At the Angelus, Francis returned to the tragedy of seven days ago off the Italian coast, with dozens of migrants killed in a shipwreck: “May the Lord give us the strength to understand and cry.” His comment on the Gospel passage of the Transfiguration: “Being with Jesus we learn to recognize, in his face, the luminous beauty of the love that he gives himself, even when he bears the marks of the cross.”
Vatican City () – “May the Lord give us the strength to understand and cry”. One week after the tragedy in the waters of Cutro, which caused the death of dozens of migrants off the Italian coast of Crotone, today at the Angelus Pope Francis once again made a strong appeal against the drama of the journeys of hope that They turn into tragedy.
“I express my pain – said Francis to the faithful gathered in Saint Peter’s Square – I pray for the victims of the shipwreck, for their families, for the survivors. I express my appreciation and gratitude to the population and local institutions for their solidarity and We welcome these brothers and sisters of ours. I reiterate my request to everyone so that tragedies like this are not repeated,” he added. “Human traffickers must be stopped, so that they do not continue to dispose of the lives of so many innocents. That the trips of the I hope they never turn into voyages of death again. May the clear waters of the Mediterranean not be bloodied by these dramatic incidents.”
Before the Angelus prayer, when commenting on the evangelical passage of the Transfiguration that the liturgy proposes on this second Sunday of Lent, Pope Francis stopped to reflect on the beauty that Jesus manifested. “What a surprise for the disciples,” he commented. “It was so long that they had the face of Love before their eyes, and they had never realized its beauty. Only now do they realize it, with immense joy.”
But Jesus with this experience is forming his disciples, preparing them for the most important step. “Shortly after – continued Francis – they will have to know how to recognize the same beauty in him, when he ascends to the cross and his face is disfigured. Peter tries to understand: he would like to stop time, put the scene on ‘pause’, stay there and prolong this marvelous experience; but Jesus does not allow it. His light, in fact, cannot be reduced to a magical moment. It would then become something false, artificial, which would dissolve in the mist of fleeting feelings. The beauty of Jesus is not alienating, he does not make you hide: he always leads you forward”.
Hence, the Pontiff pointed out to the faithful a message linked to the daily life of each one: “It teaches us – he explained – how important it is to be with Jesus, even when it is not easy to understand everything he says and does for us. It is being with him, in fact, how we learn to recognize, in his face, the luminous beauty of love that gives itself, even when it bears the marks of the cross.And it is in his school where we learn to capture the same beauty in the faces of others. the people who walk beside us every day”.
“How many luminous faces, how many smiles, how many wrinkles, how many tears and scars all around us speak of love! Let us learn to recognize them and fill our hearts with them. And then let us set out, to bring the light we have received to others as well, with the concrete works of love, immersing ourselves more generously in our daily occupations, loving, serving and forgiving with more enthusiasm and availability”, he concluded.
In his greeting to the faithful after the prayer, Francis also recalled the victims of the rail accident in Greece, including many young students: “I pray for the deceased, I am close to the injured and their families,” he said. Finally, addressing a representative of the Ukrainian community in Milan who are in Rome on pilgrimage in the name of Saint Josaphat, he praised their commitment to welcoming their compatriots and invited everyone to continue praying that God grant peace to this martyred people.
