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“When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman”
Gal 4:4
At the beginning of a new year,” said Pope Francis, “the Church invites us to contemplate Mary’s divine maternity as an icon of peace. In her, the ancient promise finds fulfilment.” The Holy Father went on to say, “She believed in the words of the angel, conceived her Son and thus became the Mother of the Lord. Through her, through her ‘yes’, the fullness of time came about.”
The Gospel tells of how the Virgin Mary treasured all the words the Angel spoke to her, and contemplated them in her heart (Cf.Lk 2:19). “She appears to us,” continued Pope Francis, “as a vessel filled to the brim with the memory of Jesus, as the Seat of Wisdom to whom we can have recourse to understand his teaching aright.”
“In this day,” he said, “Mary makes it possible for us to grasp the meaning of events which affect us personally, events which also affect our families, our countries and the entire world.”
Gal 4:4
At the beginning of a new year,” said Pope Francis, “the Church invites us to contemplate Mary’s divine maternity as an icon of peace. In her, the ancient promise finds fulfilment.” The Holy Father went on to say, “She believed in the words of the angel, conceived her Son and thus became the Mother of the Lord. Through her, through her ‘yes’, the fullness of time came about.”
The Gospel tells of how the Virgin Mary treasured all the words the Angel spoke to her, and contemplated them in her heart (Cf.Lk 2:19). “She appears to us,” continued Pope Francis, “as a vessel filled to the brim with the memory of Jesus, as the Seat of Wisdom to whom we can have recourse to understand his teaching aright.”
“In this day,” he said, “Mary makes it possible for us to grasp the meaning of events which affect us personally, events which also affect our families, our countries and the entire world.”
Pope Francis: Angelus appeal for peace
Pope Francis renewed his calls for peace and goodwill throughout the Earth.“Overcome Indifference and win Peace’,” said Pope Francis. “That peace, which God the Father wants to sow in the world, must be cultivated by us,” he continued. “Not only: it must also be ‘conquered’. This involves a real struggle, a spiritual battle that takes place in our hearts, for the enemy of peace is not only war, but also indifference, which makes us think only of ourselves and creates barriers, suspicions, fears and closures [of mind and heart].” Pope Francis went on to say, “We have, thank God, much information; but sometimes we are so inundated with news that we are distracted from reality, from the brother and sister who needs us: let us begin to open our hearts, awakening attention to our neighbour.” “This,” said Pope Francis, “is the way to win the peace.”
Pope Francis renewed his calls for peace and goodwill throughout the Earth.“Overcome Indifference and win Peace’,” said Pope Francis. “That peace, which God the Father wants to sow in the world, must be cultivated by us,” he continued. “Not only: it must also be ‘conquered’. This involves a real struggle, a spiritual battle that takes place in our hearts, for the enemy of peace is not only war, but also indifference, which makes us think only of ourselves and creates barriers, suspicions, fears and closures [of mind and heart].” Pope Francis went on to say, “We have, thank God, much information; but sometimes we are so inundated with news that we are distracted from reality, from the brother and sister who needs us: let us begin to open our hearts, awakening attention to our neighbour.” “This,” said Pope Francis, “is the way to win the peace.”
Each day, as we seek to be sustained by the signs of God’s presence, we encounter new signs to the contrary, negative signs which tend to make us think instead that he is absent. The fullness of time seems to fade before the countless forms of injustice and violence which daily wound our human family. Sometimes we ask ourselves how it is possible that human injustice persists unabated, and that the arrogance of the powerful continues to demean the weak, relegating them to the most squalid outskirts of our world. We ask how long human evil will continue to sow violence and hatred in our world, reaping innocent victims. How can the fullness of time have come when we are witnessing hordes of men, women and children fleeing war, hunger and persecution, ready to risk their lives simply to encounter respect for their fundamental rights? A torrent of misery, swollen by sin, seems to contradict the fullness of time brought by Christ.
And yet this swollen torrent is powerless before the ocean of mercy which floods our world. All of us are called to immerse ourselves in this ocean, to let ourselves be reborn, to overcome the indifference which blocks solidarity, and to leave behind the false neutrality which prevents sharing. The grace of Christ, which brings our hope of salvation to fulfilment, leads us to cooperate with him in building an ever more just and fraternal world, a world in which every person and every creature can dwell in peace, in the harmony of God’s original creation.
Send us, O Mother, your blessing on this day consecrated to your honour. Show us the face of Jesus your Son, who bestows upon the entire world mercy and peace.
Send us, O Mother, your blessing on this day consecrated to your honour. Show us the face of Jesus your Son, who bestows upon the entire world mercy and peace.
Notes taken from extracts of:
- Pope’s Homilies For The Solemnity Of Mary… “Show Us The Face Of Jesus Your Son” January 13 , 2016
- Pope Francis: Angelus appeal for peace Jan 1, 2016 -
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