In das Geheimnis der Auferstehung einzutreten bedeutet, keine Angst vor der Wirklichkeit zu haben, nicht zu fliehen und sich nicht in sich selbst zu verschließen. So fasste Papst Franziskus in seiner Predigt die Osterbotschaft der Frauen am Grab zusammen. In einer feierlichen Vigilfeier wurde der Auferstehung Jesu gedacht. Papst Franziskus nahm auch wie traditionell üblich einige Taufen und Firmungen von Erwachsenen vor, die sich in der zurückliegenden Fastenzeit vorbereitet hatten.
Und wie auch die Feier selber im Dunkel begann, nahmen die Gedanken des Papstes in seiner kurzen Predigt dort ihren Ausgang: „Eine Nacht des Wachens war es für die Jünger und Jüngerinnen Jesu. Eine Nacht des Schmerzes und der Angst. Die Männer verharrten im Abendmahlssaal hinter verschlossenen Türen.“
Er wolle über die Erfahrungen der Jüngerinnen im Grab Jesu nachdenken, so der Papst, das täte gut, denn „dazu sind wir nämlich hier: um einzutreten – einzutreten in das Geheimnis, das Gott mit seiner Wache der Liebe vollbracht hat.“ Man könne Ostern nicht erleben ohne „in das Geheimnis einzutreten“. Das sei keine intellektuelle Angelegenheit, sondern mehr, „viel mehr!“
„Ins Geheimnis einzutreten“ bedeutet die Fähigkeit zum Staunen, zur Betrachtung; die Fähigkeit, in die Stille hineinzuhorchen und das klangvolle Säuseln zu hören, in dem Gott zu uns spricht. Ins Geheimnis einzutreten verlangt von uns, keine Angst vor der Wirklichkeit zu haben: sich nicht in sich selbst zu verschließen, nicht vor dem zu fliehen, was wir nicht verstehen, nicht vor den Problemen die Augen zu verschließen, sie zu leugnen, nicht die Rätsel beiseitezuschieben…
Ins Geheimnis einzutreten bedeutet, über die eigenen bequemen Sicherheiten, über die Trägheit und die Gleichgültigkeit, die uns bremsen, hinauszugehen und sich auf die Suche nach der Wahrheit, der Schönheit und der Liebe zu begeben. (…) Um ins Geheimnis einzutreten, bedarf es der Demut – der Demut, sich zu erniedrigen, vom Sockel unseres so stolzen Ich, unserer Anmaßung herunterzusteigen.“
Es gehe darum, sich anzuerkennen wie man wirklich sei, Geschöpf mit Vorzügen und Mängeln, so der Papst. Das lehrten die Jüngerinnen Jesu, „lernen wir von ihnen, mit Gott und mit Maria, unserer Mutter, zu wachen, um in das Geheimnis einzutreten, das uns vom Tod zum Leben übergehen lässt.“
(rv 04.04.2015 ord)

Pope at Easter Vigil: Entering the Mystery
(Vatican Radio) The Easter Vigil is a time for us “to enter into the Mystery which God has accomplished with His vigil of love.” That was the message of Pope Francis as he celebrated the Easter Vigil in Saint Peter’s Basilica on Saturday night.
Sean Patrick Lovett’s report:
Pope Francis focused his reflections on the women who, going out early Sunday morning to anoint the Body of the Lord, were the first to see the empty tomb.
“We cannot live Easter,” he said, “without entering into this mystery.”
Entering the Mystery
Entering into the mystery, Pope Francis explained, “means the ability to wonder, to contemplate; the ability to listen to the silence and to hear the tiny whisper amid great silence by which God speaks to us”… it “demands that we not be afraid of reality: that we not be locked into ourselves, that we not flee from what we fail to understand, that we not close our eyes to problems or deny them, that we not dismiss our questions” … “To enter into the mystery means going beyond our own comfort zone, beyond the laziness and indifference which hold us back, and going out in search of truth, beauty and love.”
Humility necessary
The Holy Father said humility is necessary to enter into the mystery, the humility to come down from the pedestals of our presumption, to see ourselves as we really are: “creatures with strengths and weaknesses, sinners in need of forgiveness.”
This, the Pope said, is what the women at the tomb teach us. They had kept watch, they went forth and they entered into the Mystery. Pope Francis concluded his homily with the prayer that we might learn from them “to keep watch with God and with Mary our Mother, so that we too may enter into the Mystery which leads from death to life.”
Below, please find the official English translation of the Holy Father's prepared remarks:
Pope Francis
HOMILY FOR THE EASTER VIGIL
4 April 2015
Tonight is a night of vigil. The Lord is not sleeping; the Watchman is watching over his people (cf. Ps 121:4), to bring them out of slavery and to open before them the way to freedom.
The Lord is keeping watch and, by the power of his love, he is bringing his people through the Red Sea. He is also bringing Jesus through the abyss of death and the netherworld.
This was a night of vigil for the disciples of Jesus, a night of sadness and fear. The men remained locked in the Upper Room. Yet, the women went to the tomb at dawn on Sunday to anoint Jesus’ body. Their hearts were overwhelmed and they were asking themselves: “How will we enter? Who will roll back the stone of the tomb?…” But here was the first sign of the great event: the large stone was already rolled back and the tomb was open!
“Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe…” (Mk 16:5). The women were the first to see this great sign, the empty tomb; and they were the first to enter…
“Entering the tomb”. It is good for us, on this Vigil night, to reflect on the experience of the women, which also speaks to us. For that is why we are here: to enter, to enter into the Mystery which God has accomplished with his vigil of love.
We cannot live Easter without entering into the mystery. It is not something intellectual, something we only know or read about… It is more, much more!
“To enter into the mystery” means the ability to wonder, to contemplate; the ability to listen to the silence and to hear the tiny whisper amid great silence by which God speaks to us (cf 1 Kings 19:12).
To enter into the mystery demands that we not be afraid of reality: that we not be locked into ourselves, that we not flee from what we fail to understand, that we not close our eyes to problems or deny them, that we not dismiss our questions…
To enter into the mystery means going beyond our own comfort zone, beyond the laziness and indifference which hold us back, and going out in search of truth, beauty and love. It is seeking a deeper meaning, an answer, and not an easy one, to the questions which challenge our faith, our fidelity and our very existence.
To enter into the mystery, we need humility, the lowliness to abase ourselves, to come down from the pedestal of our “I” which is so proud, of our presumption; the humility not to take ourselves so seriously, recognizing who we really are: creatures with strengths and weaknesses, sinners in need of forgiveness. To enter into the mystery we need the lowliness that is powerlessness, the renunciation of our idols… in a word, we need to adore. Without adoration, we cannot enter into the mystery.
The women who were Jesus’ disciples teach us all of this. They kept watch that night, together with Mary. And she, the Virgin Mother, helped them not to lose faith and hope. As a result, they did not remain prisoners of fear and sadness, but at the first light of dawn they went out carrying their ointments, their hearts anointed with love. They went forth and found the tomb open. And they went in. They had kept watch, they went forth and they entered into the Mystery. May we learn from them to keep watch with God and with Mary our Mother, so that we too may enter into the Mystery which leads from death to life.