Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
prior to the celebration of the Mass
Today, on the Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord, the Sisters Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul, who direct ... who have been serving in Saint Martha's Dispensary for 98 years, are here for Mass. They are renewing their vows, together with their Sisters in every corner of the world. I would like to offer Mass today for them, for their Congregation which is still working with the sick, the poor, as they have been doing here for 98 years ... and for all the sisters who are working at this moment, looking after the sick and even risking their own lives in order to give life.
Homily of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
during the Mass celebrated on 25 March 2020
The evangelist, Luke (cf Lk 1: 26-38) could only have known about this event based on what he had heard from Our Lady. Listening to Luke, we have heard Our Lady's voice as she told him about this mystery. We have stood before the mystery. Perhaps the best thing that we can do now is to re-read this passage, thinking that it is Mary who told the story.
The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary.
He came to her and said, 'Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you'. But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
The Angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end'.
Mary said to the Angel, 'How can this be, since I am a virgin?' The Angel said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you: therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has conceived a son; this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God'.
Then Mary said, 'Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word'.
Then the angel departed from her.
This is mystery ... and now the Sisters will renew their vows.
After the completion of the Mass, the Holy Father spent some time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. His Holiness offered the following prayer, leading all those who were united with him in prayer via various media:
Prayer to make a spiritual communion
My Jesus, I believe that you are truly present in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar. I love you above all things and I desire you in my soul. Since I cannot receive You sacramentally now, at least spiritually come to my heart. As you have already come, I embrace you and I join myself to you. Do not let me ever be separated from you.
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