Vatican Basilica Novemdiales Mass for Pope Francis - Cardinal Gambetti "All, are called to live in the Church" Yet Warns of Those Who are “Excluded from the Kingdom” FULL TEXT Homily

Presiding over the fourth Novemdiales Mass in memory of Pope Francis, Cardinal Gambetti reminds the faithful that they should see God in everyone as the late Pope did.
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.

HOLY MASS

ON THE FOURTH DAY OF NOVENDIALI

FULL TEXT HOMILY OF HIS MOST REVEREND EMINENCE

CARDINAL MAURO GAMBETTI

Vatican Basilica of Saint Peter on Tuesday, April 29, 2025

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The Gospel passage is well-known. A grandiose scene with a universalistic character: all the peoples, who live together in the one field that is the world, are gathered before the Son of Man, seated on the throne of his glory to judge.

The message is clear: in the life of everyone, believers and non-believers, without distinction, there is a moment of discrimination: at a certain point some begin to participate in the same joy of God, others begin to suffer the tremendous suffering of true loneliness, because, excluded from the Kingdom, they remain desperately alone in their soul.

In the Italian translation (CEI) it speaks of sheep and goats to distinguish the two groups. However, Greek, alongside the feminine próbata – flock, sheep –, uses èrífia, which mainly indicates goats, the males of the species. The sheep, who do not rebel, are faithful, meek, take care of the lambs and the weakest of the flock, enter the kingdom prepared for them since the creation of the world; the goats, who want independence, challenge the shepherd and the other animals with their horns, jump over the other goats as a sign of dominance, when faced with danger they think of themselves and not of the rest of the flock, they are destined for eternal fire. It is natural to ask: on a personal and institutional level, which of the two styles do we embody?
Evidently, then, belonging or not to the Kingdom of God does not depend on explicit knowledge of Christ: Lord, when did we see you hungry… thirsty… a stranger… naked… sick or in prison…?
In the Greek text, the verb ‘to see’ is expressed by Matthew with òráo, which means to see in depth, to perceive, to understand. Paraphrasing: Lord, when did we ‘understand’, ‘identify’, ‘qualify’ you? Jesus’ response suggests that it is not the profession of faith, theological knowledge or sacramental practice that guarantees participation in the joy of God, but the qualitative and quantitative involvement in the human story of the smallest brothers. And the figure of the human is the kingship of Jesus of Nazareth, who in his earthly life shared in everything the weakness of our nature, to the point of being rejected, persecuted and crucified.
Ultimately, the parable of the universal judgment reveals the secret on which the world stands: the Word became flesh, that is, “God wanted to be in solidarity with humanity to the point that whoever touches man touches God, whoever honors man honors God, whoever despises man despises God” (Elia Citterio).
The parable in fact reveals the supreme dignity of human acts, defined in relation to compassion, solidarity, tenderness, proximity in humanity. I find in the verses with which Edith Bruck wanted to bid farewell to Pope Francis (L'Osservatore Romano, April 23, 2025), the poetic expression of such humanity:

We have lost a Man who lives in me.

A man who loved, was moved, cried, invoked peace, laughed, kissed, hugged, was moved and moved, spread warmth. The love of people of any color and everywhere rejuvenated him.

Irony and wit made him wise.

His humanity was contagious, it even softened stones.

From illnesses, it was his healthy faith rooted in heaven that healed him.“Christian humanity” makes the church a home for everyone. How timely are the words of Francis spoken in the conversation with the Jesuits in Lisbon in 2023: All, all, all are called to live in the Church: never forget it!div>As the Acts of the Apostles report, Peter had clearly asserted it: In truth I am realizing that God shows no partiality, but accepts those who fear him and practice righteousness, regardless of nation.
The passage of the first reading is the conclusion of Peter's meeting with pagans, Cornelius and his family (Acts 10); an episode that, in a globalized, secularized and thirsty era for Truth and Love like ours, through Peter's attitude points to the path of evangelization: openness to humanity without reservations, free interest in others, sharing of experience and deepening to help every man and woman to give credit to life, to creaturely grace, and, when they see that it pleases God - as Saint Francis of Assisi would say (Rnb XVI, 43) -, the announcement of the gospel, or the revelation of the divine humanity of Jesus in history, to call people to faith in Christ, 'crazy with love' for man, as Saint Catherine of Siena teaches, whose Feast is celebrated today in Italy. Then the full value of the profession of faith, of sound theology and of the sacraments that enrich life in the spirit with every grace can unfold for everyone.
May Mary, the humble handmaid of the Lord who gave the world the Savior, show us the way of authentic discipleship and proclamation.