Moved perhaps by the melancholic sight of the sun setting against
the tombs in Rome's Verano Cemetery, the final resting place of so many great
Italians, or stirred perhaps by the memory of all the victims of persecution, to
whom he referred a few hours earlier during the Angelus, Pope Francis put aside
his written homily and spoke ad lib during the Mass he celebrated this afternoon.
In his meditation, the words that prevailed were 'hope', 'anchor', and 'Jesus',
as if he were proclaiming the power of Christian hope in
a place that speaks about everyone's end and death.
Surrounded by thousands of faithful who filled the paths and alleys between
the monumental tombs of Verano Cemetery, the pontiff celebrated Mass accompanied
by Card Agostino
Vallini, vicar of Rome, Mgr Filippo
Iannone, vice-regent of the Diocese of Rome, the diocese's auxiliary bishops
and Fr Armando
Ambrosi, priest at the San Lorenzo fuori le Mura (St Lawrence outside the Walls)
Parish Church, where the cemetery is located.
In
coming here, Pope Francis revisited a tradition that John Paul II had upheld until
1 November 1993. Since then, Benedict
XVI did celebrate the Eucharist at the nearby Basilica of St Lawrence outside
the Walls in 2008.
In a slow voice,
a moved pontiff said, "At this moment before sunset, we are gathered in this
cemetery to think about our future and all those who are no more, those who
have gone before us in life and are in Lord. The vision we heard in today's
first reading is so beautiful (Rev,
7:2-4, 9-14)".
"We can
expect full love. Those who have gone before us in the Lord are there and
proclaim that they were saved not by their deeds, but by the Lord. 'Salvation
comes from
our God [. . .] and from the Lamb" (Rev, 7:10b) [. . .] He is the One who saves us, like a father, by
bringing us to the other shore at the end of our life".
Going back
again to the reading from Revelation,
the pope went on to say. "An elder asked, 'Who are these [.
. .]? [. . .] These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress;
they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb' (Rev. 7:14)."
"We
can only enter Heaven through the blood of the Lamb. It is the blood of Christ
that justified us."
If today, we
remember our departed brothers and sisters, it is because they were cleansed by
the blood of Christ. He is our hope. He
never disappoints."
The pope then
turned to the first reading of the Mass (1
Jn, 3:1-3), when "John told his disciples, 'See what love
the Father has bestowed on us [. . .] we are God's children now; what we shall
be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed.' That is, 'we
shall be like him'. That is our hope."
"Today,"
the pope explained, "on the feast of All Saints, before the day of All Souls, we
need to think about hope, the hope that accompanies us in life . . . . Early Christians
represented hope as an anchor, as if hope was anchored in God's life, on the
other shore. To have our life anchored where our dearly departed, Jesus Christ,
and God are brings the hope that does not disappoint."
"Hope is
the yeast that widens the soul," said in concluding. "Even in difficult times, hope,
the soul go on. Today is a day of hope. Our brothers and sisters are in God's
presence. We too shall be there if we walk along Jesus' road . . . . Everyone who has this hope based on him makes
himself pure' (1 Jn. 3, 3). Hope purifies; it lightens us; it makes it go faster.
"As sun starts
to set today, let each of us think of our own sunset. Am I looking at it with
hope? . . . Where is my heart anchored? If it is anchored on the shore, hope cannot
disappoint because Jesus does not disappoint."
At the end
of the Mass, the pope concluded, "I would like to pray in a special way, in
particular for our brothers and sisters who died as they sought a better life.
We saw the cruelty of the desert, and of the sea where many drowned. Let us
also pray for those who were saved, now languishing in shelters. Let us hope they
might go to other, more comfortable places, in other centres."