VATICAN CITY, DEC 8, 2007 (VIS) - At midday today, Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Pope addressed thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square to pray the Angelus.
In his remarks, the Holy Father indicated how today's feast is a celebration of "the mystery of God's grace which, from the first moment of her existence, surrounded the life of the creature destined to become the Mother of the Redeemer, preserving her from the contagion of original sin. Looking at her we recognize the greatness and beauty of God's project for each human being: to become holy and immaculate in love, in the image of our Creator.
"What a great gift it is to have Mary Immaculate for a mother," Benedict XVI added. "A mother resplendent in beauty and transparent to the love of God." He then referred to young people of today who are, he said, "growing up in an atmosphere pervaded with messages that propose false models of happiness. These boys and girls risk losing hope because they often seem to be orphaned of that real love which fills life with meaning and joy."
After highlighting how John Paul II had often presented Mary to young people as the "Mother of beautiful love," the Pope went on: "Many experiences show us, unfortunately, that adolescents, young people, and even children fall easy victims to the corruption of love, taken in by unscrupulous adults who ... draw them into the blind alleys of consumerism. Even the most sacred things such as the human body (the temple of God, of love and of life) thus become objects of consumption; and this is happening ever earlier, even before adolescence. How sad it is when children lose their sense of wonder, the enchantment of the most beautiful feelings, the value of respect for the body which is the manifestation of the individual and of his or her unfathomable mystery.
"Of all this we are reminded by Mary Immaculate whom we contemplate in all her beauty and sanctity," the Pope concluded. "To her we faithfully address our prayer as spiritually we make the pilgrimage to Lourdes where today begins the special jubilee year for the 150th anniversary of her apparition in the grotto of Massabielle."
ANG/MARY IMMACULATE/... VIS 20071210 (390)
In his remarks, the Holy Father indicated how today's feast is a celebration of "the mystery of God's grace which, from the first moment of her existence, surrounded the life of the creature destined to become the Mother of the Redeemer, preserving her from the contagion of original sin. Looking at her we recognize the greatness and beauty of God's project for each human being: to become holy and immaculate in love, in the image of our Creator.
"What a great gift it is to have Mary Immaculate for a mother," Benedict XVI added. "A mother resplendent in beauty and transparent to the love of God." He then referred to young people of today who are, he said, "growing up in an atmosphere pervaded with messages that propose false models of happiness. These boys and girls risk losing hope because they often seem to be orphaned of that real love which fills life with meaning and joy."
After highlighting how John Paul II had often presented Mary to young people as the "Mother of beautiful love," the Pope went on: "Many experiences show us, unfortunately, that adolescents, young people, and even children fall easy victims to the corruption of love, taken in by unscrupulous adults who ... draw them into the blind alleys of consumerism. Even the most sacred things such as the human body (the temple of God, of love and of life) thus become objects of consumption; and this is happening ever earlier, even before adolescence. How sad it is when children lose their sense of wonder, the enchantment of the most beautiful feelings, the value of respect for the body which is the manifestation of the individual and of his or her unfathomable mystery.
"Of all this we are reminded by Mary Immaculate whom we contemplate in all her beauty and sanctity," the Pope concluded. "To her we faithfully address our prayer as spiritually we make the pilgrimage to Lourdes where today begins the special jubilee year for the 150th anniversary of her apparition in the grotto of Massabielle."
ANG/MARY IMMACULATE/... VIS 20071210 (390)
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