By Junno Arocho Esteves
ROME (CNS) — While the wounds of past trials have healed,
the scars that remain will serve as a reminder of strength and courage for
future generations, Pope Francis told survivors of an earthquake.
Visiting
Carpi and Mirandola April 2, nearly five years after a 5.8-quake rocked the
northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, the pope said his visit was a sign
of “closeness and encouragement” as the people continue to rebuild
their homes and their lives.
“Looking at these scars, you will have the strength to
grow and to make your children grow in that dignity, in that strength, in that
spirit of hope, in that courage that you had in the moment you received those wounds,” he said.
The pope spoke to the survivors, who were gathered in the small square outside the Mirandola
cathedral, which is still covered in scaffolding and where broken stones are still
piled on the ground.
Before addressing the people, he laid a bouquet of yellow
and white flowers on the cathedral’s main altar, closing his eyes in prayer
then lifting his hand in blessing.
Pope Francis told the people of Mirandola that he wanted to
remember the victims, their families and all those “who continue to live
in precarious situations.”
“May the Lord let each one of you feel his support,” the
pope said. “I wanted to leave on the altar of the cathedral a bouquet of
flowers in memory of those
who died in the earthquake.”
The
pope’s visit to the region began earlier in the day when he arrived by
helicopter in the neighboring town of Carpi, which also was devastated by the
2012 earthquake.
Thousands
of people, many who had been gathered since dawn, packed the central square as
the pope, riding in his popemobile, waved to the excited well-wishers.
Celebrating
Mass in the square, the pope said the Sunday Gospel story of Jesus raising Lazarus from
the dead was a reminder
of the “God of life, who conquers death.”
The pope noted that even Jesus, who prays and weeps at the
tomb, shares in the sufferings of those who mourn when “everything seems
finished.”
“This is the heart of God: far from evil, yet close to those who
suffer. He doesn’t make evil magically disappear but shares in the suffering, he
makes it his own and transforms it.”
However, the pope continued, Jesus does not let himself be
led by the sadness of his friend’s death nor allow himself to “be captured by the emotional,
resigned environment surrounding him.” Instead, he prays with confidence
to God.
“Thus, in the mystery of suffering — before which
thought and progress crash
like flies on a window — Jesus offers us the example of how to act,”
he said. “He does not escape the suffering that pertains to this life,
instead he doesn’t let himself be imprisoned by pessimism.”
The image of Jesus standing in front of the tomb, the pope
said, represents a “great encounter-conflict” in that one side represents the despair brought on
by human mortality and the other side represents the hope given by Christ who
is victorious over death.
Christians, he added, are called to decide in their own
lives which side they want to be on.
“You can be either on the side of the tomb or the side of
Jesus. There are those who let themselves be closed in sadness and those who
are open to hope. There are those who remain trapped under the wreckage of life
and those, like you, who with the help of God raise the wreckage and build with
patient hope,” the pope said.
Departing from his prepared remarks, Pope Francis encouraged
the people of Carpi to not fall into the temptation of remaining alone,
disheartened and in mourning like those who gave up hope after Lazarus’ death.
“This is the atmosphere of the tomb,” the pope said. “The Lord
wants to open the path of life, that of the encounter with him, of trusting in
him, of the resurrection of the heart, the path of ‘Get up! Get up! Come
forth!’ This is what the Lord asks of us and he is close to us so we can do it.”
– – –
Follow Arocho on Twitter: @arochoju.
– – –
Copyright © 2017 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.