Beautiful Pontifical Solemn Mass:
Pope at Mass: Let us entrust the New Year to the Mother of God
By Thaddeus Jones
Presiding over the morning Mass in Saint Peter's Basilica on New Year's Day, Pope Francis spoke about this day when we celebrate in a special way the Holy Mother of God, "a simple phrase that confesses the Lord’s eternal covenant with us." January 1st marks the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, and also the day the Church marks the World Day of Peace.
The fullness of time
The Pope illustrated the meaning of the expression "the fullness of time" we read in the Scriptures and how "divine grace spills over" when "God becomes man" through Mary, "the means chosen by God, the culmination of that long line of individuals and generations that 'drop by drop' prepared for the Lord’s coming into the world."
Dogma of hope
The words "Mother of God," the Pope explained, "express the joyful certainty that the Lord, a tiny Child in his Mamma’s arms, has united himself forever to our humanity, to the point that it is no longer only ours, but his as well," the Lord's eternal covenant with us.
At the same time, the Pope emphasized that we should remember that "the motherhood of Mary is the path leading us to the paternal tenderness of God, the closest, most direct and easiest of paths."
Maternal care and courage
The Church also needs to rediscover in Mary, Virgin and Mother, how to be "generative" with pastoral ministry distinguished by "concern and care, patience and maternal courage," said the Pope. And the world could also look to mothers and women for ways to find peace and "see things with genuinely human eyes and hearts."
Grace overflows
The Pope then spoke about how Mary plays "a decisive role" also in each of our lives, as "no one knows better than a Mother the stages of growth and the urgent needs of her children."
The Pope said we can "seek refuge" in Mary, especially in times of loneliness, when dealing with our shortcomings, "whenever we are no longer able to untie the knots in our lives." And may we turn to Mary for help in becoming "artisans of unity" in our times "bereft of peace" so that we can do so "with her maternal creativity and concern for her children."
Entrusting the year to the Mother of God
In conclusion, the Pope said in his homily interspersed with quotes from Paul VI, Thomas of Celano, Martin Luther and the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, that we should entrust the New Year to the Mother of God, consecrating our lives to her, as "she will lead us to Jesus, who is himself 'the fullness of time,' of every time, of our own time."
2 comments:
From: Vatican News: Here is a brief, yet powerful video:
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2024-01/pope-francis-world-day-peace-prayer-virgin-mary.html
"As the Church celebrates the World Day of Peace and the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, we explore the visual and existential contrasts between war and peace, accompanied by Pope Francis' prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary."
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Pope Francis asks Mary’s intercession in World Day of Peace video
Pope's prayer for peace in our war-torn world
Rome Newsroom, Jan 1, 2024 / 09:00 am
In a video marking the World Day of Peace on Jan. 1, Pope Francis asks the Blessed Mother to “teach us to cherish and care for life — each and every human life” and “to repudiate the folly of war, which sows death and eliminates the future.”
“This is a dark hour, Mother,” the pope prays in the video, which was released Monday. “Turn your eyes of mercy toward our human family, which preferred Cain to Abel.”
The Vatican described the video, which used selections from Pope Francis’s Oct. 27 prayer for peace, as an exploration of “the visual and existential contrasts between war and peace.”
It shows a child walking across a desolate field, as another runs joyfully through the tall grass. Smoke billows from a just-bombed building, while fireworks of celebration light up the night sky. Other scenes juxtapose marching soldiers with civilians crossing the street, flying kites with fighter jets, and an elderly woman crying in anguish with another praying serenely.
“You suffer with us and for us, as you see your children suffering from conflicts and wars that are tearing our world apart,” Pope Francis prays to Mary, as an image of a burned-out church is set against a chapel glowing with lit votive candles. You can watch the full video below.
“Please, let’s not forget Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, which are at war,” the pope said in his Angelus message for Jan. 1. “Let’s pray for peace to come, altogether.”
The Catholic Church has observed the World Day of Peace on Jan. 1, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, since 1968. For this year’s observance, Pope Francis also released a message calling for the global regulation of artificial intelligence for “peace and common good.”
In the newly released video, a young girl sits in rubble while another reads quietly on her classroom floor, as Pope Francis tells the Blessed Mother that “we cannot succeed alone.” The pope continues, asking Mary to grant that a “glimmer of light may illumine the dark night of conflict.
“Mother Mary, Queen of Peace, pour forth into our hearts God’s gift of harmony.”
Pax.
Mark Thomas
Beautiful message to start the New Year honoring Mary and women in general.
“Mary knows our needs; she intercedes to make grace overflow in our lives and to guide them to authentic fulfilment.”
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