Easter 2025: Bishop Elbs about the Big Bang of Hope!

Easter 2025: Bishop Elbs about the Big Bang of Hope!

Kloster, Österreich - Today, on April 19, 2025, Bishop Benno Elbs reflects on the spiritual importance of Lent and the associated challenges. In a personal report, he expresses that he did without chocolate, coffee and alcohol during this intensive time. Traditionally, he spent the time around Palm Sunday with young adults at retreats in the monastery to explore the deeper meaning of this time. Elbs regards fasting as an attitude of solidarity that includes prayer, giving up and alms, and underlines the importance of dialogue and respectful coexistence between different religions. In 2015 he founded the platform "Religions for Peace", which promotes interreligious cooperation.

Easter sees Elbs as the "festival of life" and an answer to the fears and crises that people strain today. In a world full of conflicts and uncertainties, the Easter message is particularly important. "Don't be afraid!" is a central statement of Jesus that conveys hope and consolation. In times of illness, death and loneliness, this hope proves to be elementary, especially in the context of the challenges reinforced by coron apandemy. The war in Ukraine and economic uncertainties burden many, especially young people. Elbs emphasizes that peace is a fragile asset and indicates the importance of consolation and meaning in the last phase of life, which he experiences on palliative stations and in the hospice every day.

Lent time and its meaning

Lent is a 40-day liturgical preparation time for Easter, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Maundy Thursday. This time is not only a phase of testing and cleaning, but also an opportunity for inner redesign. The number 40 has biblical importance, such as the 40 days that Jesus fasted in the desert, and the 40 years that the people of Israel wandered through the desert. The three pillars of Lent are prayer, fasting, fasting and alms that deepen the relationship with God, contribute to the control of passions and express charity.

In his message at Lent, Pope Francis invites you to prepare for the heart and call on the believers to deal with the reality of migrants and pilgrims. The invitation to reversal is in three calls: the reflection on your own life situation, going together in the church community and the hope of the promise of God. A central concern of this time is the prayer of the church for the rescue of all people, and the request for the intercession of the Virgin Mary accompanies the way through this Lent.

Easter as the highlight of faith

The bishop also comments on the resurrection, which he describes as the "big bang of hope". The liturgical celebrations in Easter touch him deeply and he sees them as the "intensive care unit of faith". Despite organizational challenges in the church, he sees Easter as a spiritual highlight in which the message of God's love and the promise of life after death offers many people. Elbs closes his considerations with the best wishes for everyone, the joy and conviction that life is stronger than hatred and destruction.