Vatican City, Feb 1, 2017 / 06:47 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Wednesday Pope Francis said the Christian belief in the Resurrection of Christ and in our own resurrection at the end of time is more than just wishful thinking, but rather implies confidence in something certain.
“This is the Christian hope. Christian hope is the expectation of something that has already been accomplished and that certainly will be realized for each of us,” the Pope said Feb. 1.
Speaking to pilgrims in the Vatican’s Paul VI hall, he said that we need “to return to the root and foundation of our faith, so as to become aware of what God has done for us in Christ Jesus and what our death means.”
Continuing his catechesis on the theme of hope, Francis’ lesson for the audience centered on the Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians. The community of Thessalonica had only been around for a few years when Paul wrote, which was shortly after Christ’s Resurrection, he said.
At this time, the community did not have difficulty believing in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, but rather, the difficulty they faced was believing that on the last day, all of the dead would be raised.
“We all have a little fear of the uncertainty of death,” the Pope said. “Each time we face our death, or that of a loved one, we feel that our faith is tested. All our doubts emerge, all our weaknesses and we ask ourselves: ‘But really there is life after death ...? I can still see and embrace the people I loved...?’”
However, despite the fears and concerns of the community, St. Paul invites the people to hold firm to “the hope of salvation,” especially “in trials and in the most difficult moments of our lives.”
Christian hope is not like the everyday hopes we have, like when we hope or wish for good weather, even though we know that the weather may actually be bad, he said.
Rather, Christian hope means “to be sure that I’m on the way to something that is, not that I want to be.” We should strive to live in this kind of hopeful expectation, he said, using the image of a pregnant woman who waits in expectation to see her child.
Although this isn’t always easy, we are able to learn to live with this kind of expectation, he said, but added that to do this requires a “humble heart, a poor heart.” Someone who is full of himself and of his possessions, on the other hand, cannot place his trust in anyone but himself.
Pope Francis said that something that touches his heart and fills him with hope, is the line from St. Paul that says: “And we shall always be with the Lord.”
“One nice thing: everything passes but, after death, we shall be forever with the Lord. It is the total certainty of hope,” he said.
“Do you believe this?” he asked, inviting those present to repeat with him: “And we shall always be with the Lord.”
He noted how St. Paul writes that Jesus “died for us ‘so that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.’” These words, he said, “are always a source of great consolation and peace.”
Article Archive
The Resurrection is more than a wish – it's a reality, Pope Francis says
Related Articles • More Articles
Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), pictured in 1938-1939. / Credit: Public DomainRome Newsroom, May 6, 2024 / 11:12 am (CNA).Edith Stein could be declared a doctor of the Church with the title "doctor veritatis," or "doctor of truth," following a petition from the Discalced Carmelites.Pope Francis received an official request from the superior general of the Discalced Carmelites, Father Miguel Márquez Calle, on April 18 in a private audience at the Vatican to recognize the theological legacy of the saint who was martyred in Auschwitz.If accepted, Stein, also known by her religious name St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, could become the fifth woman to be declared a doctor of the Church, a title that recognizes a substantial contribution to the Church's theology and moral life.With the petition, the Vatican Dicastery for the Causes of Saints can officially begin the required process to grant Stein the title.The Carmelites first launched an international commission to g...
Solar panels on the affordable housing Bishop Valero Residence in Astoria, Queens. / Credit: Catholic Charities Brooklyn and QueensCNA Staff, May 6, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).Catholic dioceses around the U.S. are setting ambitious goals and launching environmental programs inspired in part by the Pope Francis-led effort to make ecological care a priority for the global Church.The Holy Father has made environmentalism a major focus of his pontificate. His 2015 encyclical Laudato Si' was heralded at the time of its publication as a revolutionary papal document for its emphasis on Catholic ecological responsibility and for its call for "swift and unified global action" in the "care for our common home."In October of last year, Francis published a new apostolic exhortation titled Laudate Deum, meant as a further call to address what he called the "global social issue" of climate change. The pope said that in the eight years since Laudato Si' was published, "our responses have not been ...
Swiss Guard cadets prepare their armor in the guards' barracks at the Vatican on April 30, 2024. / Credit: Matthew Santucci/CNAVatican City, May 5, 2024 / 17:00 pm (CNA).For the newest class of 34 Swiss Guards who will be sworn in on Monday, their service is based on faith and a love for the Church and the pope, as storied as the uniform itself. "For me it was something, first and foremost, to give something to the Church, because the Catholic Church gave us a lot when I was a child and with this service, I can give something back," explained Nicolas Hirt, one of the new guards who hails from the Swiss canton of Fribourg. The cadets, joined by their instructors, gathered for a media event on April 30 in the courtyard behind the barracks adjacent to the Sant'Anna entrance, which was adorned with the flags from each of the Swiss cantons. The Swiss Guard's annual swea...