All Souls day is time to remember and hope – Pope
The Mass for the feast of All Souls is “realistic, concrete” in calling Catholics to remember the people and events of their past, to consider how they live today and to hope for eternal life with God and their loved ones who preceded them, Pope Francis said.
Celebrating an outdoor Mass on November 2, the feast of All Souls, in Rome’s Laurentino cemetery, the Pope said remembering “those who walked before us” is not only about the beloved dead. It is also about remembering that each person has a history, a family and is part of something larger than themselves he said.
“Remembering is what strengthens a people because they feel rooted,” they have an identity and history, Francis said. “Memory reminds us that we are not alone. We are part of a people.”
Pope Francis pointed to the tombstones and the mausoleum behind the crowd, noting that they represent “the many people who have shared part of our journey”.
“It is not easy to remember,” the Pope said. “Often we tire at the thought of looking back, of asking: ‘What happened in my life, my family, my people?’ but today is a day for remembering.”
Refugee injustice ignored with ‘guilty silence’
The “throwaway culture” has become a pandemic and it leaves migrants and displaced people without a voice and at the mercy of those who exploit them, Pope Francis said.
In a message sent to participants at the World Social Forum on Migrations, the Pope said supporting migrants not only involves calling out injustice but also helping to “restore dignity to those who live with great uncertainty and who are unable to dream of a better world”.
“Among these last ones are migrants, refugees and the displaced who are ignored, exploited, violated and abused through the guilty silence of many,” he said.
The November 2-4 conference in Mexico city was dedicated to finding ways to influence public policy “in favour of the defence of the rights of migrants and their families” and to “strengthening the dialogues between social networks and migrants” the forum’s website stated.
Among those present were Jesuit Fr Michael Czerny, undersecretary of the Migrants and Refugee Section of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes of Mexico city.
‘Sand Nativity’ to display in Vatican
The Vatican will unveil a massive Nativity scene made entirely of sand this winter.
It will be displayed in St Peter’s Square and features a 52-foot wide sand sculpture from Jesolo, an Italian seaside resort town roughly 65km north of Venice.
The intricate sculpture, along with a 13-metre-tall red spruce tree donated by the Diocese of Concordia-Pordenone in the northern Italian region of Veneto, will be unveiled at the Vatican’s annual tree lighting ceremony on December 7.
Bas-relief sand sculptures, like the one that will be featured in St Peter’s Square, are a tradition in Jesolo which, since 1998, has been the home of an annual sand sculpture festival.
At the helm of the sculpture project, dubbed the ‘Sand Nativity’, is US sculptor Rich Varano. According to the city’s website for the Nativity scene, Varano is an accomplished sand sculptor with over 40 years’ experience.
He is joined by 11 artists from around the world.
The ‘Sand Nativity’ scene and tree will remain in St Peter’s Square until the feast of the Lord’s Baptism on January 13.
