Weekly general audience of Pope Benedict XVI

On this, the first anniversary of my election as the Successor of Saint Peter, I thank the Lord for his unfailing help, and I express my gratitude to all those who have supported me by their prayers. I ask you to continue praying that, by God’s grace, I may always be a gentle and firm Shepherd for Christ’s flock. During these days of Easter, the Church proclaims the Good News of Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection. The Paschal Mystery is the core of our faith! Our yearly celebration of Easter is a foretaste of the eternal joy of heaven. This joy is renewed each Sunday at the celebration of the Eucharist, when we proclaim "the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come," and celebrate the new life received in Baptism. During these days of Easter, all Christians are called to encounter the Risen Lord, to renew their faith in him, to be transformed by the power of his grace, and to share with the men and women of our time the Good News that Christ is truly risen!

I offer a warm welcome to the newly-ordained deacons of the Pontifical Irish College and their families. I also greet the pilgrims from the Diocese of Kerry. Upon all the English-speaking visitors, especially those from Ireland, Switzerland, Australia, Canada and the United States, I invoke an abundance of joy and peace in the Risen Lord.

Below is the Whispers translation of the Italian fulltext as recorded by the Holy See.

Dear brothers and sisters!

At the beginning of this General Audience, which takes place within the joyous climate of Easter, together with you I would like to thank the Lord, who after having called me exactly a year ago to serve the Church as Successor of the Apostle Peter -- thank you for your joy, thank you for your acclamation -- has not failed to aid me with his indispensable help. How quickly the time has passed!

It has already been a year since, in a way which was for me absolutely unexpected and surprising, the Cardinals gathered in Conclave chose me to succeed the late, beloved Servant of God, the great Pope, John Paul II. I remember with emotion the first impact I felt on the central Loggia of the Basilica, immediately after my poor election, with the faithful who had come to this same Square. That encounter, which so many followed so closely, remains impressed in my mind and in my heart, and truly gave me a mode of experimentation for what I said in the course of the solemn concelebration with which I solemnly undertook the exercise of the Petrine ministry: "I am greatly aware that I should not carry alone that which, in reality, I could not carry alone."

And I always feel that, alone, I wouldn't be able to carry this charge, this mission. But I feel that, also, you all carry it with me: I am in a great communion and together we can carry forward the mission of the Lord. The heavenly protection of God and the saints irreplaceably sustains me, and your closeness comforts me, dear friends, for you have not made me lack the gift of your indulgence and of your love. I truly thank from my heart all those who in various ways support me by their closeness or have spiritually followed me from afar with their affection and their prayer. To each, I ask you to continue to sustain me, praying that God may allow me to be a mild and firm pastor of his Church.

John the Evangelist tells us that Jesus, after his resurrection, called Peter to take unto himself the care of his flock. Who would've been able then to humanly imagine the development which would be marked in the course of centuries by this little group of disciples of the Lord? Peter, together with the apostles and then their successors, first in Jerusalem and then proceeding to the utmost ends of the earth, spread with courage the Gospel message in which the fundamental and unignorable nucleus is constituted by the Paschal Mystery: the passion, the death, the resurrection of Christ. The Church celebrates this mystery at Easter, prolonging its joyous resonance over the following days; singing the alleluia for the triumph of Christ over evil and over death.

"The celebration of Easter according to a date of the calendar," Pope St Leo the Great notes, "recalls for us the eternal feast which surpasses all human time." "The current Easter," he then notes, "is the shadow of the future Easter. Because of this, we celebrate by passing from an annual feast toward a feast that will be eternal." The joy of these days extends itself to the entire liturgical year and renews itself particularly on Sunday, the day dedicated to recalling the resurrection of the Lord. In it, which is like the "little Easter" of each week, the liturgical assembly comes together for the Holy Mass proclaiming in the Creed that Jesus rose on the third day, adding that we await "the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come." It's indicated in this that the the event of the death and resurrection of Jesus constitutes the center of our faith and it's on this announcement that the Church is based and grows. As St Augustine recalls in an incisive way: "Let us consider, dearest ones, the Resurrection of Christ: in fact, as his Passion has signified our old life, so his resurrection is the sacrament of new life... You have believed, you have been baptized: the old life is dead, taken on the cross, buried in Baptism. The old was buried in that which you used to live: the new rises. Live well: live so that you may live, than when you die, you may not die."

The Gospel accounts, which refer to the appearances of the Risen one, routinely conclude with the the invitation to surpass each uncertainty, to face the event with the Scriptures, to announce with Jesus that from death has come eternal life, the source of new life for all those who believe. So it happens, as an example, in the case of Mary Magdalene (Jn 20:11-18), who discovers the tomb open and empty, and immediately fears that the body of the Lord has been carried away. The Lord then calls her by name, and at that point a profound change takes place in her: her discomfort and disorientation are transformed into joy and enthusiasm. With solicitude, she goes to the Apostles and announces: "I have seen the Lord" (Jn 20:18).

Behold: whoever encounters the risen Jesus becomes internally transformed; one can't "see" the Risen one without"believing" in him. Let us pray to him that he may call each of us by name and so convert us, to take the leap of courage and freedom which makes us shout to the world: Jesus is risen and lives forever. This is the mission of the disciples of the Lord of every age and also of our time: "If you are risen with Christ," exhorts St Paul, "seek the things that are above... think of the things above, and not those of the earth" (Col 3:1-2). This is not to say that we should estrange ourselves from our daily duties, disinteresting ourselves from earthly realities; it means rather to revive each human activity as with a supernatural breath, meaning to make ourselves joyous announcers and witnesses of the resurrection of Christ, who lives in eternity (Jn 20:25; Lk 24:33-34).

Dear brothers and sisters, in the Pasch of his only-begotten Son God reveals himself fully, his victorious strength over the forces of death, the force of his threefold Love. May the Virgin Mary, who is intimately associated with the passion, death and resurrection of her Son and at the foot of the Cross became the mother of all believers, help us to understand this mystery of love which changes hearts and makes us fully taste the joy of Easter, that we may be able to communicate it in our time to the men and women of the third millennium.

ZENIT finally posted the full transcript of the Holy Father's address.

April 19 Address on 1st Anniversary of Pontificate

"Alone I Could Not Carry Out This Task"

VATICAN CITY, APRIL 27, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican translation of the address Benedict XVI gave at the Wednesday general audience on April 19, the first anniversary of his pontificate.

* * *

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

At the beginning of today's general audience which is taking place in the joyful atmosphere of Easter, I would like to thank the Lord together with you. After calling me, exactly a year ago, to serve the Church as the Successor of the Apostle Peter -- thank you for your joy, thank you for your applause -- he never fails to assist me with his indispensable help.

How quickly time passes! A year has already elapsed since the cardinals gathered in conclave and, in a way I found absolutely unexpected and surprising, desired to choose my poor self to succeed the late and beloved Servant of God, the great Pope John Paul II. I remember with emotion my first impact with the faithful gathered in this same square, from the central loggia of the basilica, immediately after my election.

That meeting is still impressed upon my mind and heart. It was followed by many others that have given me an opportunity to experience the deep truth of my words at the solemn concelebration with which I formally began to exercise my Petrine ministry: "I too can say with renewed conviction: I am not alone. I do not have to carry alone what in truth I could never carry alone" (L'Osservatore Romano, English edition, April 27, 2005, p. 2).

And I feel more and more that alone I could not carry out this task, this mission. But I also feel that you are carrying it with me: Thus, I am in a great communion and together we can go ahead with the Lord's mission. The heavenly protection of God and of the saints is an irreplaceable support to me and I am comforted by your closeness, dear friends, who do not let me do without the gift of your indulgence and your love. I offer very warm thanks to all those who in various ways support me from close at hand or follow me from afar in spirit with their affection and their prayers. I ask each one to continue to support me, praying to God to grant that I may be a gentle and firm Pastor of his Church.

The Evangelist John says that precisely after his Resurrection Jesus called Peter to tend his flock (cf. John 21:15,23). Who could have humanly imagined then the development which was to mark that small group of the Lord's disciples down the centuries?

Peter, together with the apostles and then their successors, first in Jerusalem and later to the very ends of the earth, courageously spread the Gospel message, whose fundamental and indispensable core consists in the paschal mystery: the passion, the death and the resurrection of Christ.

The Church celebrates this mystery at Easter, extending its joyous resonance in the days that follow; she sings the alleluia for Christ's triumph over evil and death.

The celebration of Easter in accordance with a date on the calendar, Pope St. Leo the Great remarked, reminds us of the eternal feast that surpasses all human time. Today's Easter, he noted further, is the shadow of the future Easter. For this reason we celebrate it, to move on from an annual celebration to a celebration that will last forever.

The joy of these days extends throughout the liturgical year and is renewed especially on Sunday, the day dedicated to the memory of the Lord's resurrection. On Sunday, as it were, the "little Easter" of every week, the liturgical assembly gathered for holy Mass proclaims in the Creed that Jesus rose on the third day, adding that we wait for "the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come."

This shows that the event of Jesus' death and resurrection constitutes the center of our faith and that it is on this proclamation that the Church is founded and develops.

St. Augustine recalled incisively: "Let us consider, dear friends, the Resurrection of Christ: indeed, just as his Passion stood for our old life, his Resurrection is a sacrament of new life. ... You have believed, you have been baptized; the old life is dead, killed on the Cross, buried in Baptism. The old life in which you lived is buried: The new life emerges. Live well: Live life in such a way that when death comes you will not die (Sermo Guelferb. 9, 3).

The Gospel accounts that mention the appearances of the Risen One usually end with the invitation to overcome every uncertainty, to confront the event with the Scriptures, to proclaim that Jesus, beyond death, is alive forever, a source of new life for all who believe in him.

This is what happened, for example, in the case of Mary Magdalene (cf. John 20:11-18), who found the tomb open and empty and immediately feared that the body of the Lord had been taken away. The Lord then called her by name and at that point a deep change took place within her: Her distress and bewilderment were transformed into joy and enthusiasm. She promptly went to the apostles and announced to them: "I have seen the Lord" (John 20:18).

Behold: Those who meet the risen Jesus are inwardly transformed; it is impossible "to see" the Risen One without "believing" in him. Let us pray that he will call each one of us by name and thus convert us, opening us to the "vision" of faith.

Faith is born from the personal encounter with the Risen Christ and becomes an impulse of courage and freedom that makes one cry to the world: "Jesus is risen and alive for ever."

This is the mission of the Lord's disciples in every epoch and also in our time: "If, then, you have been raised with Christ," St. Paul exhorts us, "seek the things that are above. ... Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth" (Colossians 3:1-2). This does not mean cutting oneself off from one's daily commitments, neglecting earthly realities; rather, it means reviving every human activity with a supernatural breath, it means making ourselves joyful proclaimers and witnesses of the resurrection of Christ, living for eternity (cf. John 20:25; Luke 24:33-34).

Dear brothers and sisters, in the Pasch of his Only-begotten Son, God fully revealed himself, his victorious power over the forces of death, the power of Trinitarian Love. May the Virgin Mary, who was closely associated with the Passion, death and Resurrection of the Son and at the foot of the cross became the Mother of all believers, help us to understand this mystery of love that changes hearts and makes us experience fully the joy of Easter, so that we in turn may be able to communicate it to the men and women of the third millennium.

To special groups

I offer a warm welcome to the newly ordained deacons of the Pontifical Irish College and their families. I also greet the pilgrims from the Diocese of Kerry. Upon all the English-speaking visitors, especially those from Ireland, Switzerland, Australia, Canada and the United States, I invoke an abundance of joy and peace in the Risen Lord.

My thoughts now go to the sick and to the newlyweds. For you, dear sick people, may the resurrection of Christ be an inexhaustible source of comfort and hope. And you, dear newlyweds, may you be witnesses of the Risen Lord with your faithful conjugal love.

© Copyright 2006 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana [adapted]

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