'Immaculate Conception’, ‘perfect example of our humanity,” says Pope
In this morning's Holy Mass in St Peter's, Pope Francis said that the 21 new cardinals created yesterday “have come from many parts of the world, bringing great wisdom”. In his homily dedicated to Mary’s beauty as daughter, wife and mother, and her yes, he said that she “appears before us as a beautiful flower that grew unnoticed until it finally blossomed”. At the Angelus, he renewed his call for peace, in Syria too, that it “may reach the feast of the Nativity with a ceasefire on all fronts of war.”
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Pope Francis celebrated Mass in the papal chapel in St Peter's, starting at 9:30 am in the presence of the 21 new cardinals "created" yesterday, four from Asia.
“Let us pause for a moment to contemplate Mary’s beauty in the light of the Word of God,” he said in his homily in reference to Mary’s "immaculate conception", whose solemnity is celebrated today, 8 December.
The young woman from Nazareth said yes to the Angel Gabriel who visited her: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord”.
For the pontiff, “She is a ‘handmaid’ not in the sense of being ‘servile’ and ‘humiliated’, but in the sense that she was ‘trusted’ and ‘esteemed’ as one to whom the Lord entrusted his dearest treasures and the most important missions,” the pontiff said.
He also spoke about the new cardinals, whose creation he announced from the window of the Vatican Apostolic Palace on Sunday, 6 October 2024.
“I have asked them, my brothers, to help me in my pastoral service to the Universal Church. They have come from many parts of the world, bringing great wisdom, in order to contribute to the growth and spread of the Kingdom of God.”
In his homily, the Bishop of Rome explained Mary's beauty by describing it in three aspects: daughter, bride and Mry mother. This beauty is not "remote" or "unattainable". In fact, we too receive it as a gift, in Baptism," Francis explained.
“The Immaculate Virgin is not a myth, an abstract doctrine or an impossible ideal. She is the model of a beautiful and concrete project, the perfect example of our humanity,” the pope added.
On Mary’s first, filial aspect, he said: “Mary is the ‘virgin’ (cf. Lk 1:27) whose gaze reflects the Father’s love.” When she said yes, she “appears before us as a beautiful flower that grew unnoticed until it finally blossomed in the gift of self.”
Mary is also a bride, for God chose her “as a companion for his plan of salvation.” Indeed, “This is what the Council said: God chose Mary. He chose a woman as his helper to carry out the plan of salvation. There is no salvation without a woman since the Church herself is also woman,” he said.
As for Mary as mother, the traditional way to describe her is that of “the Immaculate Virgin [who] is beautiful in her fruitfulness, since she recognizes that she must die herself in order to give life, forget herself in order to care for the poor and vulnerable who turn to her.”
Before the Angelus, the pontiff shared a piece of advice with those present. “Today it is a good day to decide to make a good Confession. If you cannot go today, this week, until next Sunday, open your heart and the Lord will forgive everything, everything, everything. And so, in Mary’s hands, we will be happier.”
After the celebration in St Peter's Basilica, in front of a crowded square decorated with the Christmas tree, a gift from the Italian autonomous province of Trento, and the nativity scene, Pope Francis spoke again about peace after reciting the Marian prayer of the Angelus.
“And let us continue to pray for peace, in tormented Ukraine, in the Middle East – Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, now in Syria – in Myanmar, Sudan and wherever people suffer from war and violence,” he said.
He also appealed to rulers and the international community to follow this Advent journey and “reach the feast of the Nativity with a ceasefire on all fronts of war.”
He also shared with the faithful and pilgrims gathered in St Peter's an invitation to “pray for the prisoners who are on death row in the United States. [. . .] Let us pray that their sentence be commuted, changed. Let us think of these brothers and sisters of ours and ask the Lord for the grace to save them from death.”
The pontiff stressed the inhumanity of capital punishment, still in place in over 50 states around the world.
Finally, he turned his thoughts to Azione Cattolica, who is on a membership drive today, in Italy’s parishes. “I wish all members a good journey of formation, service and apostolic commitment.”
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23/12/2018 13:37
02/01/2024 18:47
