Speaking
before the recitation of the Angelus prayer in St Peter’s Square on
Friday, Pope Francis reminded the faithful that the feast of All Saints,
celebrated on November 1st, reminds us that the goal of our existence
is not death, but Heaven.
The Saints the Pope said are “the friends of God,” and they assure us that his promise does not disappoint.
But
the Holy Father also stressed that the Saints are not supermen, nor
were they perfect, they were like you and me, he said. They were, the
Pope continued people who before reaching the glory of heaven and who
lived a normal life, with joys and sorrows , struggles and hopes.
But
what changed their lives, added Pope Francis was the knowledge of the
love of God , and they spent their lives enduring suffering and
adversity without hate and responding to evil with good, spreading joy
and peace.
The Holy Father underlined that “to be Saintly is not a
privilege of a few, but a vocation for everyone. Therefore, he went on
to say “we are all called to walk the path of holiness, and this pathway
has a name and a face: it is Jesus Christ.
Following the
Angelus prayer the Pope, in particular, prayed for the victims of
violence, especially for Christians who have lost their lives because of
persecution.
He also remembered the many migrants, mostly women and
children, who died of dehydration in the Sahara Desert recently, trying
to make the crossing from Niger to Algeria in order to make a better
life for themselves.
Finally, Pope Francis had greetings for all
those who participated in the “Saints Race” on Friday morning, which
made its way from the centre of Rome to the finish line at St Peter’s
Square.
The Holy Father told them that St Paul would say “that the whole
life of the Christian is a "race " in order to win the prize of
holiness : you runners, he added, give us a good example.