VATICAN CITY (CNS): While Jesus’ death shows the depths of his love for humanity, it is his resurrection that proves he is the Son of God, Pope Benedict XVI said.
The Pope used his March 26 weekly general audience to underline the importance of celebrating the 50-day Easter season.
The pope told the crowd of bout 30,000 people, “Death was not sufficient to demonstrate that Jesus was really the Son of God, the expected Messiah.”
Hundreds of people over the course of history have dedicated their lives to doing good and to bringing justice, the Pope said.
But “they died and remained dead”, he said.
“The death of the Lord demonstrates the immense love with which he loved us, going so far as to sacrifice himself for us,” the Pope said.
“But only his resurrection is sure proof, the certainty that what he affirmed is true and that it is valid for us, is valid for all time.”
While the Resurrection is celebrated every Sunday all year long, he said, the Church asks Catholics to focus on its meaning and rejoice over it more intensely in the days immediately following Easter.
“All the liturgies of the Easter season sing the certainty and joy of the resurrection of Christ,” he said.
Faith in the Resurrection is what makes Christianity what it is and gives Christians the strength to live in hope, the Pope said.
