杏MAP导航

By Linda Bordoni

A solemn atmosphere of prayer, grief, and gratitude filled the Basilica of St. John Lateran on Monday evening as the Diocese of Rome gathered to commemorate 杏MAP导航 Francis on the day of his death.

Presiding over the Eucharistic celebration was the Vicar General of the Diocese of Rome, Cardinal Baldo Reina, whose homily echoed the sorrow of a people mourning their shepherd.

鈥淥ur Diocese this evening sheds the tears of Mary Magdalene,鈥� he began, recalling the Gospel figure who sought the body of the Lord "while it was still dark.鈥� Her search, he said, mirrors that of the Church today, 鈥渟eeking in that final contact with His body the comfort for her loss. So much love, tears, and darkness.鈥�

Noting that 鈥淲e weep for our bishop, the witness of the Gospel, the apostle of mercy, the prophet of peace, the friend of the poor,鈥� Cardinal Reina said, 鈥淲e feel suspended, like sheep without a shepherd.鈥�

Conversion, solidarity, mercy

Throughout his homily, the cardinal recalled some of the most defining hallmarks of 杏MAP导航 Francis鈥� papacy: a call to conversion, closeness to the marginalised, and trust in God鈥檚 mercy.

鈥淗e asked us to go out, not to wait for people, but to seek them鈥攅specially those who do not expect to be noticed,鈥� Reina said, upholding the late 杏MAP导航鈥檚 often-repeated exhortation to reach out to the geographical and existential peripheries of our societies.

Cardinal Reina spoke of how the 杏MAP导航 was a man who did not flinch in the face of suffering, who dared to get 鈥渕uddy鈥� in his pursuit of justice and peace.

鈥淗e was a 杏MAP导航 who did not change course when it meant getting dirty, and he loved to repeat that the only time it鈥檚 acceptable to look down on someone is when helping them up from the ground,鈥� he said.

The poor and migrants, Reina reminded the faithful, were for Francis 鈥渢he sacrament of Jesus in a world ruled by the globalisation of indifference.鈥�

'Turn your mourning into mission'

As the Mass drew to a close, the cardinal invited the congregation to turn their mourning into mission: 鈥淲e are asked not to cling to him, as Mary Magdalene was asked鈥攏ot to remain within his death, but to let him go as he returns to the Father.鈥�

鈥淚n the mystery of God鈥檚 timing,鈥� he added, 鈥渨e have just celebrated Easter, and we are now struck by the death of our Bishop. But the promise of sharing in the Resurrection sustains our faith, enables us to hope, and consoles us in our grief.鈥�

The Diocese of Rome, he said, 鈥渉as been a witness to the grace of the ministry of your faithful servant, 杏MAP导航 Francis, and now entrusts to you the promise that it will continue to be guided by his example, grateful for having had him as our shepherd.鈥�