(November 02, 2011) Every week on Wednesday, the Pope holds a public meeting, called
the general audience, during which pilgrims and tourists who come to Rome have a chance
of seeing and hearing him speak in several languages. The general audience of Nov.
2, All Souls Day, was held indoors in the Vatican’s Paul VI Audience Hall. It began
with the reading of a Gospel passage in several languages. An aide greeted the Pope
on behalf of the English speaking pilgrims introducing the various groups to him.
Pope Benedict then delivered a discourse in English:
Listen: Dear
Brothers and Sisters, Today, the day after the Solemnity of All Saints,
the Church invites us to pray for the faithful departed. This yearly commemoration,
often marked by visits to the cemetery, is an occasion to ponder the mystery of death
and to renew our faith in the promise of eternal life held out to us by Christ’s resurrection.
As human beings, we have a natural fear of death and we rebel against its apparent
finality. Faith teaches us that the fear of death is lightened by a great hope, the
hope of eternity, which gives our lives their fullest meaning. The God who is love
offers us the promise of eternal life through the death and resurrection of his Son.
In Christ, death no longer appears as an abyss of emptiness, but rather a path to
life which will never end. Christ is the resurrection and the life; whoever believes
in him will never die. Each Sunday, in reciting the Creed, we reaffirm our faith
in this mystery. As we remember our dear departed ones, united with them in the communion
of the saints, may our faith inspire us to follow Christ more closely and to work
in this world to build a future of hope. I offer a warm welcome to the priests
from the United States taking part in the Institute for Continuing Theological Education
at the Pontifical North American College in Rome. My greeting also goes to the pilgrimage
group from Saint Paul’s High School in Tokyo, Japan. Upon all the English-speaking
visitors present at today’s Audience, especially those from Ireland, Denmark, Norway,
Japan and the United States, I invoke God’s blessings of joy and peace!