Pope Leo XIV urges the ‘international community not to forget the Burmese people’
At the general audience, the pontiff called for prayers to end armed conflicts, with a particular focus on Myanmar, urging the international community to provide humanitarian assistance. Last night at Castel Gandolfo, he spoke about Gaza, and the second phase, which should guarantee "the rights of all peoples”. The Jubilee catechesis at today's general audience focused on the relevance of the Easter message. For Christians, “every day is Easter.”
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – "Easter gives hope to everyday life" is the title of the meditation Pope Leo XIV read this morning from the parvis of St Peter's Basilica, as part of the Wednesday morning general audience.
The pontiff emphasised that the Easter event "does not belong to a distant past," but is "settled into tradition" of human history.
For him, believing in the relevance of Easter means “revolutionizing our lives, being transformed in order to transform the world with the gentle and courageous power of Christian hope.”
The pope arrived this morning in St Peter's Square, on a sunny day crowded with people waiting for Jubilee catechesis in today’s general audience. He met them before the start with a round of greetings aboard the popemobile.
Speaking to Italian-speaking pilgrims, he urged the faithful to pray “for all who are tried by the violence of war in different parts of the world.”
His thoughts turned to Myanmar, whose people are overwhelmed and scarred by four years of uninterrupted violence. "I urge the international community not to forget the Burmese people and to provide them the necessary humanitarian assistance," he said.
Yesterday evening, speaking to the press at Castel Gandolfo, he stated that the truce in Gaza was "very fragile," but at least "moving forward,” noting that work must still be done to transition to the second phase, while guaranteeing "the rights of all peoples."
Regarding Israeli settlers in the West Bank, Leo noted that "Israel said one thing, then sometimes does another." He went on to stress the need to “work together for justice for all peoples”.
Speaking about his meditation on the relevance of Easter, the pope said that the Church "teaches us to make living remembrance" on Easter Sunday, as it does every Sunday in the Eucharistic celebration.
The "Paschal Mystery" constitutes the "cornerstone of the Christian life, around which all other events revolve," he added. Indeed, "every day is Easter," the pope stressed.
How so? “Hour by hour," people have "many different experiences," he explained, like "pain, suffering, sadness, intertwined with joy, wonder, serenity.” Through each of these situations, “the human heart longs for fullness, a profound happiness”.
Leo cited the "great philosopher" Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, born Edith Stein (1891-1942), who wrote: “The human being always longs to have being given to him anew”.
“We are immersed in limitation, but we also strive to surpass it. The Paschal proclamation is the most beautiful, joyful and overwhelming news that has ever resounded in all of history,” the pontiff noted.
The Paschal proclamation is the “quintessential” Gospel, but also the “the most beautiful” news. It “is the only thing capable of satisfying the demand for meaning that troubles our minds and our hearts,” he added.
In Jesus, since the Resurrection, it is always possible “to find the lodestar towards which we can direct our seemingly chaotic lives”, which can lead everyone towards an existence “marked by events that often appear confusing, unacceptable, incomprehensible: evil in its many forms, suffering, death, events that affect each and every one of us.”
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