Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and happy feast!
Today, the Solemnity of All Saints, in the Gospel (cf. Mt 5:1-12) Jesus proclaims the identity card of the Christian. And what is the identity card of the Christian? The Beatitudes. It is our identity card, and also the path to holiness (cf. Apostolic Exhortation Gaudete et Exsultate, 63). Jesus shows us a path, the path of love, which he himself first followed when he became man, and which is for us both a gift from God and our response. Gift and response.
It is a gift from God, because, as St. Paul says, it is He who sanctifies (cf. 1 Cor 6:11). And so it is first of all the Lord whom we ask to sanctify us, to make our hearts like his (cf. Encyclical Letter Dilexit nos, 168). With his grace he heals us and frees us from everything that prevents us from loving as he loves us (cf. Jn 13:34), so that in us, as Blessed Carlo Acutis said, there is always “less of me to make room for God.”
And this brings us to the second point: our response. The heavenly Father offers us his holiness, but he does not impose it on us. He sows it in us, lets us taste it and see its beauty, but then awaits our response. He lets us follow his good inspirations, let ourselves be involved in his plans, make his sentiments our own (cf. Dilexit nos, 179), placing ourselves, as he taught us, at the service of others, with a charity that is ever more universal, open and directed to all, to the whole world.
We see all this in the lives of the saints, even in our time. Let us think, for example, of St. Maximilian Kolbe, who at Auschwitz asked to take the place of a father of a family condemned to death; or of St. Teresa of Calcutta, who spent her life serving the poorest of the poor; or of Bishop St. Oscar Romero, killed at the altar for having defended the rights of the least against the abuses of the powerful. And so we can list so many saints, so many: those we venerate at the altars and others, whom I like to call the saints “next door”, those of every day, the hidden ones, those who lead their daily Christian life. Brothers and sisters, how much hidden holiness there is in the Church! We recognize so many brothers and sisters shaped by the Beatitudes: poor, meek, merciful, hungry and thirsty for justice, peacemakers. They are people “full of God”, incapable of remaining indifferent to the needs of others; they are witnesses of luminous paths, which are also possible for us.
Let us now ask ourselves: do I ask God, in prayer, for the gift of a holy life? Do I allow myself to be guided by the good impulses that his Spirit inspires in me? And do I personally commit myself to practicing the Beatitudes of the Gospel in the environments in which I live?
May Mary, Queen of all Saints, help us to make our lives a path of holiness.
After the Angelus
Dear brothers and sisters,
I express my closeness to the people of Chad, in particular to the families of the victims of the serious terrorist attack of a few days ago, as well as to those affected by the floods. And with regard to these environmental disasters, let us pray for the people of the Iberian Peninsula, especially for the Valencian Community, overwhelmed by the storm “DANA”: for the deceased and their loved ones, and for all the affected families. May the Lord support those who suffer and those who bring aid. Our condolences to the people of Valencia.
I greet with affection all of you, pilgrims from various countries, families, parish groups, associations and school groups, in particular the faithful of Rignac (France).
And I greet the participants in the “Race of the Saints”, organized by the Don Bosco Missions Foundation. Dear friends, this year too we are reminded that Christian life is a race, but not as the world runs, no! It is the race of a loving heart. And thank you for your support in building a sports center in Ukraine.
We pray for the martyred Ukraine, we pray for Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, and Sudan, and for all the peoples who suffer because of wars. Brothers and sisters, war is always a defeat, always! And it is despicable because it is the triumph of lies, of falsehood: one seeks the greatest interest for oneself and the greatest harm to the adversary, trampling on human lives, the environment, infrastructure, everything; and all disguised with lies. And the innocent suffer! I think of the 153 women and children massacred in Gaza in recent days.
Tomorrow is the annual commemoration of all the faithful departed. Those who can during these days will go to pray at the tomb of their loved ones. I too will go tomorrow morning to celebrate Mass at the Laurentian cemetery in Rome. Let us not forget: the Eucharist is the greatest and most effective prayer for the souls of the deceased.
I wish you all a good party in the company of the saints. I greet you all, I greet the boys of the Immaculate Conception who are good! And please, don’t forget to pray for me. Have a good party! Have a good lunch and see you later.