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By Deborah Castellano Lubov

"The Resurrection of Jesus is not just wonderful news or the happy ending of a story, but something that changes our lives completely and forever..."

Pope Francis offered this powerful reminder to the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square before reciting the Regina Coeli prayer on Easter Monday at noon.

The Holy Father drew inspiration from today's Gospel reading according to Saint Matthew that describes the women meeting Jesus at the empty tomb.

The joy born from the living encounter with the Risen One, the Pope said, is "a powerful emotion," which impelled them to spread the word, and tell what they had seen.

Sharing joy

Sharing joy, in and of itself, the Holy Father insisted, is a wondrous experience, which we learn from a very young age.

"Think of a child who gets a good mark at school and cannot wait to show his or her parents, or a young person who achieves their first success in sport, or a family in which a child is born," the Pope pointed out, as he invited the faithful to try to remember a moment that was so happy "that it was even difficult to put it into words, but which we wished to tell everyone about immediately!"

Yet, he argued, the joy experienced by the women on Easter morning, was a much greater and powerful experience, because the Resurrection is not just "wonderful news or the happy ending of a story," but rather "something that changes our lives completely and forever!"

"It is the victory of life over death" and of "hope over despondency," the Pope said, as he went on to reflect on the power of the Lord's presence to fill anything with light.

We too can meet the Risen One

"With Him," he said, "every day becomes a step in an eternal journey, every 'today' can hope for a 'tomorrow,' every end a new beginning, every instant is projected beyond the limits of time, towards eternity."

The joy of the Resurrection, the Pope clarified, is not something far away, but instead is close and ours, because it was given to us on the day of our Baptism. "Since then, we too, like the women," he highlighted, "can meet the Risen One and He says to us, as He did to them: 'Do not fear!'”

Never give up the joy of Easter

"If Jesus, the conqueror of sin, fear and death, tells us not to fear," he said, "then let us not be afraid, let us not settle into a hopeless life, let us not give up the joy of Easter!

On the contrary, he said we are to 'fuel' the joy we have in Jesus, "who is the engine of life," like the women did, by "encountering the Risen One, because He is the source of a joy that never ceases."

For this reason, he urged, "let us hasten to seek Him in the Eucharist, in His forgiveness, in prayer and in lived charity!"

"And let us not forget that the joy of Jesus grows in another way," he insisted, "as the women show us again: by proclaiming Him, bearing witness to Him. Because joy, when it is shared, grows."

Pope Francis concluded by praying, "May the Virgin Mary, who at Easter rejoiced in her Risen Son, help us to be joyful witnesses."

Faithful gathered for the Regina Coeli with the Pope