Vatican City, 17 April, 2022 / 8:55 pm (ACI Africa).
In his Urbi et Orbi blessing on Easter 2022, Pope Francis lamented an “Easter of War” as he prayed for peace in Ukraine and around the world.
“Today, [Jesus] alone has the right to speak to us of peace. Jesus alone, for he bears wounds... our wounds,” the pope said on April 17, from the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica, overlooking the Vatican square.
“His wounds are indeed ours, for two reasons. They are ours because we inflicted them upon him by our sins, by our hardness of heart, by our fratricidal hatred. They are also ours because he bore them for our sake; he did not cancel them from his glorified body; he chose to keep them, to bear them forever,” Francis continued.
“They are the indelible seal of his love for us, a perennial act of intercession, so that the heavenly Father, in seeing them, will have mercy upon us and upon the whole world,” he said. “The wounds on the body of the risen Jesus are the sign of the battle he fought and won for us, won with the weapons of love, so that we might have peace and remain in peace.”
“As we contemplate those glorious wounds, our incredulous eyes open wide; our hardened hearts break open and we welcome the Easter message: ‘Peace be with you!’” he stated. “Brothers and sisters, let us allow the peace of Christ to enter our lives, our homes, our countries.”