Vatican City, 2 November 2014 (VIS) –
The Solemnity of All Saints and the commemoration of all the Faithful
Departed, are “intimately linked to each other, just as joy and
tears find a synthesis in Jesus Christ, Who is the foundation of our
faith and our hope”, said Pope Francis to the faithful gathered to
pray the Angelus in St. Peter's Square today.
On the one hand, in fact, the Church, a
pilgrim in history, rejoices through the intercession of the saints
and blessed who support her in the mission of proclaiming the Gospel;
on the other, she, like Jesus, shares the tears of those who suffer
the separation from loved ones, and like Him and through Him echoes
thanks to the Father who has delivered us from the dominion of sin
and death.
Today, when we remember our dear
departed, many people visit the cemetery which, as its name itself
implies, is a “place of rest”, where we await the final
awakening. “Jesus himself revealed that the death of the body is
like a sleep from which he awakens us”, explained the Holy Father.
“With this faith we stop – also spiritually – at the graves of
our loved ones. ... But today we are called to remember everyone,
even those who no one remembers. We remember the victims of war and
violence; the many 'little ones' of the world, oppressed by hunger
and poverty. We remember the nameless who rest in common graves. We
remember our brothers and sisters killed because they are Christians;
and those who sacrificed their lives to serve others”.
“Church tradition has always urged
prayer for the dead, in particular by offering the celebration of the
Eucharist for them: it is the best spiritual help that we can give to
their souls, particularly to the most abandoned ones. The foundation
of prayers of remembrance is found in the communion of the Mystical
Body. Remembering the dead, caring for their tombs and prayers of
suffrage are testimony to confident hope, rooted in the certainty
that death does not have the last word on human destiny, as humanity
is destined for a life without end, that has its root and its
fulfilment in God”, said Francis, who concluded the Angelus with a
prayer for the departed by the Passionist Antonio Rungi:
“God of infinite mercy, we entrust to
Your immense goodness all those who have left this world for
eternity, where you await all humanity, redeemed by the precious
blood of Christ Your Son, who died to save us from our sins. Look not
Lord, at our poverty, misery and human weaknesses when we present
ourselves before You to be judged in happiness or condemned. Gaze
upon us with pity, born of Your tender heart and help us to walk the
path of purification. May none of your children be lost to the
eternal fires of hell, where repentance is no more. We entrust to You
Lord, the souls of our beloved departed, of those who died without
the comfort of the Sacraments or who did not have the opportunity to
repent, not even at the end of their life. May no one fear the
encounter with You at the end of their earthly pilgrimage, in the
hope of being welcomed within the embrace of your infinite mercy.
May sister death find us in prayerful vigilance, and full of all the
good we have done during our existence, be it long or short. Lord,
may nothing distance us from you on this earth, may everything and
everyone support us in our ardent hope to serenely and eternally rest
in You. Amen”.
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