General Audience: English Summary

Pope Francis on Wednesday invited Christians to contemplate the Cross and celebrate the holy days leading to Easter.

Continuing in his catechesis on Christian hope, the Pope was addressing the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the weekly General Audience.

Please find below the English summary of the Pope’s catechesis:

Dear Brothers and Sisters:  During this Holy Week, our continuing catechesis on Christian hope looks to the mystery of the Cross.  Unlike worldly hopes, which fail to bring lasting satisfaction, our Christian hope is grounded in God’s eternal love, revealed in the mystery of Christ’s sacrificial death and his rising to new life.  Jesus, in speaking of his imminent passion and death, uses the image of the seed that must fall to the ground and die, in order to bear fruit.  His saving death and resurrection show that the self-giving love that is God’s very life can transform darkness into light, sin into forgiveness, apparent defeat into eternal victory.  The Cross of Christ is thus the source of that unfailing hope which gives meaning and direction to our lives.  Beyond the shadow of the Cross, we glimpse the glory to which we are called.  As we celebrate these holy days leading to Easter, may we contemplate in the crucified Lord the source of our lasting hope and the inspiration for our efforts to live in imitation of his undying love.

(from Vatican Radio)