Word of the day

First reading form the Book of Wisdom
Wis 3:1-9

The souls of the just are in the hand of God,
and no torment shall touch them.
They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;
and their passing away was thought an affliction
and their going forth from us, utter destruction.
But they are in peace.
For if before men, indeed, they be punished,
yet is their hope full of immortality;
chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,
because God tried them
and found them worthy of himself.
As gold in the furnace, he proved them,
and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.
In the time of their visitation they shall shine,
and shall dart about as sparks through stubble;
they shall judge nations and rule over peoples,
and the Lord shall be their King forever.
Those who trust in him shall understand truth,
and the faithful shall abide with him in love:
because grace and mercy are with his holy ones,
and his care is with his elect.

Second reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans
Rom 6:3-9

Brothers and sisters:
Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus
were baptized into his death?
We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death,
so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead
by the glory of the Father,
we too might live in newness of life.

For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his,
we shall also be united with him in the resurrection.
We know that our old self was crucified with him,
so that our sinful body might be done away with,
that we might no longer be in slavery to sin.
For a dead person has been absolved from sin.
If, then, we have died with Christ,
we believe that we shall also live with him.
We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more;
death no longer has power over him.

From the Gospel according to John
Jn 6:37-40

Jesus said to the crowds:
“Everything that the Father gives me will come to me,
and I will not reject anyone who comes to me,
because I came down from heaven not to do my own will
but the will of the one who sent me.
And this is the will of the one who sent me,
that I should not lose anything of what he gave me,
but that I should raise it on the last day.
For this is the will of my Father,
that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him
may have eternal life,
and I shall raise him on the last day.”

The celebration of a day such as today leads us to two thoughts: remembrance and hope.

Remembrance of those who preceded us, who led their life, who concluded this life; remembrance of the many people who were good to us: in the family, among friends… And also remembrance of those who did not manage to do so much good, but who have been received in God’s memory, in God’s mercy. It is the mystery of the Lord’s great mercy.

And then hope. Today is a day of remembrance in order to look forward, to look at our journey, our path. We walk towards an encounter, with the Lord and with everyone. And we must ask the Lord for this grace of hope: the hope that never lets us down; the hope that is the everyday virtue that carries us forward, that helps us to solve problems and to look for ways out. But always forward, forward. That fruitful hope, that every-day theological virtue, one for any moment: I will call it a theological virtue of “the kitchen”, because it is approachable and always comes to our aid. Hope never disappoints: we live in this tension between memory and hope. (…)

Today, thinking of the dead, preserving the memory of the dead and preserving hope, let us ask the Lord for peace, that people may no longer be killed in wars. So many innocent dead, so many soldiers who leave their lives behind. But why is this? Wars are always a defeat, always. There is no total victory, no. Yes, one conquers the other, but beneath there is always the defeat of the price that is paid. Let us pray to the Lord for our departed, for everyone, for everyone: may the Lord receive them all. And let us also pray for the Lord to have pity on us and give us hope: the hope to press on and to be able to find them all together with Him, when He calls us. So be it. (Homily, War Cemetery, 2 November 2023)