«There is a temptation, which fascinates many people today but which can also seduce many Christians: imagine or fabricate an “abstract” God, connected to a vague religious idea, to some passing good emotion. Instead he is concrete, he is human, he was born of a woman, he has a face and a name, and he calls us to have a relationship with Him.”
It is the Octave of Christmas, the first day of the civil year, and the Church celebrates the solemnity of Mary Most Holy Mother of God and the 58th World Day of Peace.
Pope Francis, in the homily of the Mass celebrated in St. Peter’s Basilica, recalls that this solemnity «immerses us once again in the Mystery of Christmas: God became one of us in Mary’s womb and we, who opened the Holy Door to begin the Jubilee, are reminded today that “Mary is therefore the door through which Christ entered this world””.
The rites at the altar are presided over by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State.
In his homily, Francis analyzes the words of Saint Paul who says that Jesus was “born of a woman”: «The Apostle almost feels the need to remind us that God truly became man through a human womb», underlines the Pontiff, «Christ Jesus, our Savior, was born of a woman; he has flesh and blood; he comes from the bosom of the Father, but is incarnated in the womb of the Virgin Mary; it comes from above the heavens but dwells in the depths of the earth; he is the Son of God, but he became the Son of man. He, the image of Almighty God, came in weakness; and although he was without blemish, “God made him sin in our favor.” He was born of a woman and is one of us: for this very reason He can save us.”
But the expression “born of a woman”, adds Francis, «it also speaks to us about the humanity of Christ, to tell us that He reveals himself in the fragility of the flesh. If He descended into the womb of a woman, being born like all creatures, here He shows Himself in the fragility of a Child. This is why the shepherds, going to see with their own eyes what the Angel announced to them, did not find extraordinary signs or grandiose manifestations, but “they found Mary and Joseph and the child, lying in the manger”. They find a helpless, fragile newborn, in need of his mother’s care, in need of swaddling clothes and milk, caresses and love.».
A scene that is significant because, underlines the Pope, «in the whole life of Jesus we can see this choice of God, the choice of smallness and hiddenness; He will never give in to the charm of divine power to perform great signs and impose himself on others as the devil suggested to him, but he will reveal the love of God in the beauty of his humanity, living among us, sharing the ordinary life of toil and dreams, showing compassion for the suffering of body and spirit, opening the eyes of the blind and encouraging the lost of heart. . Jesus shows us God through his fragile humanity, who cares for the fragile».
Pope Francis underlines the meaning of this Marian feast eight days after Christmas: «Mary, the girl from Nazareth, always leads us back to the Mystery of her Son, Jesus. She reminds us that Jesus comes in the flesh and, therefore, the privileged place where we can meet him is first and foremost our life, our fragile humanity, that of those who pass by us every day. By invoking her as the Mother of God, we affirm that Christ was begotten of the Father, but was truly born from the womb of a woman. We affirm that He is the Lord of time but inhabits this time of ours, even this new year, with his presence of love. We affirm that He is the Savior of the world, but we can meet Him and we must seek Him in the face of every human being».
The humanity of Christ is not something abstract but involves our life: “If He, who is the Son of God, became small to be picked up by a mother, to be cared for and breastfed”, says the Pope , «then it means that even today He comes to all those who need the same care: in every sister and brother we meet and who need attention, listening, tenderness».
The Pontiff invites us to entrust 2025, the jubilee year, «to Mary, Mother of God, so that we too may learn like her to find the greatness of God in the smallness of life; because we learn to take care of every creature born of a woman, first of all by safeguarding the precious gift of life, as Mary does: life in the maternal womb, that of children, that of those who suffer, the life of the poor, the life of the elderly, of those who are alone, of those who are dying.”
Bergoglio recalls that today, on the World Day of Peace, «we are all called to accept this invitation that flows from the maternal heart of Mary: to safeguard life, taking care of wounded life, so much wounded life, restoring dignity to the life of every “born of woman” is the fundamental basis for building a civilization of peace. For this reason, says the Pope, quoting his Message for today, «I ask for a firm commitment to promote respect for the dignity of human life, from conception to natural death, so that every person can love their life and look to the future with hope.”
The Pontiff concludes his homily by inviting, once again, to entrust the Holy Year which has just begun to Mary, “Mother of God and our Mother” who “awaits us right there in the nativity scene. He also shows us, like the shepherds, the God who always surprises us, who does not come in the splendor of the heavens, but in the smallness of a manger. Let us entrust this new Jubilee year to her, let us entrust to her the questions, the worries, the suffering, the joys and everything we carry in our hearts. We entrust the entire world to her, so that hope may be reborn, so that peace may finally sprout for all the peoples of the Earth.” Then he invites the faithful present in the Basilica to greet the Virgin by repeating “Mary Mother of God” three times.
