For all the saints

Today at noon in Rome, 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 who had gathered in Saint Peter's Square.

Address of the Holy Father, Pope Francis

prior to the recitation of the Angelus

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

The Feast of All Saints which we celebrate today reminds us that the ultimate goal of our existence is not death, but Heaven!  The apostle John wrote about this: What we will be has not yet been revealed.  But we know that when he appears, we will be like him, for we shall see him as he is (1 John 3:2).  The Saints, the friends of God, assure us that this promise will not fail.  In fact, in their earthly existence, they lived in deep communion with God.  In the faces of the smallest and most downtrodden of their brothers, they say the face of God, and now they contemplate him face to face in the fullness of his glorious beauty.

The Saints are not superhuman persons, neither were they born perfect.  They are just like us, like very one of us, they are people who before attaining the glory of heaven lived normal lives, with joys and sorrows, struggles and hopes.  But what changed their lives?  When they had discovered the love of God, they followed him with all their hearts, without conditions or hypocrisy; they spent their lives in service to others, they endured suffering and adversity without hate and responded to evil with good, spreading joy and peace.  This is the life of the Saints: people who lived their lives for the love of God, without placing conditions on Him; who were not hypocritical; who spent their lives in service to others by serving their neighbours; who suffered so much adversity, but never hated in return.  The Saints never hated.  Understand this well: love is from God but hate, where does it come from?  Hate doesn’t come from God but from the devil!  And the Saints are far removed from the devil; the Saints are men and women who have joy in their hearts and who share it with others.  Never hate, but serve others, especially those who are most in need; pray and live with joy; this is the way that leads to holiness!

Being holy is not the privilege of the few, as though it were given as a tangible inheritance; all of us through Baptism have received this inheritance and are capable of becoming saints.  Holiness is a vocation for everyone.  All of us are therefore called to walk the path of holiness and this path has a name and a face: the face of Jesus Christ.  He teaches us to become saints.  In the Gospel, he shows us the way: the way of the Beatitudes (cf Mt 5:1-12).  In fact, the Kingdom of heaven is for those who do not place their confidence in things  but in the love of God; for those who have simple and humble hearts, who do not presume themselves to be just and who do not judge others, for those who suffer with those who experience suffering and who rejoice with those who are joyous, for those who hare not violent but merciful; and for those who seek to be artisans of reconciliation and peace.  The Saint is an artisan of reconciliation and of peace; one who always helps others to be reconciled and one who always works to ensure the existence of peace.  Holiness is beautiful; it’s a beautiful choice!

Today, on this feast day, the Saints give us a message.  They say: trust in God, because God will never disappoint!  He never disappoints, he is a good friend who is always by our side.  Through their example, the Saints encourage us to not be afraid to go against the tide or of being misunderstood or ridiculed when we speak of Him and about the Gospel; they show us through the example of their lives that those who remain faithful to God and to his Word already experience here on earth the comfort of his love, and await the hundredfold blessings of eternity.  This is what we hope for and what we ask of the Lord for our departed brothers and sisters.  The Church has wisely placed in immediate sequence the feasts of All Saints and the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed.  To our prayer of praise offered to God and to our veneration of the blessed spirits, we unite our prayer for the souls of all those who have preceded us in passing over from this world to eternity.

We entrust our prayer to the intercession of Mary, Queen of All the Saints.

Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:

Dear brothers and sisters,

I greet you all affectionately, especially the families, the parish groups and the associations.

I warmly greet all those who participated this morning in the Saints’ Race, organized by the World Don Bosco Foundation.  Saint Paul would say that the entire life of a Christian is a race to achieve the prize of holiness – you provide a good example!  Thank you for this race!

This afternoon, I will go to the cemetery in Verano to celebrate Mass.  I will be spiritually united to those who are also visiting cemeteries at this time, the places where all those who have preceded us in this life and who were marked with the sign of faith currently sleep and await the day of the Resurrection.  In particular, I will pray for victims of violence, especially for Christians who have lost their lives as a result of persecutions.  I will also pray in a special way for all those, our brothers and sisters, men, women and children who have died because of thirst or hunger or who were tired out while seeking a better life for themselves.  In these days, we have seen some cruel images of abandonment in the newspapers: let us all pray in silence for these brothers and sisters of ours.

I wish all of you a good All Souls day.  Good bye and have a good lunch!