ANGELUS POPE FRANCIS
Saint
Peter's Square
Tuesday, 8 December 2015
Tuesday, 8 December 2015
SOLEMNITY OF THE
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning and happy
feast day!
Today the Feast of the Immaculate Conception leads us
to contemplate Our Lady who, by unique privilege, was preserved from original
sin from the very moment of her conception. Even living in a world marked by
sin, she was not touched by it: Mary is our sister in suffering, but not in
evil or in sin. Instead, evil was conquered in her even before deflowering her,
because God had filled her with grace (cf. Lk 1:28). The Immaculate Conception
signifies that Mary is the first one to be saved by the infinite mercy of the
Father, which is the first fruit of salvation which God wills to give to every
man and woman, in Christ. For this reason the Immaculate One has become the
sublime icon of the divine mercy which conquered sin. Today, at the beginning
of the Jubilee of Mercy, we want to look to this icon with trusting love and to
contemplate her in all her splendour, emulating her faith.
In the Immaculate Conception of Mary we are invited to
recognize the dawn of the new world, transformed by the salvific work of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The dawn of the new creation
brought about by divine mercy. For this reason the Virgin Mary, never infected
by sin and always full of God, is the mother of a new humanity. She is the
mother of the recreated world.
Celebrating this feast entails two things. First:
fully welcoming God and his merciful grace into our life. Second: becoming in
our turn artisans of mercy by means of an evangelical journey. The Feast of the
Immaculate Conception then becomes the feast of all of us if, with our daily
“yes”, we manage to overcome our selfishness and make the life of our brothers
ever more glad, to give them hope, by drying a few tears and giving a bit of
joy. In imitation of Mary, we are called to become bearers of Christ and
witnesses to his love, looking first of all to those who are privileged in the
eyes of Jesus. It is they who he himself indicated: “I was hungry and you gave
me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed
me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in
prison and you came to me” (Mt 25:35-36).
Today’s Feast of the Immaculate Conception has a
specific message for us: it reminds us that in our life everything is a gift,
it is all mercy. May the Blessed Virgin, first fruit of the saved, model of the
Church, Holy and Immaculate Spouse, loved by the Lord, help us to ever
increasingly rediscover divine mercy as the distinguishing mark of Christians.
One cannot understand a true Christian who is not merciful, just as one cannot
comprehend God without his mercy. This is the epitomizing word of the Gospel:
mercy. It is the fundamental feature of the face of Christ: that face that we
recognize in the various aspects of his existence: when he goes to meet
everyone, when he heals the sick, when he sits at the table with sinners, and
above all when, nailed to the cross, he forgives; there we see the face of
divine mercy. Let us not be afraid: let us allow ourselves to be embraced by
the mercy of God who awaits us and forgives all. Nothing is sweeter than his
mercy. Let us allow ourselves to be caressed by God: the Lord is so good, and
he forgives all.
Through the intercession of Immaculate Mary, may mercy
take possession of our hearts and transform our whole life.
After the Angelus:
Dear brothers and sisters, I greet you all with
affection, especially families, parish groups and associations.
This afternoon I shall go to Piazza di Spagna, to pray at
the feet of the monument to the Immaculate. I will then go to St Mary Major. I
ask you to join me spiritually on this pilgrimage, which is an act of filial
devotion to Mary, Mother of Mercy. I shall entrust to her the Church and all of
humanity, and in a special way the city of Rome.
Today Pope Benedict also passed through the Door of
Mercy. Let us greet Pope Benedict from here!
I wish everyone a happy feast day and an abundantly
fruitful Holy Year, with the guidance and intercession of our Mother; a Holy
Year filled with mercy, for you and, from you, for others. Please, ask this of
the Lord for me too, as I have such a need for it! Enjoy your lunch! Arrivederci!
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