Pope at Te Deum: ‘Jesus unleashes
the power of love’
 |
| Pope Francis blesses those present for the celebration Evening Prayer, and the singing of the Te Deum on New Year's Eve. (Vatican Media) |
Pope Francis closes the calendar year with Evening Prayer
and the Te Deum, saying in the fullness of time God sent His Son who unleashed
the unheard-of power of love.
By Sr Bernadette Mary Reis, fsp
Pope Francis closed the calendar year with Evening
Prayer, adoration and benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, and the singing
of the Te Deum in St Peter’s Basilica on
Monday evening. Reflecting on the short reading from Evening Prayer for the
Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, Pope Francis focused on the phrases
“fullness of time” and “to redeem”.
Fullness of time
Pope Francis began saying the Apostle Paul wrote that in the
“fullness of time” God sent His Son not only born of a woman but born under the
Mosaic Law. “How can this be the sign of the ‘fullness of time’?” Pope Francis
asked. Though He began invisibly and insignificantly it would only be thirty
years before Jesus would “unleash an unheard-of power, which still endures and
will endure for all of history. This power is called Love. It is love
that gives fullness to everything, even to time”, the Pope said. In Jesus,
God concentrated all of His love.
Born to redeem
Jesus was born to accomplish the mission given to Him by His
Father: to redeem. To “redeem”, Pope Francis explained, “is to liberate from a
condition of slavery and restore the freedom, dignity and that liberty proper
to children ”. It is from the “ancient slavery to sin” that
the human heart is liberated and our dignity restored, he said.
Modern slavery
Pope Francis then stopped to reflect on the condition of
homelessness faced by at least ten thousand people in Rome. He called their
condition a form of slavery “unworthy of the human person”. Jesus too “was born
in a similar condition, not by chance or by accident”, the Pope said, “but to
demonstrate God’s love for the lowly and the poor”.
Church’s maternity
Pope Francis said he wants to encourage a model of maternity
for the Feast of Mary’s Divine Maternity. It is a model of a Church that draws
near people within their lived reality, rather than simply looking on and
offering help in some way. It is recognizing that through a woman we received
“the fullness of our humanity, ‘the adoption as children’”. Jesus’ abasement
raised us up, His lowliness made us great, His weakness made us strong. Because
Jesus became a servant “we have received freedom”, the Pope said.
Love is His name
In conclusion, Pope Francis said,
“What name can be given to all this if not Love ? The
Love of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, to whom this evening holy
Mother Church lifts up her hymn of praise and thanksgiving.”
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét