Pope: All Souls shows the three dimensions of life: past, future and present
Francis celebrated Mass in Rome’s Laurentino cemetery, which has a “Garden of the Angels" for unborn children. The beatitudes are the lights that show us the way “to get where they are waiting for us with so much love”.
Rome (AsiaNews) – Pope Francis today celebrated Mass for the Faithful Departed in Rome’s Laurentino Cemetery. For the pontiff, this day’s liturgy is “realistic and concrete. It shows us the three dimensions of life: past, future and present".
Laurentino, the third largest of Rome’s eleven cemeteries, includes a "Garden of the Angels", for unborn children, a green area of about 600 square metres for children who were never born as a result of miscarriage or abortion.
Francis, who arrived shortly after 3:30 pm stopped by the Garden to pray and laid down flowers in front of the graves. At the Chapel of the Risen Jesus, the only church in a Roman cemetery, he celebrated Mass.
“Today is a day to remember the past,” he said, “to remember those who accompanied us and given us life. [. . .] Remembering, recollecting and memory are what make a people strong because it feels rooted. Remembrance makes us understand that we have a history.”
"Remembrance of those who are here. It is not easy to remember; so many times, it is difficult to remember. But today is a day of remembrance. [. . .] a day of hope, to meet those who have preceded us to where there is love, waiting for us.”
“And between the two there is the third: the beatitudes, which Jesus gave us, are the lights that guide us so that we do not miss the road". They mean being meek, just, poor, peaceful, persecuted.
"These are the lights that accompany us. This is our present. We can see remembrance here, we can celebrate hope in faith – the Beatitudes are the lights so as not to make a mistake."
"Let us ask the Lord that we never lose our memory, to give us hope, to know how to look at the horizon and to give us the ability to understand the lights to get to where they are waiting for us with so much love".
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04/04/2024 19:39
