for him with great love. This is Thomas, who said ‘I’ll believe when I see his wounds.’ The Lord is patient with those people who do not get up and leave with great haste.
Thirdly, is a question: and me, what? What about me? Is my heart open to God’s surprises? Am I able to go with great haste, or with that chant, do I stay back and say ‘I’ll go tomorrow’? What is the surprise saying to me? John and Peter, they ran to the tomb. John in his Gospel, tells us to believe. Even Peter, believed, but in his own way, with that faith that is a bit mixed with remorse for having denied the Lord. The announcement that has made a surprise, to run and go with great haste, and the question: what about me, today, in this Easter in 2018? What about me? What about you?
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I just happened today to see a short video of the Archbishop of Detroit gushing over the opening of a mosque in Dearborn. This guy ruthlessly suppressed the Latin Mass and fired three excellent Orthodox seminary professors over the last few years. Without necessarily endorsing all the moves the SSPX makes, I cannot pretend to believe that they are not more faithful to the perennial magisterium of the Church than Weisenburger, James Martin SJ, the German bishops, and a long list of other clerical and lay Catholics who are “in Communion” with Rome.
Hooray for Pope Leo, I think he really might take action against schism. Let’s give him a chance and see if he means what he says.
Pray for Pope Leo and all our church leaders. May God Bless them and keep them let His face shine upon them and be gracious to them look upon them kindly and grant them Peace.
Nm.6:24
Amen
🙏✝️🙏
This will be about as effective as the warnings to the Anglicans that ordaining women would make reunion “more difficult”. “After prayerful consideration, we came to the conclusion that we do not give a fig.”
His job is to avoid schism.
I’m sorry, I find Francis 2.0 hard to take.
He had time to meet with Popess Sarah, and Anthony Fauci and the Clinton spawn are welcome to speak at the Vatican.
I trust that some do not care one iota for what this pope thinks or speaks unless or until he declares the blather infallible.
I hope he has had a nice day.
“I am sorry. But we must move forward.”
Who is the We? Tucho and chums??
Why would there be a need to move, and from whence to where? To aline Catholicism with Agenda 2030??
A refusal to meet with SSPX on the part of the Pope.
A refusal to allow necessary ordinations of bishops on the part of the Pope.
These refusals to listen, accompany, and respond to real needs are the true face of Synodal Superlodge.
meiron: do I detect a tad of cynicism?
You are free, in the US, to interpret as you wish. The Thought Police are suppressed for a while.
First, the headline is mis-representative- “deepening” the schism. Leo did not use such words, while this falsely presupposes they’re already in schism, and there is no such thing as begin in deeper schism. Leo’s comments also come across as gaslighting. Leo makes this appeal but then steadfastly refuses to meet with them!? He certainly isn’t trying very hard to offer any conciliation. But he does have the time and interest to meet with degenerates like “Bad Bunny,” or democrats who promote abortion and sexual perversion, or actual schismatics and heretics and “dialogue” with them. His comments also unwittingly confirm SSPX concerns- he says they don’t accept certain fundamental elements of the Church, namely various points of the Second Vatican Council. That infers that VII gave us some new “fundamental elements” of the Faith and Church, that were thus not taught before. I thought that such rupture was only a “traditionalist” claim and that VII was only pastoral and gave us no new doctrine? Or what fundamental elements exactly does the SSPX deny? They believe in more of the basics than Leo and co. do, including on papal authority (e.g. the sspx don’t think Leo has the power to change infallible doctrine, as Leo has explicitly said he thinks.) We thus also see the setting up of VII as a superdogma, whose explicit acceptance is now a litmus test, but only for the sspx and those “traditional.” In the meantime, heretical bishops and groups have no threats or discipline levied at them, but are promoted and get meetings with Leo. Besides, Leo and Co. will probably not do anything as they know it will backfire and gain sympathy for the sspx.
David: In all fairness, we don’t know what efforts the pope imay be making behind the scenes. There is often “back door” diplomacy going on that renders many assumptions invalid. All that I am trying to say is that we should give both parties the benefit of doubt.
There’s no reason to give Leo the benefit of any doubt here. If he has the time to meet with homosexualist priest James Martin, SCH, and the Archbishop of Canterbury he can certainly make time to meet with the SSPX leadership.
Like her or not, the Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior religious official in an important country, and head of some 100 million Anglicans worldwide. Of course Leo should meet with her.
But we say Sarah Mullaly welcomed at the front door.
And now also invited, atheist Anthony Fauci and Chelsea Clinton.
It’s hard to spin this.
Thank you Mr Connor. I agree.
David, and excellent observation regarding deepening. However modern journalism no longer associates words to actions,So many times I will read a lead in line only to find the story is the exact opposite of the lead line. Then there is the abuse of verbs, Blowing up, shredding, I would love to see excoriate just once..I was surprised the article did not repeat itself verbatim as so many of them tend to do.This is just another story, empty and meaningless..Actions speak louder than any words. Attend a SSPX Mass. It’s crowded with young and old, Attend a Novus Mass (in America) it’s old and tired.The pope and his fragmented cardinals should be tend the flock that remains after Vatican II, not excessing over a group that wants to worship in the language they declared null and void.
You sound like you should get out of your schismatic bubble. Every Ordinary Form Mass in my neighborhood is packed .
How many of the pre VII parishes that typically had 7 Sunday Masses jam packed, as opposed to the two now typical, still exist?
Oh, and the Study Group 9 isn’t a part of this?
.
Sounds like the pot calling the kettle black.
Are threats of excommunication made to SSPX by Carnal Archbishop Tucho Fernandez somewhat similar to be being savaged by a dead sheep?
That archbishop’s title is so carnal!
According to scienceinsights.org, lambskin condoms are made “from the cecum, a large pouch in a lamb’s intestinal tract,…” The condoms may protect against pregnancy but not against sexually transmitted infections.
Yes. When a carnal wolf dresses in sheepskin, acts of savage contagion are indeed possible.
Let him be quarantined with a sign on his door declaring him so.
In the alternative, Leviticus 13:45 would have him first alert everyone to his horrid presence by crying out “Unclean! Unclean!”
I think the Vatican Hierarchy needs to take the log out of their eye before trying to take the splinter out of the eye of the SSPX. The SSPX is taking measures to preserve the Apostolic Faith. Meanwhile, the current Hierarchy is deep into their New Synodal Church nonsense, with many of them having departed from the Catholic Faith and promoting heresy. Will they be publicly excommunicated?
The SSPX should simply ordain the new bishops in China if they want to dodge Vatican censorship.
haha! Good one, Bob.
Pope Leo says here that we’ve invited them. Superior General SSPX Davide Pagliarani actually requested a meeting with Leo XIV. However that wasn’t granted. Instead Fr Davide was directed to meet with Cardinal Victor Fernández prefect DDF. The man who authored Fiducia Supplicans.
How can anyone perceive that as a pastoral attempt by Leo XIV to discuss differences for sake of reconciliation? If not a provocation to the SSPX Superior General? The Pope is intelligent enough not to assume otherwise.
Still waiting for Prevost to condemn the acts of Pachamama idolatry (both his predecessor’s and his own) and condemn the idea that two homosexual men can form a “couple” and receive the Church’s blessing. Until he makes these preliminary moves, nothing he has to say is of any importance.
You’ll wait until pigs fly as neither of those things happened.
In you Protestanized bubble they didn’t. On the rest of the planet, they did.
By the way, when is Rupnik’s trial scheduled for? Is he still a priest in good standing?
Deepening the schism seems inaccurate or perhaps betrays the author’s bias against the SSPX, thinking they are schismatic when the whole point here is they are not currently in schism, which is a sin and a canonical crime. They have not committed this act. The editors should made a public retraction. It’s misleading and calls into question the agenda here.
Traditionis custodes is still active. Don’t you think the SSPX notices the various Bishops and Cardinals that are still suppressing the Latin Mass? There’s no way the SSPX would accept under those conditions. If Pope Leo really wanted unity he would have canceled TC immediately and put a leash on those still suppressing the Latin Mass.
In your Protestanized bubble they didn’t. On the rest of the planet, they did.