“God will wipe every tear from our eyes”: Pope Francis commented on this promise of the Book of Revelation, during the General Audience of Wednesday August 23, 2017, held in Paul VI Hall in the Vatican. The Pontiff mentioned in Italian that he had met persons from Barcelona and from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, particularly tried in recent days. He also expressed special greetings to visitors from Lebanon, Syria and the Middle East.
After the reading of a summary in Arabic of his catechesis, the Holy Father spoke to them in Italian before being translated by his secretary, Egyptian Copt Monsignor Yoannis Lahzi Gaid.
“I greet warmly the Arabic-speaking pilgrims, in particular those who have come from Lebanon, from Syria and from the Middle East,” said the Pontiff, before adding: “Christian hope is not founded on contempt for earthly life, or on an infantile aspiration of an eternal life, but on the certitude that God did not create us to be prey of sadness, of anguish, of frailty and of death.”
“It is founded, the Pope insisted, on the faith that God the Father created us to build now with Him, and by His strength, our Heavenly Homeland, where “[He] will wipe away every tear from our eyes and there will be no more death or mourning or lamentation or anxiety, because the things of yesteryear have passed away. [. . .] Behold, that I make all things new!” “May the Lord bless you and protect you always from the Evil One!”
Translated by Virginia Forrester
