Vatican City, Mar 25, 2005 / 22:00 pm
During the celebration of the Easter Vigil, which included the reading of a message from Pope John Paul II, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Dean of the College of Cardinals and Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, explained that following of the risen Christ also means having the courage to defend the faith.
The cardinal explained to the faithful gathered at St. Peter’s Basilica the meaning of following Christ. “Our column of fire, our holy cloud is the risen Christ, symbolized by the lit Paschal candle. Christ is the light; Christ is the way, the truth and the life; by following Christ, by having our hearts fixed firmly on Christ, we find the righteous path.”
He added later that, “To follow Christ means above all to be attentive to his word.”
“Participation in the Sunday liturgy week after week is necessary for each Christian in order to enter into a true familiarity with the Divine Word: man does not live on bread alone or on money or careers, he lives on the Word of God, which corrects us, renews us and shows us the true values of the world and society. The Word of God is the true Manna, the bread from Heaven, which teaches us how to live, how to be human.”