Pope Benedict XVI Blog

Pope Benedict delivers "Urbi et Orbi" Easter Day address from St. Peter's Basilica

AP - Sun Apr 8, 9:52 AM ET

Pope Benedict XVI stands before an image of Christ before delivering the 'Urbi et Orbi' ('To The City and to The World') Easter address from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Sunday, April 8, 2007. The Pontiff decried suffering in much of the world to tens of thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square, and read out a litany of troubling current events, saying he was thinking of the 'terrorism and kidnapping of people, of the thousand faces of violence which some people attempt to justify in the name of religion, of contempt for life, of the violation of human rights and the exploitation of persons.' (AP Photo/Plinio Lepri)
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The "Urbi et Orbi Message of his Holiness Pope Benedict XVI--Easter 2007":

Dear Brothers and Sisters throughout the world,
Men and women of good will!

Christ is risen! Peace to you! Today we celebrate the great mystery, the foundation of Christian faith and hope: Jesus of Nazareth, the Crucified One, has risen from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures. We listen today with renewed emotion to the announcement proclaimed by the angels on the dawn of the first day after the Sabbath, to Mary of Magdala and to the women at the sepulchre: “Why do you search among the dead for one who is alive? He is not here, he is risen!” (Lk 24:5-6).

It is not difficult to imagine the feelings of these women at that moment: feelings of sadness and dismay at the death of their Lord, feelings of disbelief and amazement before a fact too astonishing to be true. But the tomb was open and empty: the body was no longer there. Peter and John, having been informed of this by the women, ran to the sepulchre and found that they were right. The faith of the Apostles in Jesus, the expected Messiah, had been submitted to a severe trial by the scandal of the cross. At his arrest, his condemnation and death, they were dispersed. Now they are together again, perplexed and bewildered. But the Risen One himself comes in response to their thirst for greater certainty. This encounter was not a dream or an illusion or a subjective imagination; it was a real experience, even if unexpected, and all the more striking for that reason. “Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ‘peace be with you!’” (Jn 20:19).
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posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 10:10 AM