Anyone that reads my blog with frequency understands that I am a big fan of Pope Saint John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI. In the nine years of writing on this website/blog,  I have written 94 articles on John Paul II and 42 articles on Benedict XVI.

I write on them and on their words because so much of own studies in Philosophy and Theology were heavily influenced by these two great Popes of the Catholic Church. It was John Paul II who really catapulted me into studying Philosophy many years ago and Benedict along with JP2 who guided me in my studies in Theology over the last ten to fifteen years.  When I find myself struggling, I often seek out their words and thoughts to help me continue on my own journey through this world. They bring me back to reality and help me focus on what is important and on the things that I can handle as well as helping me understand that there are certain things out of control.

If you are not familiar with their writings, I would encourage you check my articles, however, seek them out in their own writings. Those of us that were blessed to be alive during their papacies will forever and eternally be grateful for their lives of witness and their words that brought many souls closer to Jesus Christ and His Catholic Church.

Below are 4 Easter Quotes by Pope Benedict XVI. As we continue through the Easter Octave, I hope that you can find the time to reflect on these words and add them to your daily prayer.

“At Easter we rejoice because Christ did not remain in the tomb, his body did not see corruption; he belongs to the world of the living, not to the world of the dead; we rejoice because he is the Alpha and also the Omega, as we proclaim in the rite of the Paschal Candle; he lives not only yesterday, but today and for eternity (cf. Heb 13:8).”

“On Easter day the Church tells us that Jesus Christ made that journey to the ends of the universe for our sake. In the Letter to the Ephesians we read that he descended to the depths of the earth, and that the one who descended is also the one who has risen far above the heavens, that he might fill all things (cf. 4:9ff.). The vision of the Psalm thus became reality. In the impenetrable gloom of death Christ came like light – the night became as bright as day and the darkness became as light. And so the Church can rightly consider these words of thanksgiving and trust as words spoken by the Risen Lord to his Father: “Yes, I have journeyed to the uttermost depths of the earth, to the abyss of death, and brought them light; now I have risen and I am upheld for ever by your hands.”

“At the Easter Vigil, the journey along the paths of sacred Scripture begins with the account of creation. This is the liturgy’s way of telling us that the creation story is itself a prophecy. It is not information about the external processes by which the cosmos and man himself came into being. The Fathers of the Church were well aware of this. They did not interpret the story as an account of the process of the origins of things, but rather as a pointer towards the essential, towards the true beginning and end of our being.”

“Easter is the feast of the new creation. Jesus is risen and dies no more. He has opened the door to a new life, one that no longer knows illness and death. He has taken mankind up into God himself. “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God”, as Saint Paul says in the First Letter to the Corinthians (15:50). On the subject of Christ’s resurrection and our resurrection, the Church writer Tertullian in the third century was bold enough to write: “Rest assured, flesh and blood, through Christ you have gained your place in heaven and in the Kingdom of God” (CCL II, 994). A new dimension has opened up for mankind. Creation has become greater and broader.”

On behalf of my family, I want to wish all of my readers and followers, a Happy and Joyful Easter! May the Light of the Resurrected Christ illuminate your soul today and forever. Thank you for all your prayers and support over the last year. Resurrexit Sicut Dixit.