At 5:00pm today (local time in Rome), in the Vatican Basilica, the Holy Father, Pope Francis presided over the celebration of First Vespers for the Solemnity of Mary, the Most Holy Mother of God which was followed by a period of exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, the singing of the Te Deum in thanksgiving at the conclusion of the calendar year, and the Eucharistic Benediction.
When the fullness of time came, God sent his Son (Gal 4:4). This celebration of Vespers breathes the atmosphere of the fullness of time. It’s not because we are on the last evening of the solar year, far from it, but because faith makes us contemplate and feel that Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, gave fullness to time, both of the world and of human history.
«Born as a woman» (Gal 4:4). The first person to experience the sense of fullness given by Jesus’ presence was precisely the woman from whom He was born. The Mother of the Incarnate Son, Theotokos, the Mother of God. Through her, so to speak, the fullness of time has flowed: through her humble heart, so full of faith, and through her whole flesh saturated with the Holy Spirit.
From her the Church has inherited and continuously inherits this inner perception of fullness, which nourishes a sense of gratitude, as the only human response worthy of the immense gift of God. An overflowing gratitude, which, starting from the contemplation of that Child wrapped in swaddling clothes in a manger, extends to everything and everyone, throughout the whole world. It is a thank you that reflects Grace; it comes not from us but from Him; it comes not from the self, but from God, and involves both the self and the community.
In this atmosphere created by the Holy Spirit, we lift up to God our thanksgiving for the year that draws to a close, recognizing that all good is God’s gift. Even the year 2017, which God gave us whole and healthy, we human beings have in many ways wasted and wounded it with works of death, with lies and injustices. Wars are the flagrant sign of this backsliding and absurd pride. But so are all the small and great offences against life, truth, and solidarity, which cause multiple forms of human, social and environmental degradation. We desire to and must assume fully, before God, our brothers and Creation, our own responsibility.
But tonight the Grace of Jesus prevails and his reflection in Mary. Therefore, gratitude prevails, which, as Bishop of Rome, I feel in my soul, thinking of people who live with an open heart in this city.
I feel a sense of warmness and gratitude for all those people who contribute every day with small but precious and concrete actions to the good of Rome: they try to do their duty as best as possible; they confront its traffic with care and prudence; they respect public places and they point out things that are wrong; they pay attention to the elderly or those in difficulty, and so on. These and a thousand other behaviours express concretely their love for the city of Rome. Without speeches, without grandiosity, but with a type of civic education practiced in everyday life. And so they silently cooperate in the common good.
I also feel a great esteem for parents, teachers and all educators who, in this same manner, try to train children and young people in a civic sense and an ethic of responsibility, educating them to belong, to take care of themselves, and to take an interest in the reality that surrounds them.
These people, even if they do not make the news, are the majority of the people who live in Rome. And among them, many are in difficult economic conditions; yet they do not cry uselessly, nor do they harbour resentment and grudges, but they strive to do their part every day to improve things a little. Today, in thanksgiving to God, I invite you to also express gratitude for these craftsmen of the common good, who love their city not only with words but with deeds.
Homily of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
shared during First Vespers for the
Solemnity of Mary, the Most Holy Mother of God
«Born as a woman» (Gal 4:4). The first person to experience the sense of fullness given by Jesus’ presence was precisely the woman from whom He was born. The Mother of the Incarnate Son, Theotokos, the Mother of God. Through her, so to speak, the fullness of time has flowed: through her humble heart, so full of faith, and through her whole flesh saturated with the Holy Spirit.
From her the Church has inherited and continuously inherits this inner perception of fullness, which nourishes a sense of gratitude, as the only human response worthy of the immense gift of God. An overflowing gratitude, which, starting from the contemplation of that Child wrapped in swaddling clothes in a manger, extends to everything and everyone, throughout the whole world. It is a thank you that reflects Grace; it comes not from us but from Him; it comes not from the self, but from God, and involves both the self and the community.
In this atmosphere created by the Holy Spirit, we lift up to God our thanksgiving for the year that draws to a close, recognizing that all good is God’s gift. Even the year 2017, which God gave us whole and healthy, we human beings have in many ways wasted and wounded it with works of death, with lies and injustices. Wars are the flagrant sign of this backsliding and absurd pride. But so are all the small and great offences against life, truth, and solidarity, which cause multiple forms of human, social and environmental degradation. We desire to and must assume fully, before God, our brothers and Creation, our own responsibility.
But tonight the Grace of Jesus prevails and his reflection in Mary. Therefore, gratitude prevails, which, as Bishop of Rome, I feel in my soul, thinking of people who live with an open heart in this city.
I feel a sense of warmness and gratitude for all those people who contribute every day with small but precious and concrete actions to the good of Rome: they try to do their duty as best as possible; they confront its traffic with care and prudence; they respect public places and they point out things that are wrong; they pay attention to the elderly or those in difficulty, and so on. These and a thousand other behaviours express concretely their love for the city of Rome. Without speeches, without grandiosity, but with a type of civic education practiced in everyday life. And so they silently cooperate in the common good.
I also feel a great esteem for parents, teachers and all educators who, in this same manner, try to train children and young people in a civic sense and an ethic of responsibility, educating them to belong, to take care of themselves, and to take an interest in the reality that surrounds them.
These people, even if they do not make the news, are the majority of the people who live in Rome. And among them, many are in difficult economic conditions; yet they do not cry uselessly, nor do they harbour resentment and grudges, but they strive to do their part every day to improve things a little. Today, in thanksgiving to God, I invite you to also express gratitude for these craftsmen of the common good, who love their city not only with words but with deeds.
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