At 12 noon today, the Holy Father Francis appeared at the window of the study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace to recite the Angelus with the faithful and pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
These are the words of the Pope in introducing the Marian prayer:
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
On this solemn feast of All Saints, the Church invites us to reflect on the great hope, which is based on the resurrection of Christ: Christ is risen and we too will be with him. The Saints and the Blessed are the most authoritative witnesses of Christian hope, because they lived it fully in their existence, amidst joys and sufferings, carrying out the Beatitudes that Jesus preached and which today resound in the Liturgy (cf. Mt 5: 1-12a). The evangelical Beatitudes, in fact, are the way to holiness. I now dwell on two Beatitudes, the second and the third.
The second is this: ” Blessed are those who weep, for they will be comforted ” (v. 4). These seem contradictory words because crying is not a sign of joy and happiness. Reasons for weeping and suffering are death, illness, moral adversity, sin, and mistakes: simply everyday life, fragile, weak, and marked by difficulties. A life that is sometimes wounded and tried by ingratitudes and misunderstandings. Jesus proclaims blessed those who weep for these realities and, despite everything, trust in the Lord and place themselves under his shadow. They are not indifferent, nor do they harden their hearts in pain, but patiently hope for the consolation of God. And this consolation they already experience in this life.
In the third Beatitude, Jesus says: ” Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth ” (v. 5). Brothers and sisters, meekness! Meekness is characteristic of Jesus, who says of himself: “Learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart” ( Mt11.29). Myths are those who know how to dominate themselves, who leave room for the other, listen to him and respect him in his way of life, in his needs and in his requests. They do not intend to overwhelm or belittle it, they do not want to dominate and dominate everything, nor to impose their ideas and interests to the detriment of others. These people, whom the worldly mentality does not appreciate, are instead precious in the eyes of God, who gives them as an inheritance the promised land, that is, eternal life. This beatitude also begins here and will be fulfilled in Heaven, in Christ. The meekness. In this moment of world life, too, where there is so much aggression…; and also in everyday life, the first thing that comes out of us is aggression, defense… We need meekness to go forward on the path of holiness. Listen, respect,.
Dear brothers and sisters, choose purity, meekness, and mercy; choosing to rely on the Lord in poverty of spirit and affliction; to commit oneself to justice and peace, all this means going against the current of the mentality of this world, of the culture of possession, of meaningless fun, of arrogance towards the weakest. This evangelical path has been traveled by the Saints and the Blessed. Today’s solemnity, which celebrates All Saints, reminds us of the personal and universal vocation to holiness, and offers us sure models for this journey, which each one walks in a unique way, in an unrepeatable way. Just think of the inexhaustible variety of gifts and concrete stories that exist between saints and saints: they are not the same, each has his own personality and has developed his life in holiness according to his own personality. Each of us can do it, go down that path. Meekness, meekness please and we will go to holiness.
This immense family of Christ’s faithful disciples has a Mother, the Virgin Mary. We venerate her with the title of Queen of all Saints, but she is first of all the Mother, who teaches each one to welcome and follow her Son. May she help us to nourish the desire for holiness, walking on the path of the Beatitudes.
[01310-EN.02] [Original text: Italian] – Vatican News – Bulletin
