The Resurrection is the foundation of our faith. The Church cannot adapt itself to the world; it is called to show the world the path to salvation regardless of the upheavals of the age, said the Metropolitan Archbishop of Białystok, Archbishop Józef Guzdek, during the Mass of the Lord’s Resurrection.
The Mass, presided over by the Metropolitan on Sunday morning, began with the Resurrection procession around the Białystok Archcathedral.
Jesus the Only Redeemer
“It was not custom or religious obligation, but faith and a need of the heart that led us to take part in today’s Resurrection procession and to profess that Christ has risen. We also wish to proclaim to all that Jesus Christ is the only Redeemer of mankind,” Archbishop Guzdek said in his homily.
Referring to the words of Pope Benedict XVI, the hierarch emphasized that “speaking of Jesus as the one and universal mediator of salvation does not mean disregarding other religions, but rejecting the thesis that the truth cannot be known.”
“The Church cannot adapt itself to the world, it cannot bow before it, but is obliged to show the world the path to salvation regardless of the upheavals of the age,” the Metropolitan of Białystok stressed.
He added that while the need for encounter and dialogue should not be denied, they cannot replace what he described as the “revealed truth.”
“Dialogue cannot be more important than pastoral and missionary activity (…). The obligation to proclaim the Gospel to all people has not expired—no one can release us from it. It is not enough merely to accompany; we must strive so that through the ministry of the word—after all, faith comes from what is heard—and through our witness of faith, our Christian life, many may come to believe in Jesus,” Archbishop Guzdek said.
The Church Does Not Need Reformers
He told the faithful that they have a duty to proclaim the “fundamental truths of the faith.”
“The Church does not need more reformers, but witnesses and new saints—for only they can effectively change the world,” he stressed.
“Jesus has risen and Jesus lives. He is the only Savior and Redeemer of mankind. Let us carry this message to the ends of the earth; let us not bow to circumstances and not allow revealed truth to remain behind closed doors,” the Metropolitan added at the conclusion of the celebration.
He urged the faithful to remain themselves and “not bow to the world.”
“Let us be people of strong and courageous faith. The world needs us greatly, because if we become like the world, we will be like salt that has lost its taste,” Archbishop Guzdek added.
After the Resurrection Mass at the archcathedral, the needy—including the poor and the lonely—gathered for a breakfast organized for several hundred people at a nearby Catholic school complex in Białystok. The event was prepared by Caritas of the Archdiocese of Białystok and the Czarnecki Family Foundation, with the support of donors and local authorities.