At Vatican Memorial Mass of Pope Francis, Cardinal Urges Discernment, Preservation of Late Pontiff’s “multiple" Reforms

“Our duty must be to discern and order what has begun, in light of what our mission demands of us, moving toward a new heaven and a new earth, adorning the Bride (the Church) for the Bridegroom,” he stated.

Drawing on the Gospel of John, Reina reflected on the parable of the grain of wheat that must die to bear fruit, comparing it to Christians becoming “seeds” willing to be spent for new life. He warned against responding to current challenges with fear or worldly compromise.

“This cannot be the time for balancing acts, tactics, caution, instincts to turn back, or, worse, revenge and power alliances, but rather we need a radical disposition to enter into God’s dream entrusted to our poor hands,” the cardinal emphasized.

He concluded his homily with a tribute to Pope Francis, comparing the pontiff’s final Easter Sunday appearance to the radical act of sowing described in Scripture: “That extreme, total, exhausting gesture of the sower made me think of Pope Francis’ Easter Sunday, of that outpouring of blessings and embraces to his people, the day before he died. The final act of his tireless sowing of the announcement of God’s mercies. Thank you, Pope Francis.”

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In closing, the cardinal invoked the Blessed Virgin Mary, venerated in Rome as “Salus Populi Romani,” to accompany and protect the Church.

AC Wimmer is the News Editor for Europe and Asia at EWTN News. The multilingual Australian, raised in Bavaria and South Africa, served as editor-in-chief of several news media outlets. A graduate in Philosophy and Chinese Studies from the University of Melbourne, the veteran journalist is a former Honorary Research Fellow in Communications at his alma mater and served on the Board of Caritas in Munich.