Today's General Audience began at 10:00am in Saint Peter's Square where the Holy Father, Pope Francis met with groups of pilgrims and the faithful from Italy and from every corner of the world.
In his speech, the Pope, continuing the cycle of catecheses on the family, focused today on the effect of mourning in family life.
Following the customary resumes of his teaching, presented in various languages, the Holy Father spoke words of greeting to each of the groups of the faithful who were present. Then, recalling the fact that his Encyclical entitled Laudato si, on caring for our common house, will be published tomorrow, His Holiness issued a call to all people to take responsibility for the care of creation. He also urged solidarity toward migrants and refugees in recognition of the World Day of Refugees which will be celebrated next Saturday.
The General Audience concluded with the chanting of the Pater Noster and the Apostolic Blessing.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
In the course of the catecheses on the family, today let us take direct inspiration from the story that is told by Luke, the evangelist, which we have just heard (cf Lk 7:11-15). It is a very moving scene, which demonstrates the compassion of Jesus for those who are suffering - in this case a widow who had lost her only son - and which also demonstrates Jesus power over death.
Death is something that affects all families, without any exception. It is part of life; yet, when it affects family affections, death never seems natural. For parents, outliving their children is something that is particularly poignant, something that contradicts the elementary nature of the relationships that give meaning to family life. The loss of a son or a daughter is like stopping time; opening a chasm that swallows both the past and the future. A death that takes away a little son or a young child is a blow to the promises, to the gifts and sacrifices of love that is joyously brought to life when we give birth. Many times it happens that parents come to Mass at Santa Martha with photos of their sons or daughters, children or teenagers ... and they tell me: He's gone, she's gone. Their faces are so sorrowful. Death touches us and when it comes to a son or a daughter, it touches us profoundly. The whole family remains paralyzed, speechless. Something similar also happens to a child who is left alone, due to the loss of one of his or her parents, or even both of them. The question: Where is daddy? Where is mommy? - He (or she) is in heaven - Why can I not see him (or her)? This question masks a heart-felt anguish on the part of the child who is left alone. The emptiness of abandonment which opens within such children is all the more distressing because it isn't experienced often enough within someone's life to be able to give a name to what has happened. When will daddy come back? When will mommy return? What can you say when your child is suffering? This is how it is when a family dies.
In such cases, death is like a black hole that opens in the life of families and for which we can give no explanation. Sometimes, we can even blame God. How many people - I understand them - get angry with God, blaspheming: Why have you taken my son, my daughter? God is not there. God doesn't exist! Why has God done this? We have heard such words on many occasions, but this anger is an emotion that comes from the heart of great suffering: the loss of a son or of a daughter, the suffering of a father or a mother; it is great suffering. This happens continually in families. In such cases, I have said, death is almost like a hole. But physical death has accomplices that are even worse than death itself. They are called hatred, envy, pride, greed: in short, the sin of the world that works for death and renders it even more painful and unjust. Affections within a family seem to be the predestined and intended victims of the auxiliary powers of death, which are part of the history of mankind. We can think of the absurd normality with which, at certain times and in certain places, the events that add to the horror of death are provoked through hatred of and indifference to other human beings. May the Lord deliver us from such an arbitrary approach!
Among the people of God, by the grace of his compassion, given in Jesus, many families demonstrate the fact that death does not have the last word: this is truly an act of faith. Every time that a family mourns - even though it is terrible - they find the strength to keep the faith and the love that unites them to those who love; even in such moments, love prevents death from taking everything from us. The darkness of death needs to be addressed with a more intense labour of love. My God, scatter my darkness! ... is the invocation of the evening liturgy. In the light of the Resurrection of the Lord, who never abandons anyone of those that the Father has confided to him, we can remove the sting of death, as the apostle Paul says (1 Cor 15:55): we can prevent it from poisoning our life and causing us to fall into darkness.
In this faith, we can console one another, knowing that the Lord has conquered death once for all time. Our loved ones are not lost in the darkness of a void: hope assures us that they are in the good and strong hands of God. Love is stronger than death. For this is the road that helps our love to grow, makes it more solid, and love will keep us until the day when every tear will be wiped away, when there will be no more death, no mourning, no crying and no pain (Rev 21:4). If we allow ourselves to support this belief, the experience of mourning can create a stronger sense of solidarity and of family ties, a new openness to the suffering of other families, a new fraternity with families who are born and reborn in hope. Born and reborn in hope, this is what gives us faith, but I want to point out, the last line of the gospel that we heard today (cf Lk 7:11-15). After Jesus raised the young man to life, the son of his mother who was a widow, the gospel says: Jesus gave him back to his mother. This is our hope! All of our loved ones who have gone before us, God will give them back to us and we will meet with them. This hope does not disappoint! Let us remember the actions of Jesus: And Jesus gave him back to his mother, so the Lord will also do with our loved ones, our family members!
This faith protects us from a nihilistic vision of death and from the false consolation that the world offers, so that the Christian truth is not likely to mix with various kinds of mythology, yielding to either ancient or modern superstitious rights (Benedict XVI, Angelus, November 2, 2008). Today, pastors and all Christians need to express the sense of the faith in in a more concrete way in the context of family experiences of bereavement. No one should be denied the right to cry - we need to cry when we are grieved - even Jesus burst into tears and was deeply troubled by the grieving of a family he loved (Jn 11:33-37). We can deduce from the simple but compelling testimony of many family who have been able to grasp, in the most difficult moments of death, the safe passage of the Lord, crucified and risen, with his unchanging promise of the resurrection of the dead. The work of God's love is stronger than the work of death. From this love, and precisely from this love, we become hard-working accomplices, by means of our faith! Remember the actions of Jesus: Jesus gave him back to his mother, and he will do the same for all our loved ones and for us when we meet him, when death will be definitively defeated in us. It is defeated on the cross of Jesus. Jesus will give our families back to all of us!
This teaching was then summarized in various languages, and the Holy Father addressed greetings to each group of pilgrims present. To English-speaking pilgrims, he said:
I greet the English speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, including those from England, Scotland, Zambia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan, Vietnam, Puerto Rico and the United States. I pray especially for families mourning loved ones. May the Church’s pastors and communities come to their aid in pray, acts of concrete help, and with tenderness. Upon all of you and your loved ones, I invoke the Lord Jesus’ abundant blessings of peace and joy. May God bless you all!
At the conclusion of the greetings offered to the various groups of pilgrims, His Holiness concluded:
Tomorrow, as you know, the Encyclical on caring for our common house which is creation will be published. Our house is being ruined, and that hurts everyone, especially the poor. I therefore call upon those who are responsible based on a task that God has given to all human beings since the moment of creation: cultivate and care for the garden in which I have placed you (cf Gen 2:15). I invite all people to welcome this document with open hearts, for it is patterned on the social teaching of the Church.
Next Saturday is the World Day of Refugees, organized by the United Nations. Let us pray for our many brothers and sisters who are seeking refuge far from their homes, who seek a house where they can live without fear, where they will be treated with respect and dignity. I encourage the efforts of all those who are helping them and I hope that the international community will act in a fitting and efficient manner to prevent the causes of forced migration. I invite you all to ask for pardon for the persons and institutions who close their doors to these people who are seeking a family, who want to be cared for.
In his speech, the Pope, continuing the cycle of catecheses on the family, focused today on the effect of mourning in family life.
Following the customary resumes of his teaching, presented in various languages, the Holy Father spoke words of greeting to each of the groups of the faithful who were present. Then, recalling the fact that his Encyclical entitled Laudato si, on caring for our common house, will be published tomorrow, His Holiness issued a call to all people to take responsibility for the care of creation. He also urged solidarity toward migrants and refugees in recognition of the World Day of Refugees which will be celebrated next Saturday.
The General Audience concluded with the chanting of the Pater Noster and the Apostolic Blessing.
Catechesis of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the General Audience
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
In the course of the catecheses on the family, today let us take direct inspiration from the story that is told by Luke, the evangelist, which we have just heard (cf Lk 7:11-15). It is a very moving scene, which demonstrates the compassion of Jesus for those who are suffering - in this case a widow who had lost her only son - and which also demonstrates Jesus power over death.
Death is something that affects all families, without any exception. It is part of life; yet, when it affects family affections, death never seems natural. For parents, outliving their children is something that is particularly poignant, something that contradicts the elementary nature of the relationships that give meaning to family life. The loss of a son or a daughter is like stopping time; opening a chasm that swallows both the past and the future. A death that takes away a little son or a young child is a blow to the promises, to the gifts and sacrifices of love that is joyously brought to life when we give birth. Many times it happens that parents come to Mass at Santa Martha with photos of their sons or daughters, children or teenagers ... and they tell me: He's gone, she's gone. Their faces are so sorrowful. Death touches us and when it comes to a son or a daughter, it touches us profoundly. The whole family remains paralyzed, speechless. Something similar also happens to a child who is left alone, due to the loss of one of his or her parents, or even both of them. The question: Where is daddy? Where is mommy? - He (or she) is in heaven - Why can I not see him (or her)? This question masks a heart-felt anguish on the part of the child who is left alone. The emptiness of abandonment which opens within such children is all the more distressing because it isn't experienced often enough within someone's life to be able to give a name to what has happened. When will daddy come back? When will mommy return? What can you say when your child is suffering? This is how it is when a family dies.
In such cases, death is like a black hole that opens in the life of families and for which we can give no explanation. Sometimes, we can even blame God. How many people - I understand them - get angry with God, blaspheming: Why have you taken my son, my daughter? God is not there. God doesn't exist! Why has God done this? We have heard such words on many occasions, but this anger is an emotion that comes from the heart of great suffering: the loss of a son or of a daughter, the suffering of a father or a mother; it is great suffering. This happens continually in families. In such cases, I have said, death is almost like a hole. But physical death has accomplices that are even worse than death itself. They are called hatred, envy, pride, greed: in short, the sin of the world that works for death and renders it even more painful and unjust. Affections within a family seem to be the predestined and intended victims of the auxiliary powers of death, which are part of the history of mankind. We can think of the absurd normality with which, at certain times and in certain places, the events that add to the horror of death are provoked through hatred of and indifference to other human beings. May the Lord deliver us from such an arbitrary approach!
Among the people of God, by the grace of his compassion, given in Jesus, many families demonstrate the fact that death does not have the last word: this is truly an act of faith. Every time that a family mourns - even though it is terrible - they find the strength to keep the faith and the love that unites them to those who love; even in such moments, love prevents death from taking everything from us. The darkness of death needs to be addressed with a more intense labour of love. My God, scatter my darkness! ... is the invocation of the evening liturgy. In the light of the Resurrection of the Lord, who never abandons anyone of those that the Father has confided to him, we can remove the sting of death, as the apostle Paul says (1 Cor 15:55): we can prevent it from poisoning our life and causing us to fall into darkness.
In this faith, we can console one another, knowing that the Lord has conquered death once for all time. Our loved ones are not lost in the darkness of a void: hope assures us that they are in the good and strong hands of God. Love is stronger than death. For this is the road that helps our love to grow, makes it more solid, and love will keep us until the day when every tear will be wiped away, when there will be no more death, no mourning, no crying and no pain (Rev 21:4). If we allow ourselves to support this belief, the experience of mourning can create a stronger sense of solidarity and of family ties, a new openness to the suffering of other families, a new fraternity with families who are born and reborn in hope. Born and reborn in hope, this is what gives us faith, but I want to point out, the last line of the gospel that we heard today (cf Lk 7:11-15). After Jesus raised the young man to life, the son of his mother who was a widow, the gospel says: Jesus gave him back to his mother. This is our hope! All of our loved ones who have gone before us, God will give them back to us and we will meet with them. This hope does not disappoint! Let us remember the actions of Jesus: And Jesus gave him back to his mother, so the Lord will also do with our loved ones, our family members!
This faith protects us from a nihilistic vision of death and from the false consolation that the world offers, so that the Christian truth is not likely to mix with various kinds of mythology, yielding to either ancient or modern superstitious rights (Benedict XVI, Angelus, November 2, 2008). Today, pastors and all Christians need to express the sense of the faith in in a more concrete way in the context of family experiences of bereavement. No one should be denied the right to cry - we need to cry when we are grieved - even Jesus burst into tears and was deeply troubled by the grieving of a family he loved (Jn 11:33-37). We can deduce from the simple but compelling testimony of many family who have been able to grasp, in the most difficult moments of death, the safe passage of the Lord, crucified and risen, with his unchanging promise of the resurrection of the dead. The work of God's love is stronger than the work of death. From this love, and precisely from this love, we become hard-working accomplices, by means of our faith! Remember the actions of Jesus: Jesus gave him back to his mother, and he will do the same for all our loved ones and for us when we meet him, when death will be definitively defeated in us. It is defeated on the cross of Jesus. Jesus will give our families back to all of us!
This teaching was then summarized in various languages, and the Holy Father addressed greetings to each group of pilgrims present. To English-speaking pilgrims, he said:
I greet the English speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, including those from England, Scotland, Zambia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan, Vietnam, Puerto Rico and the United States. I pray especially for families mourning loved ones. May the Church’s pastors and communities come to their aid in pray, acts of concrete help, and with tenderness. Upon all of you and your loved ones, I invoke the Lord Jesus’ abundant blessings of peace and joy. May God bless you all!
At the conclusion of the greetings offered to the various groups of pilgrims, His Holiness concluded:
Tomorrow, as you know, the Encyclical on caring for our common house which is creation will be published. Our house is being ruined, and that hurts everyone, especially the poor. I therefore call upon those who are responsible based on a task that God has given to all human beings since the moment of creation: cultivate and care for the garden in which I have placed you (cf Gen 2:15). I invite all people to welcome this document with open hearts, for it is patterned on the social teaching of the Church.
Next Saturday is the World Day of Refugees, organized by the United Nations. Let us pray for our many brothers and sisters who are seeking refuge far from their homes, who seek a house where they can live without fear, where they will be treated with respect and dignity. I encourage the efforts of all those who are helping them and I hope that the international community will act in a fitting and efficient manner to prevent the causes of forced migration. I invite you all to ask for pardon for the persons and institutions who close their doors to these people who are seeking a family, who want to be cared for.
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