To the readers of the Kommersant newspaper – Kommersant Newspaper No. 61 (7506) of 04/08/2023

Easter

Christ is risen! Dear readers of the Kommersant newspaper! I heartily congratulate you on the bright celebration of the Resurrection of Christ, the main holiday for all Christians. Easter is the time when our gaze is especially, more than usual, fixed on the face of Christ. And we seek – and we find! – in His words, His deeds, His suffering, death and resurrection, hope for our lives.

What does it mean for us today to be in fellowship with Jesus Christ? It means to look into the face of Christ. Do not strive for perfection, but look into the face of Christ – in the icon, in the liturgy, in prayer, in another person. As the poet Antonio Anastasio remarkably writes: “Everything is here, in this broken face, thoughtful, wonderful. Here is a love that demands nothing back. Here is dumb courage that does not seek glory … Behind lowered eyes are the thoughts of God, in a bowed gaze ”(translated by Olga Sedakova).

When a person looks into the face of Christ, just as when he looks into the face of the person he loves, everything falls into place in him. And first of all, I want to put myself in order and ask God for forgiveness for the mess that exists in our lives. In other words, we want to please Jesus in everything, as the author of the great Holy Week hymn “Stabat Mater” beautifully says, reflecting on Mother Mary’s standing at the cross: “Do, O Christ, that my heart burn with love for You, that You be pleased with me “.

The true source of morality and service is love, not laws or rules. Looking into the face of Christ, we change. But in order to change, one must look with a desire for goodness and truth. Then the impossible becomes possible. As the apostle Paul says, “I have learned to be content with what I have. I know how to live in poverty, I know how to live in abundance; I learned in everything and in everything, to be satisfied and endure hunger, to be both in abundance and in lack. I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:11-13).

Dear brothers and sisters, dear friends! Let us ask that these days be a time for us to look closely at Christ longing to celebrate the Passover with His friends. Christ is risen! Truly risen!

Pavel Pezzi, Archbishop, Metropolitan of the Archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow, Chairman of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Russia