Funeral Mass of Pope Francis (Vatican Media)The Octave of Easter 2025 will be a memorable one, particularly in light of the passing of Pope Francis on Monday, April 21. Having found the courage and strength on Easter, despite his prolonged illness, to go out to joyfully greet the crowds, this remarkable pontiff offered his “last full measure of devotion” – as Fr. Andrew Senay noted in his homily of Saturday, April 26. In the homily offered at the funeral Mass, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re said of the Holy Father:


Thus, while including the experience of loss, the week has been one of renewed prayer and renewed faith. We include here some excerpts from reflections and homilies of the week.

Image of Pope Francis in the Abbey Church

(Preface to Church Assembly of Thursday, April 24, 2025)

Pope Francis was the first pope from the Americas. He is the seventh pope in my lifetime, and one of two that I have seen in person. His passing is a sad moment for the church, and a historical milestone as well. He is one of 266 men who have served in this capacity in the last 2,000 years. His funeral is on Saturday, and the brother of three of our students will be attending the funeral. There will be nine days of mourning for Pope Francis after Saturday. And then the College of Cardinals (252) will gather to select the 267th pope. If you are interested in seeing how this works, I encourage you to watch the movie The Shoes of the Fisherman, which shows the process in detail, and is a good story in itself. In lieu of a required special prayer service here to pray for Pope Francis, which would add a complication to your schedule, I encourage you to come to the 7:20 AM Mass on Saturday morning. We will see if we need to have a service next week. We live in strange and trying times. There is a lack of moral leadership in our world. Pope Francis, even in his old age, was a fearless and tireless moral leader. For this he was vilified by many, especially in this country and even in our church. But then Jesus Christ himself experienced the same things. Let us pray that the Holy Spirit will provide us with a new fearless and tireless moral leader who will make us uncomfortable with our imperfections and hopeful for a better future.

Abbot Michael Brunner, OSB

Homily of Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?” So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the Eleven and those with them who were saying, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread. (Luke 24:32-35, from the Gospel of the Mass of Wednesday, April 23)
Abbot Matthew Stark, OSB (1984)These are comments by Blessed Columba Marmion. The first is about Christ, risen and meeting with various persons, as we have just heard the meeting with the disciples on the way to Emmaus. Abbot Marmion says: "All consists in this, to receive Jesus Christ just as he pleases to present Himself to us – as a gardener to Mary at the tomb, as a pilgrim (as it is this morning), but to receive him not by hands, but entirely. Not coldly, but loyally, frankly." Another saying of Marmion: “Christ lives to God. The union of our life with this life, His life, is the highest form of perfection. The resurrection is the mystery of life, and Jesus communicates it to us, especially in Holy Communion.”

Homily of Friday, April 25

“Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you just caught." So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore full of one hundred fifty-three large fish. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn.” (John 20: 9-11 – from the Gospel of the Mass of Friday, April 25)
Fr. Gregory Havill, OSBIn today's Gospel, we find the apostles by the sea of Tiberias, which means they have gone there, where the risen Lord has told them to go. They are there together – a close fraternity remains among them after Judas' departure. They are working as fisherman, no doubt, waiting for the Lord and for new instructions. The episode is reminiscent of the first miraculous draft of fish Our Lord promised Peter, that he would make him a fisher of men. Now he is going to confirm him in his mission as visible head of the church. The whole account describes a very moving scene, Our Lord together with his own. We sense here the deep impression the appearance of the Risen Jesus must have made on the apostles. The fathers and the doctors of the church often dwelt on the profound meaning of this episode, finding symbolic meanings in every aspect of the event – the boat, the sea, the net that was not torn. But what of the fish? Why are we told the exact number of their catch? Why 153? That number, according to Saint Thomas Aquinas, somehow signified the number of the elect. But exactly 153? That is symbolic, too. Saint Jerome has told us that Greek zoologists had identified exactly a total of 153 kinds of fish worldwide. The number anticipates how the apostles, made fishers of men by Christ, will gather believers from every nation under heaven into the universal church.