Before the Angelus
After the Angelus
At midday today, Solemnity of All Saints, the Holy Father Francis appeared at the window of his study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace to pray the Angelus with the faithful and pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
The following is the Pope’s introduction to the Marian prayer:
Before the Angelus
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
The Solemnity of All Saints is “our” feast: not because we are good, but because God’s holiness has touched our life. The saints are not perfect little models, but people whom God has passed through. We can compare them to stained glass windows in churches, which allow the light to enter in different shades of colour. The saints are our brothers and sisters who have received the light of God in their hearts and have transmitted it to the people, each one in his own “shade”. But they are all transparent: they have struggled to remove the stains and darkness of sin, so as to light the kind light of God pass through. This is the aim of life: to let the light of God pass through; and it is also the aim of our life.
Indeed, in today’s Gospel reading Jesus addresses His people, all of us, calling us “Blessed” (Mt 5: 3). It is the word with which he beings His preaching, which is the “Gospel”, good news because it is the road of happiness. Those who are with Jesus are blessed and happy. Happiness does not reside in having something or in becoming someone, no: true happiness is being with the Lord and living for love. Do you believe this? We must go ahead, to believe in this. So, the ingredients for a happy life are called beatitudes: the simple, the humble who make space for God are blessed; those who know how to weep for others and for their own mistakes, remain meek, fight for justice, are merciful to all, conserve pureness of heart, work always for peace and remain joyful, do not hate and, even when they suffer, respond to evil with good.
These are the beatitudes. They do not demand dramatic gestures, they are not for supermen, but for those who live the trials and hardships of every day, for us. Thus are the Saints: like everyone, they breathe the polluted air of evil that exists in the world, but on the way they never lose sight of the traces of Jesus, as indicated in the Beatitudes, which is like the map of Christian life. Today is the feast of those who have reached the destination shown on this map: not only the Saints of the calendar, but so many brothers and sisters “from next door”, whom we have perhaps met and known. It is a feast of the family, of the many simple and hidden people who in reality help God to carry the world forward. And there are so many today! There are so many. Thanks to these unknown brothers and sisters who help God to take the world forward, who live among us. Let us greet them with a hearty applause!
First of all – says the first Beatitude – they are “poor in spirit” (Mt 5: 3). What does it mean? That they do not live for success, power and money; they know that he who accumulates treasures for himself is not enriched before God (cf. Lk 12: 21). They believe, instead, that the Lord is the treasure of life, and love of neighbour the only true source of earnings. Sometimes we are unhappy about something we lack or are concerned if we are not regarded as we would like; let us remember that our Beatitude isn’t here, but in the Lord and in love: only with Him, only by loving does one live blessed.
Finally, I would like to mention another beatitude, which is not found in the Gospel but at the end of the Bible, and it speaks about the end of lie: “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord” (Rev 14: 13). Tomorrow we are called to accompany in prayer our departed loved ones, so that they will rejoice forever in the Lord. Let us remember our dear ones with gratitude and pray for them.
May the Mother of God, Queen of Saints and Gate to Heaven, intercede for our journey of holiness and for our loved ones who have preceded us, and have already left for the celestial homeland.
After the Angelus
Dear brothers and sisters,
I am saddened by the terrorist attacks of these recent days in Somalia, Afghanistan and yesterday in New York. As I deplore such acts of violence, I pray for the deceased, for the wounded and their families. Let us ask the Lord to convert the hearts of terrorists and to free the world from the hatred and murderous madness that abuses the name of God to disseminate death.
I greet you all affectionately, pilgrims from Italy and from various countries, in particular, those from Courbevoie , France, and Derry, Ireland. I greet the faithful of Terrasini, recently confirmed young people from Modena, and the Association “Impegnarsi Serve”.
A special greeting goes to the participants in the Race of Saints, promoted by the “Don Bosco in the World” Foundation, to offer the dimension of a popular feast to the religious celebration of All Saints. Thank you for your beautiful initiative and for your presence!
Tomorrow afternoon I will go to the American Cemetery of Nettuno and then to the Fosse Ardeatine: I ask you to accompany me with prayer in these two visits of remembrance and prayer for the repose of the souls of the victims of war and of violence. Wars produce only cemeteries and death: that is why I wished to give this sign in a moment where our humanity seems not to have learned the lesson, or does not want to learn.
I wish you all a good feast in the spiritual company of the Saints. Please, do not forget to pray for me. Have a good lunch, and goodbye.
