FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Pope Leo XIV said in his Easter Vigil homily that "we too can build a new world, with peace and unity"
The world devastated by wars and injustices returns to the words of the Pope. At the Easter Vigil, Leo XIV repeats his appeal to "not be paralyzed" by evil. Because the stones can also roll from our graves.
The Holy Father lists the evils of our time: “disbelief, fear, selfishness, anger,” as well as “war, injustice, the isolation between peoples and nations.” They are large blocks, stones “so heavy and well-preserved that they seem immovable.”
But this is not so, the Pope emphasizes, because “many men and women, over the centuries, with God’s help, have rolled away these stones, sometimes with great effort, even at the cost of their lives, but with good fruits from which we still benefit today.” He adds that these people “had the courage to speak” with “the words of God.”
Therefore, the call comes to see a way out. "Let us be inspired by their example and on this holy night make their commitment ours, so that everywhere and always, in the world, the gifts of Easter grow and flourish: harmony and peace," he says.
The Mass began solemnly at 9:00 p.m., in the atrium of St. Peter's Basilica, with the blessing of the fire and the preparation of the Paschal candle. This was followed by a procession to the altar with the lit candle and the singing of the "Exsultet". This was followed by the Liturgy of the Word, with the restoration of the tradition of nine readings, which Pope Francis had reduced to five.
The traditional evening time for the vigil was also restored, as the last two popes had moved the mass to the afternoon hours.
During the Mass, Pope Leo XIV baptized ten adults: five from the diocese of Rome, two from Portugal, two from Great Britain and one from Korea.
After the Stations of the Cross, focused on the wounds caused by wars, the Easter night, the first for Leo XIV, reflects on the difficult moment the world is going through and on the need to seek paths of dialogue and reconciliation, even where they seem impossible.
"The holy night disperses hatred, bends the rigidity of the powerful, promotes harmony and peace," the Pope emphasized at the beginning of the homily, recalling the words of the liturgical hymn of the Easter Vigil, because "God, faced with the rigidity of sin that divides and kills, responds with the power of love that unites and restores life."
In this context, the Pope invites: "We too can build a new world, with peace and unity."
The Italian Episcopal Conference, in its Easter message, emphasizes that "we cannot get used to" wars and violence, while Easter reminds us that "evil does not have the last word."
Meanwhile, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, from Jerusalem, declares in his homily: "God does not wait for our wars to end to begin to revive life. He begins in the darkness. He begins in silence. He begins in a tomb that is still closed."
Today, Pope Leo XIV will celebrate Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square, which will conclude with the traditional "Urbi et Orbi" blessing, addressed to the city and the world, during which a new appeal against all wars is expected.
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