At the fourth Novemdiales Mass celebrated in St Peter’s Basilica, Cardinal Mauro Gambetti reflected on the passage from Matthew’s Gospel describing the Final Judgement, when all peoples of the world are gathered before Christ, the Son of Man.
Some, the Gospel tells us, will enter into the joy of the Kingdom. Others will find themselves alone – outside love, outside God. “Excluded from the Kingdom,” Cardinal Gambetti said, “they remain desperately alone in their soul”.
The Gospel speaks of sheep and goats, a familiar image. But Cardinal Gambetti invited the faithful to look deeper. Sheep, he explained, are faithful and gentle, caring for the weakest of the flock. Goats, instead, are more independent and proud, often concerned only with themselves. “Which of these attitudes do we embody,” he asked, both “personally and institutionally?”
Belonging to the Kingdom, he reminded the faithful, is not about knowing all the answers or performing all the right actions. In the Gospel, those welcomed into the Kingdom ask, “Lord, when did we see you?” The word used – oráo in Greek – means more than simply seeing. It means to truly understand, to recognise. The message is clear: we meet Christ when we meet others, especially the most vulnerable, with compassion.
“The Word became flesh,” the Cardinal continued, quoting theologian Elia Citterio, “so that whoever touches man touches God, whoever honours man honours God, whoever despises man despises God.”
This is the heart of the Gospel. This is the heart of the Church. And it is this humanity that Cardinal Gambetti saw in Pope Francis. He recounted the farewell to the Pope written by Edith Bruck, who described the Pope as “a man who loved, was moved, wept, pleaded for peace… his humanity was contagious, it softened even the stones”.
As the Church prays for Pope Francis and walks through these days of mourning, Cardinal Gambetti reminded the faithful that “Christian humanity” must be at the centre of the Church’s mission. “Everyone, everyone, everyone is called to live in the Church”, Pope Francis once said – words that today feel more urgent than ever.
In the first reading, Peter’s encounter with Cornelius offers a model: openness, trust, and the courage to proclaim the Gospel through relationship, not fear.
Finally, Cardinal Gambetti noted that on this Feast of Saint Catherine of Siena, whose bold love for Christ saw no boundaries, the Church is reminded of the call to walk closely with humanity – because God has done the same.
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