Vatican City, 13 December 2014 (VIS) –
Yesterday afternoon, on the liturgical solemnity of the Blessed
Virgin Mary of Guadalupe, patroness of Latin America, the Holy Father
celebrated Mass in the Vatican Basilica. The celebration was
accompanied by hymns from the “Misa Criolla”, by the Argentine
composer Ariel Ramirez. Extensive extracts from the homily pronounced
by the Pontiff are published below:
“Today, with gratitude and joy, the
peoples and nations of our great Latin American homeland commemorate
the feast of their 'patroness', Our Lady of Guadalupe, whose devotion
extends from Alaska to Patagonia. … On this feast of Our Lady of
Guadalupe … we sing with her the 'Magnificat', we entrust to her
the lives of our people and the continental mission of the Church.
When she appeared to St. Juan Diego in Tepeyac … this led to a new
visitation. She tenderly hastened to embrace the new people of the
Americas at the dramatic moment they came into being: 'A great sign
appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon
under her feet' that assumed within herself the cultural and
religious symbolism of the native people, announcing her Son and
giving Him to the new and suffering people of mixed race. … The
most perfect disciple of the Lord became the 'great missionary who
brings the Gospel to our America'. The Son of Mary most Holy, his
Immaculate Mother, reveals himself from the origins of this new
peoples’ history, as the 'true God who gives us Life'”.
“The Holy Mother of God not only
visited these people, but she chose to remain with them. … By her
intercession, the Christian faithful started to become the richest
treasure of the soul of the American people, whose precious pearl is
Jesus Christ. It is a patrimony which is transmitted and manifest
today in the many baptism of multitudes of people, in the faith, hope
and charity of many; in precious popular piety; and in that popular
ethos that reveals itself in an awareness of human dignity, in the
passion for justice, in solidarity with the poorest and suffering, in
hope that is sometimes against every hope”.
“That is why, here today, we can
continue to praise God for the wonders he has brought to the lives of
the Latin American people. … In the wonders which the Lord has
achieved in Mary, she recognises her Son's style and way of acting in
the story of Salvation. Sweeping away worldly judgements, destroying
idols of power, riches, success at any cost, denouncing
self-sufficiency, pride and a secularised which distances from God,
the Mary’s Magnificat professes that God delights in subverting
ideologies and worldly hierarchies. He lifts up the lowly, comes to
the aid of the poor and the smallest among us, he fills with
goodness, blessings and hope those who trust in his mercy from
generation to generation, while he casts down the rich, the powerful,
and rulers from their thrones. The 'Magnificat' introduces us to the
Beatitudes, the earliest synthesis of the Gospel. In the light of the
Beatitudes we feel compelled to ask that the future of Latin America
be forged for the poor and those who suffer, for the humble, those
who hunger and thirst for justice, for the compassionate, the pure of
heart, those who work for peace, and for those who are persecuted
because of Christ's name, 'for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven'. May
theirs be the grace of being forged by those who today the idolatrous
system of the throwaway culture relegates to the category of slaves,
objects to be used or simply denied”.
“And we make this request because
Latin America is the 'continent of hope'! Because she hopes in new
ways of development which combine traditional Christianity and civil
progress, justice and equity with reconciliation, scientific
development and technology with human wisdom. Fruitful suffering with
joyful hope. We can protect this hope only with great amounts of
truth and mercy, the basis for all realities and revolutionary
engines of an authentically new life”.
“We place these realities and these
desires on the altar as a gift pleasing to God. … He is the only
Lord, the 'liberator' of all of our slavery and misery derived from
sin. He calls us to live the true life, a more human life, to live
together as children and brothers, now that the doors to 'the new
heaven and the new earth' are open. We implore the Blessed Virgin
Mary, under the name 'Our Lady of Guadalupe' – the Mother of God,
our Queen, our Lady, the young woman, our Little One (as called St.
Juan Diego called her), and with all the loving names which popular
piety has given her – that she may continue to accompany, help and
protect our people. May she lead by the hand all pilgrim children in
these lands to the encounter with her Son, Jesus Christ Our Lord,
present in the Church, in its holiness, especially in the Eucharist,
present in the treasure of his Word and teachings, present in the
faithful and holy people of God, in those who suffer and in the
humble of heart. So be it. Amen!”.
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