At noon today in Rome, the Holy Father, Pope Francis appeared at the window of his study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace to lead the recitation of the Angelus with pilgrims and the faithful who had gathered in Saint Peter's Square.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
This second Sunday of Advent falls on the day of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary and therefore our gaze is attracted by the beauty of the Mother of Jesus, our Mother! With great joy, the Church contemplates her who is full of grace (Lk 1:28), and beginning with these words, we greet her with one voice: full of grace. Let's repeat this greeting three times: Full of grace, full of grace, full of grace. This is how God looked upon her at the first moment of his loving plan. He saw her as beautiful, full of grace. Our Mother is beautiful! Mary supports us on our journey toward Christmas by teaching us how to live this time of Advent as a time of waiting for the Lord, because this time of Advent is a period of waiting for the Lord, who visits us at the feast of Christmas, every one of us, in our hearts. The Lord is coming! Let us wait for him!
The Gospel of Luke speaks of Mary, a young girl of Nazareth, a small place in Galilee on the outskirts of Imperial Rome and on the periphery of Israel. It was a tiny village. Yet in this tiny village, on this young rural country girl, on her the gaze of the Lord was fixed. The Lord had predestined her to be the mother of his Son. In anticipation of her maternity, Mary had been preserved from original sin, that is from being separated from communion with God, with others and with the created world which deeply wounds every human being, but this fracture was remedied ahead of time in the Mother of the One who came to free us from the slavery of sin. The Immaculate Conception is part of the plan of God, the fruit of the love of God which saves the world.
And the Madonna has never been separated from this love: all her life, her entire being is a yes to this love; it is a yes to God. But it was certainly not easy for her! When the angel referred to her as full of grace (Lk 1:28), she was greatly disturbed because in her great humility, she felt as nothing before God. The angel comforted her: Do not be afraid Mary, for you have found grace in the eyes of God. And lo, you shall conceive a son ... and you will call him Jesus (v. 30). This news confuses her even more because she was not yet married to Joseph, but the angel added: The Holy Spirit will descend upon you ... For this reason, the child within you will be holy and will be called Son of God (v. 35). Mary stops, obeys interiorly and responds: I am the handmaid of the Lord; be it done unto me according to your word (v. 38).
The mystery of this young girl from Nazareth, who is held in the heart of God, is no stranger. She is not there while we are here. No, we are colleagues. In fact, God looks on every man and woman with the same loving gaze! With given names and family names. His loving gaze is fixed on every one of us. The Apostle Paul affirms the fact that God chose us in him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless (Eph 1:4). We too have always been chosen by God to live holy lives, lives that are free from sin. This is a plan of love which God renews every time we confide ourselves to his care, especially in the Sacraments.
On this feast day when we contemplate the beauty of our Immaculate Mother, let us also recognize our true destiny, our deepest vocation: to be loved, to be transformed by love, to be transformed by the beauty of God. Let us gaze upon her, our Mother, and let us allow her to gaze upon us because she is our Mother and she loves us so much; let us allow her to gaze upon us so that we might learn to be more humble and more courageous as we follow the Word of God; let us welcome the tender embrace of her Son Jesus, an embrace that gives us life, hope and peace.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
I warmly greet all of you, especially the families, the parish groups and the associations. I greet the faithful of Biella, Cossato, Bianze, Lomazzo, Livorno Ferraris, Rocca di Papa, San Marzano sul Sarno and Pratola Serra.
We are spiritually united with the Church living in North America, which today celebrates the establishment of her very first parish 350 years ago: Notre-Dame de Quebec. We give thanks for the journey of faith that has been travelled ever since, especially for the saints and martyrs who have enriched those lands. I willingly bless all the faithful who are celebrating this jubilee.
A special thought is reserved for the members of the Italian Action Catholic Association - there they are - today they are renewing their membership in the Association: I wish you all the best in your formation and apostolic commitment. Continue your work with courage!
This afternoon, following an ancient tradition, I will go to the Piazza di Spagna to pray at the foot of the monument to the Immaculate Conception. I ask you to join me in this spiritual pilgrimage which is an act of filial devotion to Mary, to entrust the city of Rome, the Church and all of humanity to her care. Afterward, I will stop for a moment at Santa Maria Maggiore to pray before the Salus Populi Romani and to pray for all of you, for all Romans.
I wish you all a good Sunday and a good festival of our Mother. Enjoy your lunch; we will see one another soon.
Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
prior to the recitation of the Angelus
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
This second Sunday of Advent falls on the day of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary and therefore our gaze is attracted by the beauty of the Mother of Jesus, our Mother! With great joy, the Church contemplates her who is full of grace (Lk 1:28), and beginning with these words, we greet her with one voice: full of grace. Let's repeat this greeting three times: Full of grace, full of grace, full of grace. This is how God looked upon her at the first moment of his loving plan. He saw her as beautiful, full of grace. Our Mother is beautiful! Mary supports us on our journey toward Christmas by teaching us how to live this time of Advent as a time of waiting for the Lord, because this time of Advent is a period of waiting for the Lord, who visits us at the feast of Christmas, every one of us, in our hearts. The Lord is coming! Let us wait for him!
The Gospel of Luke speaks of Mary, a young girl of Nazareth, a small place in Galilee on the outskirts of Imperial Rome and on the periphery of Israel. It was a tiny village. Yet in this tiny village, on this young rural country girl, on her the gaze of the Lord was fixed. The Lord had predestined her to be the mother of his Son. In anticipation of her maternity, Mary had been preserved from original sin, that is from being separated from communion with God, with others and with the created world which deeply wounds every human being, but this fracture was remedied ahead of time in the Mother of the One who came to free us from the slavery of sin. The Immaculate Conception is part of the plan of God, the fruit of the love of God which saves the world.
And the Madonna has never been separated from this love: all her life, her entire being is a yes to this love; it is a yes to God. But it was certainly not easy for her! When the angel referred to her as full of grace (Lk 1:28), she was greatly disturbed because in her great humility, she felt as nothing before God. The angel comforted her: Do not be afraid Mary, for you have found grace in the eyes of God. And lo, you shall conceive a son ... and you will call him Jesus (v. 30). This news confuses her even more because she was not yet married to Joseph, but the angel added: The Holy Spirit will descend upon you ... For this reason, the child within you will be holy and will be called Son of God (v. 35). Mary stops, obeys interiorly and responds: I am the handmaid of the Lord; be it done unto me according to your word (v. 38).
The mystery of this young girl from Nazareth, who is held in the heart of God, is no stranger. She is not there while we are here. No, we are colleagues. In fact, God looks on every man and woman with the same loving gaze! With given names and family names. His loving gaze is fixed on every one of us. The Apostle Paul affirms the fact that God chose us in him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless (Eph 1:4). We too have always been chosen by God to live holy lives, lives that are free from sin. This is a plan of love which God renews every time we confide ourselves to his care, especially in the Sacraments.
On this feast day when we contemplate the beauty of our Immaculate Mother, let us also recognize our true destiny, our deepest vocation: to be loved, to be transformed by love, to be transformed by the beauty of God. Let us gaze upon her, our Mother, and let us allow her to gaze upon us because she is our Mother and she loves us so much; let us allow her to gaze upon us so that we might learn to be more humble and more courageous as we follow the Word of God; let us welcome the tender embrace of her Son Jesus, an embrace that gives us life, hope and peace.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
I warmly greet all of you, especially the families, the parish groups and the associations. I greet the faithful of Biella, Cossato, Bianze, Lomazzo, Livorno Ferraris, Rocca di Papa, San Marzano sul Sarno and Pratola Serra.
We are spiritually united with the Church living in North America, which today celebrates the establishment of her very first parish 350 years ago: Notre-Dame de Quebec. We give thanks for the journey of faith that has been travelled ever since, especially for the saints and martyrs who have enriched those lands. I willingly bless all the faithful who are celebrating this jubilee.
A special thought is reserved for the members of the Italian Action Catholic Association - there they are - today they are renewing their membership in the Association: I wish you all the best in your formation and apostolic commitment. Continue your work with courage!
This afternoon, following an ancient tradition, I will go to the Piazza di Spagna to pray at the foot of the monument to the Immaculate Conception. I ask you to join me in this spiritual pilgrimage which is an act of filial devotion to Mary, to entrust the city of Rome, the Church and all of humanity to her care. Afterward, I will stop for a moment at Santa Maria Maggiore to pray before the Salus Populi Romani and to pray for all of you, for all Romans.
I wish you all a good Sunday and a good festival of our Mother. Enjoy your lunch; we will see one another soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment