"How beautiful it is to think that the first appearance of the Risen One, according to the Gospels, happened in such a personal way. That there is someone who knows us, who sees our suffering and disappointment," whose heart breaks "for us and who calls us by name," he said.

Reading the Gospels, one can see how many people seek God, he said, "but the most extraordinary fact is that God was there in the first place," long before, watching, worrying and wanting to bring relief.

Each and every person "is a story of love that God has written on this earth," the pope said. "Each one of us is a story of God's love" and he patiently waits and forgives each person.

Hearing God call her name revolutionized Mary Magdalene's life just as it will revolutionize and transform the life of every man and woman, he said.

Christ's resurrection brings a joy that does not come in dribs and drabs "with an eyedropper," he said, but as "a waterfall" that will envelop one's whole life.

The life of a Christian isn't pervaded by "soft bliss, but by waves that knock everything over," Pope Francis said. Think about it right now, he told the 15,000 pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square. "With the baggage of disappointments and defeat that each one of us carries in our heart, there is a God near us, calling us by name," he said.

This God is not "inert," he doesn't bend to the whims of the world, and he will not let death, sadness, hatred and the moral destruction of people have the last word.

"Our God," the pope said, "is a dreamer, who dreams of the transformation of the world and achieved it with the mystery of the resurrection."

The pope prayed that St. Mary Magdalene would help people listen to Jesus calling their name as they weep and mourn, and that they then venture forth with hearts filled with joy, proclaiming his living presence to others.

Having witnessed the Lord, "is our strength and our hope," he said.