Holy Father Pope Francis while addressing the faithful gathered at St. Peter’s Square emphasized the reality of Christ’s bodily Resurrection. His Holiness Pope Francis asked the faithful to respect and care each other and highlighted that every offence or wound or violence to the body of our neighbour is an outrage against God the Creator!”
As reported by Vatican Radio, Holy Father Pope Francis remarked that “The Risen Jesus is not a phantasm; He is a man, with a body and a soul. That’s why, in Sunday’s Gospel reading, the Risen Lord shows His disciples the wounds in His hands and feet, and invites them to touch Him and see that He is a man of flesh and blood. When even this is not sufficient, the Lord asks the Apostles for something to eat. When they hand Him a piece of broiled fish, Jesus takes it and eats it in front of them.” Further, His Holiness added, “The reality of Jesus’ bodily resurrection illuminates the Christian perspective on the body. For Christians, the body is neither an obstacle nor a prison for the soul. It was created by God; man is only complete when body and soul are united. Even if the body can become an occasion or an instrument for sin, Christians must recognize that the body in itself is “a wonderful gift of God, destined, together with the soul, to express in its fullness the image and likeness” of God.”
His Holiness Pope Francis concluded his remarks by noting that “We are called to be people who are able to see the world “with great profundity, full of wonder and great joy for having encountered the Risen Lord, people who know how to gather and appreciate the newness of life that He sows in history, to orient themselves toward the new heavens and the new earth.”
