The Pope celebrates Mass for the cardinals and bishops departed during the last year

Vatican City, 3 November 2014 (VIS) – Following tradition, this morning the Holy Fther celebrated Mass in the Vatican Basilica in memory of all the cardinals and bishops deceased during the last twelve months, whom he remembered with gratitude, and recalling their service to the Church. “This celebration, thanks to the Word of God, is completely illuminated by faith in the Resurrection”, he affirmed.

“All divine revelation is the fruit of the dialogue between God and His people, and also faith in the Resurrection is linked to this dialogue, which accompanies the people of God in history. It is not surprising that such a mystery as great, decisive and superhuman as the Resurrection had to come all the way up to Jesus Christ. He was able to say “I am the resurrection and the life”, as in Him this mystery is not only fully revealed, but also put into effect, becoming reality for the first time and definitively. … Every one of us is invited to enter into this event. We are called first to stay before Jesus' cross, to hear the cry of Jesus, his last breath, and finally that silence that lasts the whole of Holy Saturday. And then we are called to His tomb, to see that the great stone has been set aside, to hear the announcement: 'He has risen! He is not here'. And herein lies the answer. Here there is the foundation, the rock. Not in 'persuasive and knowing discourse, but in the living word of the Cross and of Jesus' resurrection.

“This is what the apostle Paul preached: Jesus Christ, crucified and resurrected. If He had not risen again, our faith would be empty and inconsistent. But since He rose again, or rather, He is the Resurrection, our faith is full of truth and eternal life”.