In the midst of an epidemic crisis, Archbishop Roland Minnerath celebrated “the triumph of life” during his homily on Sunday, April 4.
The most important holiday of Christianity, Easter was celebrated in 2020 in empty churches due to the Covid-19 epidemic. This year, strict sanitary measures still apply but the faithful can attend the services which, often, were multiplied during the Holy Week.
This Sunday, April 4, 2021, in Dijon, the pontifical mass took place in the Saint-Bénigne cathedral in the presence of nearly 300 faithful spaced from each other when, usually, the nave and the bays accommodate up to 1,200 people.
Wearing a protective mask was mandatory and hydroalcoholic gel was prominent at the entrance and even on the altar for hand hygiene before Communion in particular.
“To believe is much stronger than to see”
Archbishop Roland Minnerath celebrated this Pontifical Mass, assisted by Father Didier Gonneaud. In his homily, Archbishop Roland Minnerath wanted to go beyond the anxiety related to the health situation to evoke the news of the day for Catholics: the resurrection of Jesus.
By reading chapter 20 of the Gospel according to Saint John, Father Didier Gonneaud resumes the discovery by Mary Magdalene of the empty tomb of Jesus. From this evocation, Archbishop Roland Minneratha insists on the triumph of life: “this gospel, it is made for us, it is made for all generations of believers, he sees in the resurrection of Jesus, the unexpected mark. of a God who loves us, who does not abandon us in pain. (…) Brothers and sisters, the affirmation of the resurrection is the affirmation of the triumph of life over death, of the triumph of love over all the cowardice that we can know. We have access to the resurrection of Jesus each personally by our faith ”.
Secondly, the prelate then underlines the gap between seeing and believing: “we would like to see, perhaps. Because seeing this is a matter of our senses, of our natural humanity. But the resurrection is not to see. Why ? Because it belongs to the world to come, the world of the resurrection, that of the kingdom of God fully realized. (…) If we stop at seeing, we would discuss until the end of time on what we have seen or not seen because everyone always has a different perception of sensitive realities. He understood, he believed, by the intuition of his heart, that Jesus could not be abandoned to death. (…) To believe, it is internalized an event which concerns us, it is much stronger than to see. To believe is to be dazzled by what God achieves to deliver us from our deaths, our doubts, our uncertainties ”.
Cleaning the great organ
The homily was followed by a time of improvisation on the great organ by Sylvain Pluyaut. This Sunday is one of the last times that the great organ, built in 1745 by Karl-Joseph Riepp, played before being soon dismantled for a complete cleaning. Financed by the State to the tune of 455,406 euros, the lifting of the organ will last two years.
After Communion, the faithful were asked to leave the cathedral through the side door and not to linger. On the square, soldiers from the Sentinel force were present to secure the surroundings of the cathedral.
Jean-Christophe Tardivon
Easter weekend under control
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