This morning's General Audience began at 9:10am 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 focused on the theme: Blessed are the dead who have died in the Lord.
After having summarized his catechesis in various languages, the Holy Father addressed particular greetings to each group of the faithful who were present. Then, he issued a call on behalf of the people of Somalia who, in recent days, have suffered a terrorist attack which has left more than 300 people dead.
The General Audience concluded with the chanting of the Pater Noster and the Apostolic Blessing.
Beloved brothers and sisters, good morning!
Today, I want to compare Christian hope with the reality of death, a reality that our modern society always tends to deny. So, when death comes, for those who are close by or for us, we find ourselves unprepared, even deprived of an alphabet with which to compose words which can speak of this mystery in a way that makes sense; still the mystery remains. Yet even the first signs of human civilization experienced this enigma. We might say that mankind was born with the cult of the dead.
Other societies, before our own, had the courage to look death in the face. It was something related by the elderly to newer generations, as an unavoidable reality that obliged us to live for something absolute. Psalm 90 says: Teach us to count our days and to acquire a wise heart (Ps 90:12). Counting our days makes our hearts wise! Words that bring us back to a healthy realism, casting off the delusions of omnipotence. What are we? We are almost nothing, says another Psalm (Ps 88:48); our days pass by quickly; even if we live a hundred years, in the end it seems to be a surprise. Many times, I have heard the elderly say: Life has passed me by like a breath ...
So it is that death exposes everything about our lives. It shows us that our acts of pride, anger and hatred were based in vanity: pure vanity. We find it regrettable that we have not loved enough and did not seek out that which was essential. And, on the contrary, we see that what we have done was truly good: affections for which we have sacrificed ourselves, and which now hold us by the hand.
Jesus illustrated the mystery of our death. With his behaviour, he authorizes us to feel sad when someone who is dear to us goes away. He was deeply troubled as he stood before the tomb of is friend Lazarus, and even burst into tears (Jn 11:35). In this way, we sense Jesus, our brother, very close to us. He wept for his friend Lazarus.
And therefore, Jesus prayed to the Father, the font of life, and ordered Lazarus to come out of the tomb. And it happened. Christian hope draws on this attitude that Jesus assumed against human death: if it is present in creation, it is however a shyness that destroys God's loving plan, and the Saviour wants to heal us.
In another place, the gospel speaks of a father who has a very sick daughter, and comes to Jesus in faith to ask him to save her (cf Mk 5:21-24, 35-43). There is no more touching figure than a father or a mother with a sick child. Immediately, Jesus began to walk with that man, who's name was Jairus. At a certain point, someone arrived from the house of Jairus to inform him that his daughter had died, and that there was no more need to disturb the Master. But Jesus said to Jairus: Do not be afraid, only have faith (Mk 5:36). Jesus knew that that man was tempted to react in anger and desperation, because his daughter had died, and he suggested that he protect the small flame of hope that had been ignited in his heart: faith. Do not be afraid, only have faith. Don't be afraid, just keep igniting the flame! And then, arriving at home, the child had been awakened from death and restored to life, to her loved ones.
Jesus puts us on the crest of faith. To Martha, who was crying over the death of her brother Lazarus, he offered the light of a dogma: I am the resurrection and the life; who ever believes in me, even if he dies, he will live; whoever lives and believes in me will not die forever. Do you believe this? (Jn 11:25-26). This is what Jesus repeats to each one of us, every time that death tears at the fabric of life and our affections. Our entire existence is at play here between the side of faith and the precipice of fear. Jesus says: I am not death, I am the resurrection and life, do you believe this?, do you believe this? We who are here in the Piazza today, do we believe this?
We are all small and helpless before the mystery of death. However, what a grace it is if at that moment, we keep the flame of faith alive in our hearts! Jesus will always take us by the hand as he took Jairus' daughter by the hand, and will repeat once again: Talità kum: little one, rise! Mk 5:41). He will say this to us as well: Get back up, get going! I invite you now to close your eyes and to think about that moment: the moment of your death. Every one of us, let's all think about our own death, and imagine the moment that will come one day, when Jesus takes us by the hand and says to us: Come, come with me, get up. At that time, hope will end and will become the reality, the reality of life. Think about it: Jesus himself will see each one of us. He will take us by the hand, with his tenderness, his meekness, his love. And all of us can repeat the words Jesus spoke in our hearts: Get up, come. Get up, come ... Get up, grow up.
This is our hope in the face of death. For those who believe, it is a doorway that opens wide; for those who doubt, it is a ray of light that shines out of a doorway that has not entirely been closed off. But for all of us, it will be a grace, when this light is illuminated by our encounter with Jesus.
The Holy Father's catechesis was then resumed and repeated in various languages. The Pontiff then offered greetings to each of the groups of pilgrims in attendance. To English speaking visitors, he said:
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, especially those from England, Scotland, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Russia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, China, Ghana, Lesotho, the Philippines, and the United States of America. May Jesus Christ strengthen you and your families in faith and make you witnesses of hope to the world, especially to those who mourn. May God bless you all!
At the conclusion of the General Audience, the Pope issued the following call to prayer:
I wish to express my sadness at the massacre that took place in recent days in Mogadishu (Somalia), bringing about more than three hundred deaths, among which are many children. This terrorist act deserves the most severe disapproval, because it has been exacted on a people who have already been sorely tried. I am praying for those who have died and for those who have been wounded, for their families and for all people of Somalia. I implore the conversion of those who have brought about this violence and I encourage all those who are working - with great difficulty - for peace in that martyred land.
In his speech, the Pope focused on the theme: Blessed are the dead who have died in the Lord.
After having summarized his catechesis in various languages, the Holy Father addressed particular greetings to each group of the faithful who were present. Then, he issued a call on behalf of the people of Somalia who, in recent days, have suffered a terrorist attack which has left more than 300 people dead.
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
Beloved brothers and sisters, good morning!
Today, I want to compare Christian hope with the reality of death, a reality that our modern society always tends to deny. So, when death comes, for those who are close by or for us, we find ourselves unprepared, even deprived of an alphabet with which to compose words which can speak of this mystery in a way that makes sense; still the mystery remains. Yet even the first signs of human civilization experienced this enigma. We might say that mankind was born with the cult of the dead.
Other societies, before our own, had the courage to look death in the face. It was something related by the elderly to newer generations, as an unavoidable reality that obliged us to live for something absolute. Psalm 90 says: Teach us to count our days and to acquire a wise heart (Ps 90:12). Counting our days makes our hearts wise! Words that bring us back to a healthy realism, casting off the delusions of omnipotence. What are we? We are almost nothing, says another Psalm (Ps 88:48); our days pass by quickly; even if we live a hundred years, in the end it seems to be a surprise. Many times, I have heard the elderly say: Life has passed me by like a breath ...
So it is that death exposes everything about our lives. It shows us that our acts of pride, anger and hatred were based in vanity: pure vanity. We find it regrettable that we have not loved enough and did not seek out that which was essential. And, on the contrary, we see that what we have done was truly good: affections for which we have sacrificed ourselves, and which now hold us by the hand.
Jesus illustrated the mystery of our death. With his behaviour, he authorizes us to feel sad when someone who is dear to us goes away. He was deeply troubled as he stood before the tomb of is friend Lazarus, and even burst into tears (Jn 11:35). In this way, we sense Jesus, our brother, very close to us. He wept for his friend Lazarus.
And therefore, Jesus prayed to the Father, the font of life, and ordered Lazarus to come out of the tomb. And it happened. Christian hope draws on this attitude that Jesus assumed against human death: if it is present in creation, it is however a shyness that destroys God's loving plan, and the Saviour wants to heal us.
In another place, the gospel speaks of a father who has a very sick daughter, and comes to Jesus in faith to ask him to save her (cf Mk 5:21-24, 35-43). There is no more touching figure than a father or a mother with a sick child. Immediately, Jesus began to walk with that man, who's name was Jairus. At a certain point, someone arrived from the house of Jairus to inform him that his daughter had died, and that there was no more need to disturb the Master. But Jesus said to Jairus: Do not be afraid, only have faith (Mk 5:36). Jesus knew that that man was tempted to react in anger and desperation, because his daughter had died, and he suggested that he protect the small flame of hope that had been ignited in his heart: faith. Do not be afraid, only have faith. Don't be afraid, just keep igniting the flame! And then, arriving at home, the child had been awakened from death and restored to life, to her loved ones.
Jesus puts us on the crest of faith. To Martha, who was crying over the death of her brother Lazarus, he offered the light of a dogma: I am the resurrection and the life; who ever believes in me, even if he dies, he will live; whoever lives and believes in me will not die forever. Do you believe this? (Jn 11:25-26). This is what Jesus repeats to each one of us, every time that death tears at the fabric of life and our affections. Our entire existence is at play here between the side of faith and the precipice of fear. Jesus says: I am not death, I am the resurrection and life, do you believe this?, do you believe this? We who are here in the Piazza today, do we believe this?
We are all small and helpless before the mystery of death. However, what a grace it is if at that moment, we keep the flame of faith alive in our hearts! Jesus will always take us by the hand as he took Jairus' daughter by the hand, and will repeat once again: Talità kum: little one, rise! Mk 5:41). He will say this to us as well: Get back up, get going! I invite you now to close your eyes and to think about that moment: the moment of your death. Every one of us, let's all think about our own death, and imagine the moment that will come one day, when Jesus takes us by the hand and says to us: Come, come with me, get up. At that time, hope will end and will become the reality, the reality of life. Think about it: Jesus himself will see each one of us. He will take us by the hand, with his tenderness, his meekness, his love. And all of us can repeat the words Jesus spoke in our hearts: Get up, come. Get up, come ... Get up, grow up.
This is our hope in the face of death. For those who believe, it is a doorway that opens wide; for those who doubt, it is a ray of light that shines out of a doorway that has not entirely been closed off. But for all of us, it will be a grace, when this light is illuminated by our encounter with Jesus.
The Holy Father's catechesis was then resumed and repeated in various languages. The Pontiff then offered greetings to each of the groups of pilgrims in attendance. To English speaking visitors, he said:
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, especially those from England, Scotland, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Russia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, China, Ghana, Lesotho, the Philippines, and the United States of America. May Jesus Christ strengthen you and your families in faith and make you witnesses of hope to the world, especially to those who mourn. May God bless you all!
At the conclusion of the General Audience, the Pope issued the following call to prayer:
I wish to express my sadness at the massacre that took place in recent days in Mogadishu (Somalia), bringing about more than three hundred deaths, among which are many children. This terrorist act deserves the most severe disapproval, because it has been exacted on a people who have already been sorely tried. I am praying for those who have died and for those who have been wounded, for their families and for all people of Somalia. I implore the conversion of those who have brought about this violence and I encourage all those who are working - with great difficulty - for peace in that martyred land.
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