Easter is a day we commemorate a historical event — a fact, not a story or a wish. Christ rose from the dead, in Jerusalem, two millennia ago. That is a truth that changed history, and changed each of our lives, and it makes Easter a feast of the truth.

In his Vatican page article about the Holy Father’s new document on the Eucharist, Father Raymond de Souza reminds us of Pope Benedict’s motto: Cooperatores Veritatis (Co-workers in the Truth).

Pope Benedict XVI’s pontificate was destined to be focused on truth. He came to us from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. He opened the conclave of cardinals that elected him with a homily that pitted the “dictatorship of relativism” against a “mature faith” in Christ.

But he is no mere speaker of the truth or defender of the truth. In his encyclical Deus Caritas Est (God Is Love) and his document on the Eucharist Sacramentum Caritatis (The Eucharist as the Source and Summit of the Church’s Life and Mission), Benedict shows that he is something much more profound: a lover of the truth.

The truth doesn’t make him defensive — it makes him rejoice. It doesn’t make him angry and inflexible — it makes him serene and determined.

That is a lesson that we can all learn from him on Easter.

Christ’s truth has the power to change hearts. We see that in our page 1 story about the bishops’ defense of the faith against a university professor. We see it in our culture of life story about all the new Catholics being welcomed into the Church.

We can rejoice with Benedict this Easter in the truth — the truth that flowers in  love.