"... That is the applied faith of the martyrs, applied faith in the resurrection. But we must add: hope does not simply
cancel sadness. Faith is human, and it is honest. It gives us a new horizon, the larger and comforting view into the expanse of eternal life. But it lets us at the same time remain in the place where we are. We do not have to suppress mourning; we accept it, and through the view into the expanse, mourning is slowly transformed and therefore purifies us, makes us more keen-sighted for today and tomorrow. It was very human that the funeral liturgy earlier omitted the alleluia and so gave clear room for mourning. We cannot simply jump over the Now of our lives. Only in accepting mourning can we learn to discover hope in darkness. ...
"So the message of the cemetery is manifold. It reminds us of death and of eternal life. But it speaks to us, also, precisely of our present, everyday life. It encourages us to think of what passes and what abides. It invites us not to lose sight of standards and the goal. It is not what we have that counts but rather what we are for God and for man. The cemetery invites us to live in such a way that we do not leave the communion of saints. It invites us to seek and to be in life what we can live in death and in eternity."
— Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, "All Saints Day: At the Feet of Saint Peter's Basilica", from Images of Hope: Meditations on Major Feasts (Ignatius Press, 2006)

"So the message of the cemetery is manifold. It reminds us of death and of eternal life. But it speaks to us, also, precisely of our present, everyday life. It encourages us to think of what passes and what abides. It invites us not to lose sight of standards and the goal. It is not what we have that counts but rather what we are for God and for man. The cemetery invites us to live in such a way that we do not leave the communion of saints. It invites us to seek and to be in life what we can live in death and in eternity."
— Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, "All Saints Day: At the Feet of Saint Peter's Basilica", from Images of Hope: Meditations on Major Feasts (Ignatius Press, 2006)
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