Pope Francis in All Saints’ Day Angelus highlights Christians’ ‘identity card’

CNA Staff, Nov 1, 2024 / 17:05 pm

In his Angelus address on Friday on the solemnity of All Saints, Pope Francis spoke about the “identity card” of the Christian.

Referring to the Gospel passage for the day, the beatitudes from the Gospel of Matthew, the Holy Father posed the question: “And what is the identity card of the Christian? The beatitudes. It is our identity card, and also the way of holiness.”

The pope pointed out that “Jesus shows us a path, that of love,” and this serves as “both a gift from God and our response.”

Referencing St. Paul, the pope explained that this is a gift from God because “it is he who sanctifies. And this is why the Lord is the first we ask to make us holy, to make our heart similar to his.”

The Holy Father reminded the faithful that God does not impose his holiness upon us, rather “he sows it in us, he makes us taste its flavor and see its beauty, but then he awaits our response.”

The pope tied this explanation back to the saints of the Church and how we see these traits lived out in each of them. He highlighted the lives of St. Maximilian Kolbe, who took the place of a father condemned to death in Auschwitz; St. Teresa of Calcutta, who lived her life serving the poorest of the poor; and St. Oscar Romero, a bishop who while celebrating Mass was killed for speaking out against social injustices.

Pope Francis pointed out the saints he likes to call “the saints ‘next door,’ the everyday ones, hidden, who go forward in their daily Christian life.”

“Brothers and sisters, how much hidden saintliness there is in the Church!  We recognize so many brothers and sisters formed by the beatitudes: poor, meek, merciful, hungry and thirsty for justice, workers for peace,” he said. “They are people ‘filled with God,’ incapable of remaining indifferent to the needs of their neighbor; they are witnesses of shining paths, possible for us too.”

He concluded by asking the faithful to ponder these questions: “Do I ask God, in prayer, for the gift of a holy life? Do I let myself be guided by the good impulses that his Spirit inspires in me? And do I commit myself personally to practicing the beatitudes of the Gospel, in the environments in which I live?”

Prayers for those affected by war and natural disasters 

Following the Angelus, Pope Francis expressed his closeness to the people of Chad, especially the families of the victims of the recent terrorist attack that left 40 soldiers dead on a military base, as well as those affected by severe flooding in Spain, considered one of the worst natural disasters in that country’s modern history.

The Holy Father also asked the faithful to continue to pray for Ukraine as well as for the people of Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan, and all those suffering because of war, which he reminded listeners “is always a defeat, always!”