As war continues to rage in Gaza, Ukraine, Yemen, and elsewhere, Pope Francis speaks of remembering the dead and hoping for reunion with them in God’s Kingdom.
By Joseph Tulloch
VATICAN CITY — On Thursday, 2 November, Pope Francis celebrated Mass for All Souls’ Day at Rome’s Military Cemetery.
In his homily – delivered off-the-cuff, without the aid of notes – the Pope remembered those who have gone before us, particularly those whose lives have been “cut short” by war.
Memory and hope
“A celebration like today,” said Pope Francis, “brings with it two thoughts: memory and hope.”
All Souls’ Day, he said, brings to mind “the people who went before us”, both “those who did good” and “those who did not do so much good, but … were received in God’s mercy.”
At the same time, Pope Francis suggested, the Commemoration brings to mind “hope, which is memory looking forward.”
We hope, he said, for a future encounter in God’s Kingdom “with everyone”, saints and sinners alike.
Lives cut short
The Pope then reflected on the graves of the soldiers buried nearby.
“I would like to dwell on something that happened to me at the entrance [to the cemetery]”, he said.
“I was looking at the age of these fallen soldiers. The majority [died] between 20 and 30. Lives cut short, lives without a future, here.”
“I thought of the parents,” Pope Francis continued, “the mothers who received that letter: ‘Madam, I have the honour of informing you that your son is a hero.’ ‘Yes, a hero, but they took him away from me.’ “
“So many tears in these lives cut short.”
Conflicts today
Looking at these graves, Pope Francis said, “I could not help but think of today’s wars.”
There are, he said, “so many deaths. Life is destroyed without any awareness.”
Echoing an appeal he has made consistently over the past few months, the Pope said, “Wars are always a defeat. Always.”
“Let us pray to the Lord for our dead,” he urged, “for everyone. May the Lord receive them all.”
“And may the Lord also have mercy on us and give us hope; hope that we might be able to go on and be with Him when He calls us.”
