Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass on the feast of All Souls at Rome’s Verano cemetery, saying that as Christians remember their loved ones who have died, they do so with faith that at the end of this life they will be together again with the Lord. Source: OSV News.
“The Lord awaits us, and when we finally meet him at the end of our earthly journey, we shall rejoice with him and with our loved ones who have gone before us,” the Pope told about 2000 people who had gathered on a road among the tombs for the Mass on Sunday.
“May this promise sustain us, dry our tears and raise our gaze upward toward the hope for the future that never fades,” he said.
Arriving at the cemetery, he set a bouquet of white roses on one of the tombs, and at the end of the Mass he blessed the graves with holy water before leading the traditional prayer, “Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.”
The Pope began his homily by speaking about the loved ones buried at Verano, telling the congregation that “we continue to carry them with us in our hearts, and their memory remains always alive within us amid our daily lives”.
“Often,” he said, “something brings them to mind, and we recall experiences we once shared with them. Many places, even the fragrance of our homes, speak to us of those we have loved and who have gone before us, vividly maintaining their memory for us.”
For those who believe that Jesus conquered death, the Pope said, “it is not so much about looking back, but instead looking forward toward the goal of our journey, toward the safe harbour that God has promised us, toward the unending feast that awaits us”.
Belief in eternal life, the Pope said, “is not an illusion for soothing the pain of our separation from loved ones, nor is it mere human optimism. Instead, it is the hope founded on the Resurrection of Jesus who has conquered death and opened for us the path to the fullness of life.”
Earlier in the day, the Pope led the recitation of the Angelus prayer with thousands of visitors gathered in St Peter’s Square.
FULL STORY
Prayer for beloved dead is sign of hope of being together again, pope says (By Cindy Wooden, OSV News)
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