Pope on Feast of Mary, Mother of
God: The dignity and gifts of women
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| Pope Francis celebrates Mass on New Year's Day (Vatican Media) |
Pope Francis presides over Holy Mass in St Peter’s Basilica
on the first day of the year, celebrating the Feast of Mary, Mother of God, and
marking the 53rd World Day of Peace.
By Vatican News
Pope Francis’ first homily of the year was dedicated to the
figure of Mary, on the day the Church celebrates her as Mother of God. Mary was
declared Mother of God at the Council of Ephesus in 431, and it was Pope Saint
Paul VI who restored this solemnity to January 1st in 1974.
Women as sources of life
“On the first day of the year”, began Pope Francis, we
celebrate a “nuptial union between God and humanity”, one that was inaugurated
“in the womb of a woman”. “The rebirth of humanity began from a woman”,
continued the Pope: “Women are sources of life”.
Born of a woman
That is why “every form of violence inflicted upon a woman
is a blasphemy against God, who was born of a woman”, said Pope Francis. “How
often are women’s bodies sacrificed on the profane altars of advertising,
profiteering, and pornography, exploited like a canvas to be used”. “Women’s
bodies must be freed from consumerism”, he said. “They must be respected and
honoured”.
Keeping in her heart
Pope Francis noted how the Gospel repeats the image of Mary
“keeping all things in her heart”. “Women typically take life to heart”, said
the Pope. “Women show us that the meaning of life is not found in making things
but in taking things to heart. Only those who see with the heart see things
properly, because they know how to ‘look into’ each person”.
Seeing with the heart
At the start of this New Year, Pope Francis challenged us to
ask if we know “how to see with the heart”. Only if we take life to heart, he
said, “will we know how to take care and overcome the
indifference all around”. “If we want a better world, a world that will be a
peaceful home and not a war field, may we take to heart the dignity of each
woman”.
Women as mediators of peace
The Church celebrates January 1st as the 53rd World
Day of Peace, a tradition begun by Pope Saint Paul VI in 1968.
“Women are givers and mediators of peace”, said Pope Francis
in his homily, adding that they should be “fully included in decision-making
processes”. When women can share their gifts, said the Pope, “the world finds
itself more united, more peaceful. Hence, every step forward for women is a
step forward for humanity as a whole”.
Mary as woman and mother
It was Mary, said Pope Francis, who began “the revolution of
tenderness” - something the Church is called to continue: “For she too, like
Mary, is both woman and mother”. In drawing close to Mary, “the Church
discovers herself, she finds her centre and her unity”, said the Pope, “Because
the Church has a mother’s heart”.
Pope Francis concluded asking Mary “to give birth to hope
within us and bring us unity. Woman of salvation, to you we entrust this
year”, said the Pope. “Keep it in your heart”.
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