Pope Francis prays for those who mourn for loneliness or loss due to the coronavirus

In his Sunday homily, Pope Francis said it is a grace to cry with those who cry as many people suffer from the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Many cry today. And we, from this altar, from this sacrifice of Jesus - of Jesus who was not ashamed to cry - ask for the grace to cry. May it be like a Sunday of tears for everyone today, ”said Pope Francis in his homily on 29 March.

Before offering mass in the chapel of his residence in Vatican City, Casa Santa Marta, the pope said he was praying for people who cry because of the loneliness, loss or financial hardship of the coronavirus.

"I think of so many people crying: isolated people in quarantine, lonely elderly people, people hospitalized, people in therapy, parents who see that, since there is no salary, they will not be able to feed their children", he said.

“Many people cry. We too, from our hearts, accompany them. And it won't hurt to cry a little with the Lord's cry for all his people, "he added.

Pope Francis concentrated his homily on one line from the story of John's Gospel on the death and resurrection of Lazarus: "And Jesus wept."

"How tenderly Jesus cries!" Pope Francis said. "He cries from the heart, cries with love, cries with his [people] who cries".

“The cry of Jesus. Perhaps, he cried other times in his life - we don't know - certainly in the Garden of Olives. But Jesus always cries for love, "he added.

The pope said that Jesus cannot help looking at people with compassion: "How many times have we heard this emotion of Jesus in the Gospel, with a phrase that repeats itself: 'Seeing, he had compassion'."

“Today, faced with a world that suffers so much, in which so many people suffer the consequences of this pandemic, I ask myself: 'Am I able to cry like ... Is Jesus now? Does my heart look like that of Jesus? '”He said.

In his streaming Angelus speech, Pope Francis reflected again on the Gospel account of Lazarus' death.

"Jesus could have avoided the death of his friend Lazarus, but he wanted to make his pain for the death of loved ones, and above all he wanted to show God's dominion over death," said the pope.

When Jesus arrives in Bethany, Lazarus has been dead for four days, explained Francis. Sister Martha of Lazarus runs to meet Jesus and says to him: "If you had been here, my brother would not have died".

“Jesus replies: 'Your brother will rise again' and adds: 'I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live. " Jesus shows himself as the Lord of life, the One who is able to give life even to the dead, "said the pope after quoting the Gospel.

"Have faith! In the midst of crying, you continue to have faith, even if death seems to have won, "he said. "Let the Word of God bring life back to where death is."

Pope Francis said: "God's answer to the problem of death is Jesus".

The pope invited every person to remove "everything that tastes of death" from their lives, including hypocrisy, other people's criticism, slander and marginalization of the poor.

"Christ lives and whoever welcomes and adheres to him comes into contact with life," said Francis.

“May the Virgin Mary help us to be compassionate like her Son Jesus, who made the pain his own. Each of us is close to those who are afflicted, they become for them a reflection of the love and tenderness of God, who frees us from death and makes life victorious, "said Pope Francis