[:mt]Hu jgħix![:en]Christ is alive![:]

[:mt]Silta mill-Eżortazzjoni Christus Vivit  ta’ Papa Franġisku n.124-129

“(…) Hu jgħix! Hemm bżonn niftakruh spiss dan, għax inkella nirriskjaw li lil Ġesù Kristu narawh biss bħala eżempju tajjeb tal-passat, bħala tifkira, bħala xi ħadd li salvana elfejn sena ilu. Dan ma jkun jiswielna għal xejn, iħallina kif konna qabel, ma jeħlisniex. Dak li jfawwarna bil-grazzja tiegħu, dak li jeħlisna, dak li jibdilna, dak li jfejjaqna u jfarraġna hu persuna ħajja. Hu Kristu rxoxt, mogħni bil-ħajja sopranaturali, imlibbes b’dawl bla qies. Għalhekk San Pawl stqarr: “Jekk Kristu ma kienx imqajjem, fiergħa l-fidi tagħkom” (1 Kor 15:17).

Jekk hu jgħix, mela tassew jista’ jkun preżenti fil-ħajja tiegħek, f’kull mument tagħha, biex jimlieh bid-dawl tiegħu. Allura ma tħossok qatt waħdek u abbandunat. Imqar jekk jitlaq kulħadd, hu jibqa’ hemm, kif wiegħed: “U ara, jiena magħkom dejjem, sal-aħħar taż-żmien” (Mt 28:20). Hu jimla kollox bil-preżenza moħbija tiegħu, u kull fejn tmur sa ssibu jistenniek. Għax hu mhux biss ġie, imma jiġi u jibqa’ jiġi ta’ kuljum biex jistiednek timxi lejn xefaq dejjem ġdid.

Ikkontempla lil Ġesù hieni, irid jaqbeż bil-ferħ. Ifraħ mal-Ħabib tiegħek li ttrijonfa. Qatlu lill-qaddis, il-ġust, l-innoċenti, imma hu rebaħ. Il-ħażen m’għandux l-aħħar kelma. Lanqas f’ħajtek il-ħażen mhu ħa jkollu l-aħħar kelma, għax il-Ħabib tiegħek li jħobbok irid jittrijonfa fik. Il-Feddej tiegħek ħaj.

Jekk hu jgħix, din hi garanzija li t-tajjeb għandu postu f’ħajjitna, u li t-taħbit tagħna għal xi ħaġa ħa jiswa. Allura nistgħu nieqfu ngemgmu, u nixħtu ħarsitna ’l quddiem, għaliex flimkien miegħu dejjem tista’ tħares ’il quddiem. Din hi ċ-ċertezza li għandna. Ġesù hu dak li jgħix għal dejjem. Imqabbdin miegħu, ngħixu u ngħaddu bla mimsusa minn kull xorta ta’ mewt u ta’ vjolenza li nsibu moħbija mal-medda tat-triq.

Kull soluzzjoni oħra tisfa dgħajfa u temporanja. Forsi tiswielna għal ftit taż-żmien, imbagħad nerġgħu nsibu ruħna mill-ġdid b’xejn x’jiddefendina, mitluqa għal riħna, esposti għall-maltempati. Imma flimkien miegħu, il-qalb issib għeruqha f’ċertezza qawwija, li tibqa’ sħiħa lil hemm minn kollox. San Pawl jgħid li jrid jintrabat ma’ Kristu biex “nagħraf lilu u l-qawwa tal-qawmien tiegħu mill-imwiet” (Fil 3:10). Hija l-qawwa li se tidher bosta drabi anki fil-ħajja tiegħek, għax hu ġie biex jagħtik il-ħajja, “u l-ħajja bil-kotra” (Ġw 10:10).

Jekk jirnexxielek tapprezza bil-qalb il-ġmiel ta’ din l-aħbar u tħalli lill-Mulej jiġi jiltaqa’ miegħek; jekk tħallih iħobbok u jsalvak; jekk tidħol fi ħbiberija miegħu u tibda tiddjaloga ma’ Kristu ħaj fuq il-ħwejjeġ konkreti ta’ ħajtek, din issir l-esperjenza l-kbira, issir l-esperjenza fundamentali li twieżen il-ħajja Nisranija tiegħek.”  

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Extract from Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation “Christus Vivit” of Pope Francis, no. 124-129

“(…) Christ is alive! We need to keep reminding ourselves of this, because we can risk seeing Jesus Christ simply as a fine model from the distant past, as a memory, as someone who saved us two thousand years ago. But that would be of no use to us: it would leave us unchanged, it would not set us free. The one who fills us with his grace, the one who liberates us, transforms us, heals and consoles us is someone fully alive. He is the Christ, risen from the dead, filled with supernatural life and energy, and robed in boundless light. That is why Saint Paul could say: “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile” (1 Cor 15:7).

Alive, he can be present in your life at every moment, to fill it with light and to take away all sorrow and solitude. Even if all others depart, he will remain, as he promised: “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Mt 28:20). He fills your life with his unseen presence; wherever you go, he will be waiting there for you. Because he did not only come in the past, but he comes to you today and every day, inviting you to set out towards ever new horizons.

See Jesus as happy, overflowing with joy. Rejoice with him as with a friend who has triumphed. They killed him, the holy one, the just one, the innocent one, but he triumphed in the end. Evil does not have the last word. Nor will it have the last word in your life, for you have a friend who loves you and wants to triumph in you. Your Saviour lives.

Because he lives, there can be no doubt that goodness will have the upper hand in your life and that all our struggles will prove worthwhile. If this is the case, we can stop complaining and look to the future, for with him this is always possible. That is the certainty we have. Jesus is eternally alive. If we hold fast to him, we will have life, and be protected from the threats of death and violence that may assail us in life.

Every other solution will prove inadequate and temporary. It may be helpful for a time, but once again we will find ourselves exposed and abandoned before the storms of life. With Jesus, on the other hand, our hearts experience a security that is firmly rooted and enduring. Saint Paul says that he wishes to be one with Christ in order “to know him and the power of his resurrection” (Phil 3:10). That power will constantly be revealed in your lives too, for he came to give you life, “and life in abundance” (Jn 10:10).

If in your heart you can learn to appreciate the beauty of this message, if you are willing to encounter the Lord, if you are willing to let him love you and save you, if you can make friends with him and start to talk to him, the living Christ, about the realities of your life, then you will have a profound experience capable of sustaining your entire Christian life. You will also be able to share that experience with other young people. For “being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction”

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