We publish the full text of the homily of Leo XIV which on Tuesday morning celebrated mass in the chapel of the Carabinieri station of Castel Gandolfo where he is spending a rest period until 20 July. The celebration was attended by the Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto, the commander general of the weapon, Salvatore Luongo and the military ordinary for Italy, the archbishop Gian Franco Saba.
Dear brothers and sisters,
The Gospel we listened to gives us the authentic Christian meaning of these two words. Brother and sister are names of relationship, which we often repeat in the liturgy as a greeting, as signs of proximity and affection. Jesus, the unigenite Son of God, explains the meaning in relation to himself and his Father, revealing a stronger bond of the blood because he involves us all, uniting every man and woman.
In fact, we are really truly brothers and sisters of Jesus when we make the will of God, that is, when we live by loveing each other, as God loved us. Every relationship that God lives in and for us, thus becomes a gift: when his only Son becomes our brother, his Father becomes Our Father and the Holy Spirit, who unites the Father and the Son, comes to live in our hearts.
God’s love is so great that Jesus does not keep his mother for himself, delivering Mary as our mother, in the hour of the cross (cf. Jn 19:27). Only those who live on such a full dedication can say: “Anyone who does the will of my Father who is in the skies, he is brother, sister and mother for me” (Mt 12.50).
In particular, these words make us understand that Mary becomes Mother of Jesus because he listens to the Word of God with love, welcomes her in her heart and lives her with fidelity. Commenting on the song of the Gospel now remembered, Sant’Agostino has therefore written that “it is worth more for Mary to have been a disciple of Christ instead of the Mother of Christ”. In fact, “Mary was blessed, since he listened to the Word of God and put it into practice” (Sermo 72/a, 7).
The meaning of Mary’s life is kept in loyalty to the Word received by God: The verb of life welcomed by her, brought in the womb and donated to the world.
Dear, the anniversary of the proclamation of the faithful Virgin was recently celebrated, the Virgo Fatelis, to the patroness of the Carabinieri weapon. Just from Castel Gandolfo, in 1949 my revered predecessor Pope Pius XII welcomed this beautiful proposal of the general command of the weapon. After the tragedy of the war, in a period of moral and material reconstruction, Mary’s fidelity towards God thus became a model of the loyalty of every carabiniere towards the homeland and the Italian people.
This virtue expresses the dedication, purity, the constancy of the commitment for the common good, that the carabinieri protect by guaranteeing public security and defending the rights of all, especially of those who find themselves in danger.
I therefore express profound gratitude for the noble and demanding service that the weapon makes to Italy and to its citizens, as well as in favor of the Holy See and the faithful who visit Rome: I especially think of the many pilgrims of this jubilee year.
Devotion to the faithful Virgin also reflects the motto of the carabinieri, In the faithful centuries, expressing the sense of duty and self -denial of each member of the weapon, up to the sacrifice of himself.
I therefore thank the authorities present, civil and military, for what you do in the fulfillment of your duties: in front of the injustices, which hurt the social order, Don’t give in to the temptation to think that evil may have won it. Especially in this time of wars and violence, remain faithful to your oath: as servants of the state, Answer crime with the strength of the law and honesty.
This is how the carabinieri weapon, the merit, will always deserve the esteem of the Italian people. In this Eucharist, while we celebrate the passion, death and resurrection of the Lord, it is right and right to remember the carabinieri who gave life by carrying out their duty: I entrust you as an example iThe venerable Salvo D’Acquistogold medal for military value, of which the cause of beatification is underway.
In each mission, Virgo Fidelis accompanies you, watches loving on each of you, on your families and on your work.
