Below is Pope Francis’ homily at the Mass in suffrage for the bishops and cardinals who died in the last year in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican:
“Jesus, remember me when you come to establish your kingdom” ( Lk 23:42). These are the last words addressed to the Lord by one of the two crucified men standing beside him. It is not a disciple who speaks them, it is not one of those who followed Jesus through the streets of Galilee and shared bread with him at the Last Supper. The man who addresses the Lord is, instead, a criminal who meets him only at the end of his life, one whose name we do not know.
However, the last breaths of this unknown man become, in the Gospel, a dialogue full of truth. While Jesus is “counted among the guilty” ( Is 53:12), as Isaiah had prophesied, an unexpected voice rises up saying: we “suffer justly, because we pay for our sins, but he has done nothing wrong” ( Lk 23:41). And indeed it is so. This condemned man represents us all; we can give him our own name. We can, above all, make his plea our own: “Jesus, remember me.” Keep me alive in your memory.
Let us meditate on this action: to remember. To remember means to “bring back to the heart”, to put back into the heart. That man, crucified next to Jesus, transforms great pain into prayer: “Jesus, take me into your heart.” He does not ask this in a voice of anguish, like that of a defeated man, but in a tone full of hope. This is all that the criminal who dies as a last-minute disciple desires: he seeks a heart that will welcome him. This is all that is worth to him, now that he finds himself naked before death. And the Lord always listens to the sinner’s prayer until the last moment. Pierced by pain, Christ’s heart opens to save the world: he welcomes, dying, the voice of the one who dies. Jesus dies with us, because he dies for us.
To the plea of the crucified, the innocent, crucified One answers: “I assure you that today you will be with me in Paradise” ( Lk 23:43). The memory of Jesus is effective because he is rich in mercy, and that is why it is effective. While man’s life is diminishing, the love of God frees us from death. Then the condemned is redeemed, and the unknown becomes a companion; a brief encounter on the cross will last forever in peace. This makes us reflect a little. How do I find Jesus? Or better yet, how do I allow myself to be found by Jesus? Do I allow myself to be found or do I lock myself away in my selfishness, in my pain, in my self-sufficiency? Do I feel like a sinner to allow myself to be found by the Lord? Do I feel righteous and say to him ‘You are of no use to me’, and do I go on?
Jesus remembers those who are crucified beside him. The care he takes of them, until his last breath, makes us reflect: there are different ways of remembering people and things. We can remember grievances, unfinished business, friends and enemies. How are people in our hearts? How do we remember those who have been with us in the experiences we have lived? Do I judge, divide, or welcome?
Dear brothers, by turning to the heart of God, men of all times can hope for salvation, even when “they seemed dead to the eyes of fools” ( Wis 3:2). The memory of the Lord guards all history. Memory is a guardian. He is its judge, compassionate and rich in mercy. The Lord is close to us as a judge; he is close, compassionate and merciful. These are the three attitudes of the Lord. Am I close to people, do I have a compassionate heart, am I merciful?
With this faith, let us pray for the cardinals and bishops who have died in the last twelve months. Today our memory becomes a prayer for these brothers of ours. As chosen members of the People of God, they were baptized into the death of Christ (cf. Rom 6:3) in order to rise with Him. They were shepherds and examples for the Lord’s flock (cf. 1 Pet 5:3); they now sit at His table, after having broken the Bread of Life on earth. They loved the Church, each in his own way, but all loved the Church. Let us pray that they may enjoy the eternal company of the saints. Let us hope, with firm hope, to rejoice with them in paradise. I invite you to say three times with me: Jesus, remember us.