“Honor thy father and mother” is a solemn commitment. It is not just about one’s own father and mother. It is about their generation and the generations before, honoring the elderly.

On this night, brothers and sisters, let us allow the women of the Gospel to lead us by the hand, so that, with them, we may glimpse the first rays of the dawn of God’s life rising in the darkness of our world.

Jesus’ peace “is not an armed peace, never!” Pope Francis said in his general audience. “The weapons of the Gospel are prayer, tenderness, forgiveness and freely-given love for one’s neighbor.”

“In the course of this week, let us cling to the certainty that God can forgive every sin. He forgives everyone. He can bridge every distance, and turn all mourning into dancing.”

Commenting on his recent trip to Malta in his Wednesday audience, Pope Francis spoke about migration and evangelization, especially in a time of war.

Even though old age can weaken the body, Pope Francis said, it can also sharpen a person’s connection to God.

“Does the transmission of faith—and of the meaning of life—follow this path today, of listening to the elderly?” Pope Francis asked in his general audience.

The elderly “will be the ones to sound the alarm, the alert: ‘Be aware, this is corruption, it will bring you nothing,’” Pope Francis said during his general audience on March 16.

“Lord Jesus, born under the bombs of Kyiv, have mercy on us. Lord Jesus, dead in the arms of a mother in Kharkiv, have mercy on us.”

"Dear brothers and sisters, may our holy father Ignatius help us to preserve discernment, our precious legacy, as an ever timely treasure to be poured out on the Church and on the world."