The celebration of the resurrection invites us again to put our faith in the risen Lord and to say with Thomas: ‘My Lord and my God!’

The General Audience of 22 April was held in St Peter's Square in order to accommodate the large numbers of pilgrims and visitors. Since it was Wednesday of Easter Week the Holy Father spoke of the mystery of Christ's resurrection. Here is his address, which he gave in Italian.

I. During this Easter Week we are joyfully celebrating the mystery of Christ's resurrection. In this mystery the earthly life of the Son of God, who was incarnate in the midst of humanity, reaches its culmination. The Saviour's triumph over death is the "event" of revelation par excellence. For this reason the feast of Easter is the greatest in the liturgical year.

The resurrection of the Lord gives the Christian religion that characteristic atmosphere of joy which is proper to it— overflowing joy, like that of the women and the disciples in the presence of their Teacher who lives anew. It is a lasting joy because the risen Christ can die no more, and the effects of his resurrection will never cease to be revealed. Joy, bursting forth on the day of the resurrection, has been handed on to the Church as an inexhaustible joy, which is meant to grow until the end of the world and to continue filling human hearts.

We all have been called to accept this joy in our lives. It is given to us again each day in the Eucharist, in which the paschal mystery is renewed: in a sacramental, mystical way the sacrifice of Christ is made present with its culmination in the mystery of the resurrection.. The life of grace, which we carry within us, is the life of the risen Christ. Consequently, through grace a joy beats within us and nothing can take it away, as Jesus promised his disciples: "Your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you" (Jn 16:22).

2. We cannot, however, contemplate the mystery of the resurrection without casting a glance on what preceded it: the victory won at Easter has its premise in the redemptive sacrifice of Christ.

The divine Teacher, who many times had foretold his resurrection, at the same time emphasized that prior to it he would have to walk the path of suffering: "He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed and rise after three days" (Mk 8:31). In stating that his passion was necessary, Jesus wanted to teach that, according to the Father's will, his mission would have to be fulfilled through sacrifice.

In the joy of Easter we cannot forget the sufferings of the Saviour who, through the cross, achieved the salvation of the human race. The cross had an essential role in Christ's saving mission, as he himself reminded the disciples of Emmaus after the resurrection, in the text of today's Gospel: "Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" (Lk 24:26). Jesus explained to the two disciples, who were saddened and bewildered by his passion, the meaning of the prophetic Scriptures and showed that the Messiah had to achieve his glorious triumph through suffering.

Why should we be surprised, then, if the law of the cross, so closely connected to the life and saving work of Jesus, is also applied to our life? All those who even today must tragically face the mystery of suffering and could be tempted by discouragement and despair must remember the truth taught and lived by Christ: the cross is necessary in our life, but it is the way that leads to the victory of love. We are all called to unite ourselves to the redeeming sacrifice of Christ in order to share with him in the joy of the resurrection,.

And so the Church addresses a word full of hope during this Easter Week to all who suffer, to all who groan under the weight of their trials: "Your grief", Jesus promises, "will be turned into joy" (Jn 16:20)

3. Jesus rebuked the disciples of Emmaus for their lack of faith, which prevented them from recognizing him as their risen Saviour: "Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke!" (Lk 24:25). In his appearances the risen Christ offered proof of the new life he possesses, but his disciples experienced difficulty in understanding and accepting it. The resurrection is a mystery which requires the assent of faith.

Although John, the beloved disciple, believed in the risen Master when he discovered the empty tomb (cf. Jn 20:8), Thomas was sceptical and demanded to put his finger into Christ's wounds. When he finally surrendered before the evidence and exclaimed, "My Lord and my God!" (Jn 20:28), Jesus said to him in a loving reprimand "You have believed because you have seen me"; then he added: "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe" (Jn 20:29).

Those who have not seen and a" called to believe are all who did not have the privilege of seeing Jesus in his appearances after the resurrection.. We are among them. Therefore, we are all invited to believe in Christ's resurrection; happy are we if we can exclaim with Thomas, who finally believed: "My Lord and my God!".

4. What took place on the third day? No one saw the Saviour's body return to life, or better to pass directly from death to a higher life, the life of heaven. His body was filled with the life of the Holy Spirit.

In this way it became a glorified body. It was the same body which had been nailed to the cross, but which now possessed properties superior to those which the human body has in its earthly life. Jesus did not return to an earthly existence after his resurrection: he simply appeared to those who were open to faith. When he appeared, he could move as he chose and enter a room whose doors were locked (cf. Jn 20:19). In this way he showed that his true life belonged to the heavenly order.

After appearing for 40 days, Jesus left the earth definitively and went up to heaven. From that point on he began to spread among the human race the divine life which fills his body. He rose for us in order to achieve our salvation and give us a share in his divine life: "I live and you will live", he said (Jn 14:19).

Before leaving the earth to be established in his heavenly power, Jesus announced the sending of the Holy Spirit. He wants this life of the Holy Spirit which fills his risen body, to become the life of humanity, so that all may be able to benefit from the fruit of his resurrection.

5. On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit, who had been promised, will come down upon the women and the disciples in order to make them witnesses to the risen Christ. Thus the Church will be born.

From that point on the Holy Spirit will cause the risen Christ to live in believers. More especially, he fosters in each of them a life "as children" who share in Christ's divine sonship. He will inspire in them the filial prayer which makes them cry out, as Jesus did: "Abba! Father!" (cf. Gal 4:6; Rom 8:15).

On the other hand, the Holy Spirit gathers into the unity of the Church those who have the same faith in the risen Christ. He builds and enlivens the community, fostering the love which Christ came to enkindle in the world, the love which culminated in the sacrifice of Calvary and which is meant to nourish the relations between his disciples, who received the new commandment to love one another as he himself loved them (cf. Jn 13:34; 15:12).

The enthusiasm which seized the Apostles when they began to proclaim the marvels of God is simply the joy of Easter in its fulness, which is ceaselessly renewed and spread by the Holy Spirit.

6. In this Easter season we turn our gaze toward the risen Christ.

We know that have been called to confirm our faith in him and our will to give witness to him.

We consider him to be the source of our hope, knowing that the Holy Spirit, which fills him, is shared with us so that we may accomplish new wonders in our world.

We await from the triumphant Christ a new impulse of love, of that love with which he conquered hatred and enmity by his sacrifice.

We draw from Christ, who is full of life, the joy we need to live "as children" and to persevere in our commitment to be perfected as our heavenly Father is perfect (cf. Mt 5:48).