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April 30, 2020 In introducing mass in Santa Marta, Pope Francis thinks of those who died as a result of Covid-19, praying in particular for the nameless dead, buried in mass graves.

"We pray today for the deceased, those who died from the pandemic and also in a special way for the deceased - let's say - anonymously. We have seen the photos of the mass graves.
Many there ...", said Francesco. 

Yesterday in the general audience Francis had sent a message to the persecuted Christians  "Poverty in spirit, tears, meekness, a thirst for holiness, mercy, purification of the heart and works of peace can lead to persecution because of Christ, but this persecution in the end is the cause of joy and great reward in heaven. The path of the Beatitudes is an Easter journey that leads from a life according to the world to that according to God, from an existence guided by the flesh - that is, by selfishness - to that guided by the Spirit. with his idols, his compromises and his priorities, he cannot approve of this type of existence. The "structures of sin", often produced by the human mentality, as extraneous as they are to the Spirit of truth that the world does not he can receive (cf. Jn 14:17), they can only refuse poverty or meekness or purity and declare life according to the Gospel as an error and a problem, therefore as something to be marginalized. 'These are oanatic idealists ...'. So they think " . 

"If the world lives on the basis of money , anyone who demonstrates that life can be fulfilled in the gift and renunciation becomes a nuisance for the system of greed. This word 'nuisance' is key, because the only Christian testimony, that does so much good to many people because it follows it, it annoys those who have a worldly mentality. They live it as a rebuke. When holiness appears and the life of the children of God emerges, in that beauty there is something uncomfortable that calls for a stance: either to allow oneself to be challenged and open to the good or to refuse that light and harden the heart, even to the point of opposition and fury (cf. Wis 2: 14-15). curious, it attracts attention to see how hostility grows to the point of persecution in martyrs' persecutions. Just look at the persecutions of the last century, of the European dictatorships: how it comes to fury against Christians, against testimony Christian and against the heroicity of Christians to show that the tragedy of persecution is also the place of liberation from subjection to the success, vainglory and compromises of the world. What are those who are rejected by the world because of Christ happy? He rejoices that he has found something worth more than the whole world. Indeed 'what advantage is there that a man gains the whole world and loses his life?' (Mk 8,36). What advantage is there? ". 

" It is painful to remember that, at this moment, there are many Christians who suffer persecution in various areas of the world, and we must hope and pray that their tribulation will be stopped as soon as possible. There are many: today's martyrs are more than the martyrs of the first centuries. We express our closeness to these brothers and sisters: we are one body, and these Christians are the bleeding limbs of the body of Christ which is the Church, but we must also be careful not to read this beatitude in a victimistic, self-pitying key. In fact, the contempt of men is not always synonymous with persecution: just after Jesus says that Christians are the 'salt of the earth', and warns against the danger of 'losing the flavor', otherwise the salt 'to null 'other serves only to be thrown away and trampled by people' (Mt 5:13). Therefore, there is also a contempt that is our fault when we lose the flavor of Christ and the Gospel. We must be faithful to the humble path of the Beatitudes, because it is what leads to being of Christ and not of the world. It is worth remembering the journey of Saint Paul : when he thought he was a righteous he was in fact a persecutor, but when he discovered that he was a persecutor, he became a man of love, who happily faced the suffering of the persecution he suffered (cf. Col 1.24). 

"Exclusion and persecution, if God grants us grace, make us resemble Christ crucified and, associating us with his passion, are the manifestation of new life. This life is the same as that of Christ, who for us men and for our salvation he was 'despised and rejected by men' (cf. Is 53: 3; Acts 8: 30-35). Welcoming his Spirit can lead us to have so much love in the heart to offer life for the world without doing compromises with his deceptions and by accepting his rejection. Compromises with the world are the danger: the Christian is always tempted to make compromises with the world, with the spirit of the world. This - reject compromises and go the way of Jesus Christ - it is the life of the Kingdom of heaven, the greatest joy, true joy, and then, in persecutions there is always the presence of Jesus who accompanies us, the presence of Jesus who consoles us and the power of the Spirit that helps us move forward. Let's not be discouraged when living a coherent life with the Gospel it attracts the persecutions of the people: there is the Spirit who supports us, in this way ".