Dear brothers and sisters, Happy Sunday!

In these first days of November, the resurrection of the crucified Jesus from the dead sheds light on the destiny of each one of us. For he told us: “This is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day” (Jn 6:39). Thus, the focus of God’s concerns is clear: that no one should perish forever and that everyone should have their own place and radiate their unique beauty.

This is the mystery that we celebrated yesterday on the Solemnity of All Saints: a communion of differences that, so to speak, extends God’s life to all his daughters and sons who wish to share in it. It is the desire written in the heart of every human being, a longing for recognition, attention and joy. As Pope Benedict XVI explained, the expression “eternal life” gives a name to this insuppressible expectation: not a succession of time without end, but being so immersed in an ocean of infinite love that time, before, and after no longer exist. This fullness of life and joy in Christ is what we hope for and await with all our being (cf. Encyclical Letter Spe Salvi, 12).

Today’s Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed brings this mystery even closer to us. Indeed, each time that death seems definitively to take away a voice, a face or an entire world, interiorly we understand God’s concern that no one perish. In fact, each person is an entire world. Today, then, is a day that challenges the human memory, so precious and yet so fragile. Without the memory of Jesus – of his life, death and resurrection – the immense treasure of daily life risks being forgotten. In the mind of Jesus, however, even those whom no one remembers, or whom history seems to have erased, always remain in their infinite dignity. Jesus, the rock which the builders rejected, is now the cornerstone (cf. Acts 4:11). That is the Easter proclamation. For this reason, Christians always remember the deceased in every Eucharist, and still today ask that those dear to them be remembered in the Eucharistic Prayer. From this proclamation arises the hope that no one will perish.

May visiting the cemetery, where silence interrupts the hustle and bustle of life, invite us all to remember and to wait in hope. As we say in the Creed: “I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.” Let us commemorate, therefore, the future, for we are not enclosed in the past or in sentimental tears of nostalgia. Neither are we sealed within the present, as in a tomb. May the familiar voice of Jesus reach us, and reach everyone, because it is the only one that comes from the future. May he call us by name, prepare a place for us, free us from that sense of helplessness that tempts us to give up on life. May Mary, the woman of Holy Saturday, teach us once again to hope.

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After the Angelus

Dear brothers and sisters!

With great sorrow I am following the tragic news coming from Sudan, especially from the city of El Fasher in the war-torn region of North Darfur. Indiscriminate violence against women and children, attacks on unarmed civilians, and serious obstacles to humanitarian aid are causing unbearable suffering for a population already exhausted by long months of conflict. Let us pray that the Lord may receive the deceased with his embrace, strengthen those who are suffering, and move the hearts of those responsible. I renew my heartfelt appeal to all parties involved to agree to a ceasefire and to urgently open humanitarian corridors. Finally, I call on the international community to act with determination and generosity, to provide assistance and to support those working tirelessly to bring relief.

Let us also pray for Tanzania, where, following the recent elections, violent clashes have broken out, leaving many victims. I urge everyone to avoid all forms of violence and to follow the path of dialogue.

I greet all of you, Romans and pilgrims from Italy and from many parts of the world.  In particular, I welcome the representatives of the PeaceMed group from various Mediterranean countries; the “São Tomás” College of Lisbon; the Working Sisters of Brescia, together with the theater group Uno di noi; the faithful from Manerbio; the teachers of the “Aurora” Institute of Cernusco sul Naviglio; and the young people of Rivarolo.

This afternoon, at the Verano Cemetery, I will celebrate the Eucharist for all the faithful departed. In spirit, I will visit the graves of my loved ones, and I will also pray for those who have no one to remember them.  But our heavenly Father knows and loves each of us, and he forgets no one!

To all of you, I wish a blessed Sunday in Christian remembrance of our departed loved ones.