Reporting of Federici Studies Center
Of + Mons. Antonio Santin, Archbishop of Trieste and Koper, 1959
O God, Lord of life and death, of light and darkness, from the depths of this earth and of this pain of ours we cry out to You.
Listen, oh Lord, our voice.
I cry out to You from the depths, Sir. Sir, hear my voice.
Today all the Dead await a prayer, a gesture of mercy, a fond memory. And we too have come here to raise our poor prayers and lay our flowers, but also to learn the teaching that comes from the sacrifice of these Dead.
And we turn to You, because you have heard their last cry, their last breath.
This ordeal, with the summit sunk into the bowels of the earth, constitutes a great chair, which indicates the ways of peace in justice and love.
Two wars in thirty years, like two storms of fire, they passed through these karst hills; they spread death among these rocks and bushes; they filled cemeteries and hospitals; they have also sometimes unleashed uncontrolled violence, sower of crimes and hatred.
Well, Gentleman, Prince of Peace, grant us Your Peace, a peace that is peaceful rest for the Dead and is serenity of work and faith for the living.
Let men, frightened by the terrible consequences of their hatred and attracted by the sweetness of Your Gospel, they return, like the prodigal son, in your home to feel and love each other as children of the same Father.
Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be Your Name, Thy kingdom come, Your will be done.
Give comfort to brides, to mothers, to the sisters, to the children of those who are found in all the sinkholes of this sad land of ours, and to all of us who are alive and feel the pain of these dead of ours weighing heavily on our hearts every day, as deep as the chasms that welcome them.
You are the Living One, oh Lord, and in You they live. That is if their purification is still not perfect, we offer you, O Holy and Just God, our prayer, our anguish, our sacrifices, so that they can soon rejoice in the splendor of Your Face.
And he gives us resignation and strength, wisdom and goodness.
You told us: Blessed are the merciful for they will obtain mercy, Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God, Blessed are those who cry because they will be consoled, but also blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice because they will be satisfied in You, oh Lord, because the triumph of iniquity is always apparent and transitory.
Oh sir, to these dead of ours without a name but known and loved by You, give Your peace. May the perpetual Light shine upon them and may Your Light also shine on our earth and in our hearts, And through their sacrifice he makes the hopes of the good flourish.
Sir, all my desire is before thee, and my groaning is not hidden from thee. So be it.
