(ANS – Rome) – The Rector Major of the Salesians of Don Bosco and the entire Salesian Congregation join the whole Church around Pope Francis, who rose with Christ this morning.
Grateful for his constant attention and repeated encouragement to go out and ‘ share the mission of bringing the Gospel to the ends of the earth,’ especially where the poorest and most abandoned young people live, we assure him of our remembrance and fervent prayers that Almighty and merciful God may grant eternal reward to His servant Francis, who gave himself “until his last breath” for the good of the Church and of all humanity.
Where do we stand on Calvary? Beneath the cross? Somewhere nearby? At a safe distance? Or perhaps, like the apostles, no longer even there. You breathe your last, and this breath, both last and first, asks only to be received. Lord Jesus, direct our paths towards this, your gift. Do not allow your breath of life to be dispersed. Our darkness seeks light. Our temples want to remain ever open. Now the Holy One is no longer beyond the veil: his mystery is revealed to all. It is perceived by a soldier, who, watching you die, recognizes a new kind of power. The crowd that had cried out against you understands it: formerly distant, they now encounter the spectacle of an unprecedented love, a beauty that revives faith. To those who watch you die, Lord, you give an opportunity to repent, to return to you, and to beat our breast in order to shatter our hardness of heart. Jesus, grant that we, who all too often regard you from a distance, may always be mindful of you, so that when at last you come, death itself may find us alive. (Pope Francis)
Source: ANS – “Agenzia iNfo Salesiana”