At the Easter Vigil Francis speaks of the "return to Galilee, the place where they were first called" where Jesus spoke to the apostles, drawing new energy from the sources of our faith". "It is not to go back in time; it is not a kind of nostalgia. It is returning to our first love, in order to receive the fire which Jesus has kindled in the world and to bring that fire to all people, to the very ends of the earth".

Vatican City ( AsiaNews) - The call to "return to Galilee , the place of the first call, where it all began", which Jesus, after the resurrection , addresses to the women, " means rediscovering our baptism as a living fountainhead, drawing new energy from the sources of our faith", it means " to see the risen Jesus , and become witnesses of his Resurrection".

This was Pope Francis' invitation tonight at the Easter Vigil, celebrated in a crowded St Peter's Basilica, commenting on the Gospel of the Resurrection.

"The Gospel of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ - the Pope said begins with the journey of the women to the tomb at dawn on the day after the Sabbath. They go to the tomb to honour the body of the Lord, but they find it open and empty. A mighty angel says to them: "Do not be afraid!" (Mt 28:5) and orders them to go and tell the disciples: "He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee" (v. 7). The women quickly depart and on the way Jesus himself meets them and says: "Do not fear; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me" (v. 10)".

"Galilee is the place where they were first called, where everything began! To return there, to return to the place where they were originally called. Jesus had walked along the shores of the lake as the fishermen were casting their nets. He had called them, and they left everything and followed him (cf. Mt 4:18-22). To return to Galilee means to re-read everything on the basis of the cross and its victory. To re-read everything - Jesus' preaching, his miracles, the new community, the excitement and the defections, even the betrayal - to re-read everything starting from the end, which is a new beginning, from this supreme act of love".

"For each of us, too, there is a "Galilee" at the origin of our journey with Jesus. "To go to Galilee" means something beautiful, it means rediscovering our baptism as a living fountainhead, drawing new energy from the sources of our faith and our Christian experience. To return to Galilee means above all to return to that blazing light with which God's grace touched me at the start of the journey. From that flame I can light a fire for today and every day, and bring heat and light to my brothers and sisters. That flame ignites a humble joy, a joy which sorrow and distress cannot dismay, a good, gentle joy. In the life of every Christian, after baptism there is also a more existential "Galilee": the experience of a personal encounter with Jesus Christ who called me to follow him and to share in his mission. In this sense, returning to Galilee means treasuring in my heart the living memory of that call, when Jesus passed my way, gazed at me with mercy and asked me to follow him. It means reviving the memory of that moment when his eyes met mine, the moment when he made me realize that he loved me".

"The Gospel of Easter - concluded the Pope is very clear: we need to go back there, to see Jesus risen, and to become witnesses of his resurrection. This is not to go back in time; it is not a kind of nostalgia. It is returning to our first love, in order to receive the fire which Jesus has kindled in the world and to bring that fire to all people, to the very ends of the earth. "Galilee of the Gentiles" (Mt 4:15; Is 8:23)! Horizon of the Risen Lord, horizon of the Church; intense desire of encounter... Let us be on our way!".

 

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