Participating in the Resurrection Now: Pope Francis On Our Resurrection From the Dead

Already in this life we have in us a participation in the Resurrection of Christ. If it is true that Jesus will resurrect us at the end of times, it is also true that, in a certain aspect, we are already resurrected with Him. In fact, through Baptism, we are inserted in the Death and Resurrection of Christ and we participate in the new life. Therefore, while awaiting the last day, we have in ourselves a seed of resurrection, as anticipation of the full resurrection which we will receive in inheritance

P>VATICAN CITY (Catholic Online) - On Wednesday, December 4, 2013, Pope Francis gave his Wednesday instruction to the faithful. Continuing in his series on the Ancient Creed, he taught on the meaning, implications and reality of the Resurrection. It follows in its entirety.

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Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning!

Today I return again to the affirmation "I believe in the resurrection of the body." It is not a simple truth and anything but obvious because, immersed in this world, it is not easy to understand the future reality. However, the Gospel enlightens us: Our resurrection is closely linked to the Resurrection of Jesus; the fact that He is resurrected is the proof that the resurrection of the dead exists. I would now like to present some aspects regarding the relation between the Resurrection of Christ and our resurrection.

First of all, Sacred Scripture itself contains a path to full faith in the resurrection of the dead. It is expressed as faith in God Creator of the whole man -- soul and body -- and as faith in God Liberator, the God faithful to the covenant with his people. In a vision, the prophet Ezekiel looks at the sepulchers of the departed that are reopened and the dry bones that come back to life thanks to the infusion of a vivifying spirit. This vision expresses the hope in the future "resurrection of Israel," that is, in the rebirth of the defeated and humiliated people (cf. Ezekiel 37:1-14).

In the New Testament, Jesus brings this revelation to fulfillment, and links faith in the resurrection to his very person. He says: "I am the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25). In fact, it will be the Lord Jesus who on the last day will resurrect those who believed in Him. Jesus came among us, he became man like us in everything, except sin; in this way he has taken us with Him on his journey of return to the Father. He, the incarnate Word, who died for us and rose, gives his disciples the Holy Spirit as earnest of full communion in his glorious Kingdom, which we await vigilantly.

This waiting is the source and reason of our hope, a hope that is cultivated and guarded, becomes light to illumine our personal and communal history .

Let us remember it always: we are disciples of Him who came, who comes every day and who will come at the end. If we succeed in having this reality more present, we will be less exhausted by the daily routine, less prisoners of the ephemeral and more willing to walk with a merciful heart on the path of salvation.

Another aspect: what does it mean to resurrect? Resurrection will take place on the last day, at the end of the world, the work of the omnipotence of God, who will restore life to our body reuniting it to our soul, in virtue of the Resurrection of Jesus.

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This transformation, this transfiguration of our body is prepared in this life by our relation with Jesus in the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist. We, who in this life are nourished with his Body and his Blood will resurrect as He did, with Him and through Him. As Jesus rose with his own body, but he did not return to an earthly life, so we will rise with our bodies, which will be transfigured in glorious bodies.

Already in this life we have in us a participation in the Resurrection of Christ. If it is true that Jesus will resurrect us at the end of times, it is also true that, in a certain aspect, we are already resurrected with Him. In fact, through Baptism, we are inserted in the Death and Resurrection of Christ and we participate in the new life.

Therefore, while awaiting the last day, we have in ourselves a seed of resurrection, as anticipation of the full resurrection which we will receive in inheritance. Because of this, the body of each one of us is a resonance of eternity, hence it is always [to be] respected; and above all the life of those who suffer is respected and loved, so that they feel the closeness of the Kingdom of God, of that condition of eternal life towards which we are walking.

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