Ostermesse
“We are experiencing an Easter of war this year,” Pope Francis said at his Easter Mass in Rome. But it was not only the service of the head of the church on Easter Sunday that was marked by the Russian war of aggression: in the cathedral in Feldkirch, people also prayed for peace and for the people of Ukraine.
Easter is the highest festival in the church year. Unfortunately, there is also a lot of cause for concern and sadness this year – the war in Ukraine in particular is depressing people. The main focus of Bishop Benno Elbs’ message on Easter Sunday was therefore hope.
“A Feast Against War”
“When we celebrate Easter this year, it’s a festival once morest war, once morest death, once morest destruction,” said Bishop Benno: “And that’s why Easter is a birth of hope. It is also a birth of peace. The Easter greeting of Jesus is the greeting of peace. And it is also a date for new beginnings.”
“The hope never dies”
“Easter is the greatest story of hope that has ever been told,” said cathedral priest Fabian Jochum: “Hope once morest all hopelessness. It is not true that hope dies last. The hope never dies!”
Music also gives hope
The Easter Mass was traditionally accompanied by music from the Feldkirch Cathedral Choir and the Cathedral Music Orchestra. On Easter Sunday, Mozart’s coronation mass was played – particularly solemn music, according to cathedral conductor Benjamin Lack: “Hopefully it is a great comfort that music can give us – basically really, as the bishop said – that in these dark times we do not have hope loses and the music is a big part of that.”
Faith gives hope in uncertain times
Many believers prayed for the people in the Ukraine on Easter Sunday – so some said following the service: It is part of Easter that one does not lose faith even in the face of bad things. Especially in times like these, when there is a lot of uncertainty, it is important that there is a message that talks regarding life, regarding hope and regarding confidence, it said.
