At times like this, "more than ever do we need the reasons of the heart, which alone can help us understand the mystery which embraces our loneliness," Francis observed.
In addition to knowing what it means to cry in moments of grief, Christ also experienced personally not only fear of suffering and death, but "disappointment and discouragement at the betrayal of Judas and Peter."
"If God could weep, then I too can weep, in the knowledge that he understands me," Pope Francis said, explaining that the tears of Christ "serve as an antidote to my indifference before the suffering of my brothers and sisters."
"His tears teach me to make my own the pain of others, to share in the discouragement and sufferings of those experiencing painful situations," he said, adding that Christ's tears "cannot go without a response on the part of those who believe in him. As he consoles, so we too are called to console."
Francis noted how in moments of fear and dismay Christ always turned to his Father in prayer, adding that prayer is the "medicine" for our suffering. "In prayer, we too can feel God's presence," which comforts us and gives us strength and hope.
"We too need the certainty that the Father hears us and comes to our aid. The love of God, poured into our hearts, allows us to say that when we love, nothing and no one will ever be able to separate us from those we have loved," the Pope said.
He concluded his meditation pointing to a passage in the Letter to the Romans in which St. Paul says that "nothing can separate us from the love of God."
The power of love, he said, "turns suffering into the certainty of Christ's victory, and our own in union with him, and into the hope that one day we will once more be together and will forever contemplate the face of the Blessed Trinity, the eternal wellspring of life and love."
After Francis finished his address, the vigil continued with the collection of individual prayer intentions from those in attendance, as well as the universal prayer for all situations of physical and spiritual suffering.
Pope Francis concluded the vigil by blessing and giving to certain individuals present an image of the Paschal Lamb as an expression of the mercy of the Father for all faithful who live in situations of profound suffering.
Elise Harris was senior Rome correspondent for CNA from 2012 to 2018.