At noon today, the Solemnity of All the Saints, the Holy Father, Pope Francis appeared at the window of his study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace to recite the Angelus with the faithful and with pilgrims gathered in Saint Peter's Square.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and happy feast day!
The Solemnity of All the Saints is our feast: not because we are good, but because the saints of God have touched our lives. The saints are not perfect models, but people who have encountered God. We can compare them to stained glass windows in churches, that allow light to enter in various hues of colour. The saints are our brothers and sisters who have welcomed the light of God in their hearts and passed on this light to the rest of the world, each according to his own tonality. But all of them are transparent, they fought to remove the stains and the darkness of sin, so that God's gentle light could pass through them. This is the reason and the purpose for our lives: to allow the light of God to pass through us.
In fact, in today's gospel, Jesus speaks to his disciples, to all of us, calling us Blessed (Mt 5:3). This is the word with which he begins his preaching, which is his gospel, the good news that is the way to happiness. Those who gather around Jesus are blessed, happy. Happiness is not a matter of having something or becoming someone, no, true happiness is a matter of being with Jesus and living in and for love. Do you believe this? True happiness is not a matter of having things or of becoming someone; true happiness is about being with the Lord and living for the sake of love. Do you believe this? We have to keep going, to believe in this truth. So, the ingredients for a happy life, in order to be known as blessed: blessed are the simple, the humble who always make room for God, who are able to sympathize with others and to cry over their own mistakes, those who are meek, those who fight for justice, those who are merciful toward others, those who strive to remain pure in heart, those who work for peace and who strive to find joy, those who do not hate anyone and, those who, even when they must suffer, strive to respond to evil with good.
These are the beatitudes. There is no need for grandiose gestures, we don't need to be super-human; we simply need to experience the trials and challenges of daily life, the ones that each of us face. In so doing, we are already holy: like everyone else, we breathe air that is polluted with the evil that exists in the world, but along our journey, we must never lose sight of the path that Jesus points out, the one that he shows us in the beatitudes, like a series of lamps that point out the path of Christian life. Today is the feast day of all those who have reached the goal that this map points out: not only the saints who appear on the calendar, but all our brothers and sisters next door, who we may have met and even known. Today is a feast for families, for the many simple people, the hidden people who help the world to move forward, and there are many such people today! There are many of them. Thanks to these hidden brothers and sisters who help God to move the world forward; they are living among us. Let us greet them all with our applause!
First of all - says the first beatitude - are the poor in spirit (Mt 5:3). What does this mean? That they do not live for themselves, they do not seek power or money; they know that those who accumulate treasure for themselves do not enrich themselves before God (cf Lk 12:21). They believe that God himself is the greatest of life's treasures, and love for our neighbour is the only true source of accumulating such treasures. Sometimes, if we are dissatisfied with something that we are missing or worried that we are not being considered as we should, we must remember that our blessing is not to be found in this place, but in the Lord and in love: only in Him, only by loving can we live truly blessed lives.
Finally, I want to cite another beatitude, which is not found in the gospels, but at the end of the bible. It speaks of the end of life: Blessed are the dead who have died in the Lord (Rev 14:13). Tomorrow we will be called to accompany our deceased brothers and sisters with our prayers, so that they may always gaze on the Lord. Let us remember our beloved brothers and sisters with gratitude and pray for them.
May the Mother of God, the Queen of the Saints and the Doorway to Heaven, intercede for us that we may walk the path of holiness and for our beloved brothers and sisters who have preceded us and who are already on the way to our heavenly homeland.
After the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
I am saddened by the terrorist attacks that have taken place in recent days in Somalia, Afghanistan and yesterday in New York. While deploring such acts of violence, I am praying for those who have died, for those who have been wounded and for their families. Let us ask the Lord to convert the terrorists' hearts and to free them from hatred and from homicidal folly that abuses the name of God in order to spread death.
I affectionately greet all of you, pilgrims from Italy and from various other countries, especially those who have come from Courbevoie (France) and from Derry (Ireland). I greet the faithful from Terrasini, the recently confirmed young people from Modena, and the Engaging Service Association.
I extend a special greeting to those participating in the Saints' Race, organized by the Don Bosco world Foundation to offer a festive dimension to the religious celebration of All Saints. Thank you for your beautiful initiative and for your presence here!
Tomorrow afternoon, I will visit the Neptune American Cemetery and then the Fosse Ardeatine: I ask you to accompany me with your prayers in these two steps of memory and prayer for the victims of war and violence. Wars do not produce anything except for cemeteries and death: this is the reason why I wanted to provide this sign during a moment when humanity seems not to have learned our lesson, and it seems that we don't want to learn it either.
I wish you all a good feast day in the spiritual company of the Saints. Please, don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye!
Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
prior to the recitation of the Angelus
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and happy feast day!
The Solemnity of All the Saints is our feast: not because we are good, but because the saints of God have touched our lives. The saints are not perfect models, but people who have encountered God. We can compare them to stained glass windows in churches, that allow light to enter in various hues of colour. The saints are our brothers and sisters who have welcomed the light of God in their hearts and passed on this light to the rest of the world, each according to his own tonality. But all of them are transparent, they fought to remove the stains and the darkness of sin, so that God's gentle light could pass through them. This is the reason and the purpose for our lives: to allow the light of God to pass through us.
In fact, in today's gospel, Jesus speaks to his disciples, to all of us, calling us Blessed (Mt 5:3). This is the word with which he begins his preaching, which is his gospel, the good news that is the way to happiness. Those who gather around Jesus are blessed, happy. Happiness is not a matter of having something or becoming someone, no, true happiness is a matter of being with Jesus and living in and for love. Do you believe this? True happiness is not a matter of having things or of becoming someone; true happiness is about being with the Lord and living for the sake of love. Do you believe this? We have to keep going, to believe in this truth. So, the ingredients for a happy life, in order to be known as blessed: blessed are the simple, the humble who always make room for God, who are able to sympathize with others and to cry over their own mistakes, those who are meek, those who fight for justice, those who are merciful toward others, those who strive to remain pure in heart, those who work for peace and who strive to find joy, those who do not hate anyone and, those who, even when they must suffer, strive to respond to evil with good.
These are the beatitudes. There is no need for grandiose gestures, we don't need to be super-human; we simply need to experience the trials and challenges of daily life, the ones that each of us face. In so doing, we are already holy: like everyone else, we breathe air that is polluted with the evil that exists in the world, but along our journey, we must never lose sight of the path that Jesus points out, the one that he shows us in the beatitudes, like a series of lamps that point out the path of Christian life. Today is the feast day of all those who have reached the goal that this map points out: not only the saints who appear on the calendar, but all our brothers and sisters next door, who we may have met and even known. Today is a feast for families, for the many simple people, the hidden people who help the world to move forward, and there are many such people today! There are many of them. Thanks to these hidden brothers and sisters who help God to move the world forward; they are living among us. Let us greet them all with our applause!
First of all - says the first beatitude - are the poor in spirit (Mt 5:3). What does this mean? That they do not live for themselves, they do not seek power or money; they know that those who accumulate treasure for themselves do not enrich themselves before God (cf Lk 12:21). They believe that God himself is the greatest of life's treasures, and love for our neighbour is the only true source of accumulating such treasures. Sometimes, if we are dissatisfied with something that we are missing or worried that we are not being considered as we should, we must remember that our blessing is not to be found in this place, but in the Lord and in love: only in Him, only by loving can we live truly blessed lives.
Finally, I want to cite another beatitude, which is not found in the gospels, but at the end of the bible. It speaks of the end of life: Blessed are the dead who have died in the Lord (Rev 14:13). Tomorrow we will be called to accompany our deceased brothers and sisters with our prayers, so that they may always gaze on the Lord. Let us remember our beloved brothers and sisters with gratitude and pray for them.
May the Mother of God, the Queen of the Saints and the Doorway to Heaven, intercede for us that we may walk the path of holiness and for our beloved brothers and sisters who have preceded us and who are already on the way to our heavenly homeland.
After the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
I am saddened by the terrorist attacks that have taken place in recent days in Somalia, Afghanistan and yesterday in New York. While deploring such acts of violence, I am praying for those who have died, for those who have been wounded and for their families. Let us ask the Lord to convert the terrorists' hearts and to free them from hatred and from homicidal folly that abuses the name of God in order to spread death.
I affectionately greet all of you, pilgrims from Italy and from various other countries, especially those who have come from Courbevoie (France) and from Derry (Ireland). I greet the faithful from Terrasini, the recently confirmed young people from Modena, and the Engaging Service Association.
I extend a special greeting to those participating in the Saints' Race, organized by the Don Bosco world Foundation to offer a festive dimension to the religious celebration of All Saints. Thank you for your beautiful initiative and for your presence here!
Tomorrow afternoon, I will visit the Neptune American Cemetery and then the Fosse Ardeatine: I ask you to accompany me with your prayers in these two steps of memory and prayer for the victims of war and violence. Wars do not produce anything except for cemeteries and death: this is the reason why I wanted to provide this sign during a moment when humanity seems not to have learned our lesson, and it seems that we don't want to learn it either.
I wish you all a good feast day in the spiritual company of the Saints. Please, don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye!
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