Posted on 10/13/2013 6:13:00 AM PDT by markomalley
The Pope celebrated mass in St Peter’s square this morning in honour of the Marian Day, an event organised as part of the Year of Faith on the anniversary of the final apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima (13th of October 1917).
Please find below the full text of Pope Francis’ homily in English translation.
In the Psalm we said: “Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things” (Ps 98:1). Today we consider one of the marvelous things which the Lord has done: Mary! A lowly and weak creature like ourselves, she was chosen to be the Mother of God, the Mother of her Creator.
Considering Mary in the light of the readings we have just heard, I would like to reflect with you on three things: first, God surprises us, second, God asks us to be faithful, and third, God is our strength.
First: God surprises us. The story of Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Aram, is remarkable. In order to be healed of leprosy, he turns to the prophet of God, Elisha, who does not perform magic or demand anything unusual of him, but asks him simply to trust in God and to wash in the waters of the river. Not, however, in one of the great rivers of Damascus, but in the little stream of the Jordan. Naaman is left surprised, even taken aback. What kind of God is this who asks for something so simple? He wants to turn back, but then he goes ahead, he immerses himself in the Jordan and is immediately healed (cf. 2 Kg 5:1-4). There it is: God surprises us. It is precisely in poverty, in weakness and in humility that he reveals himself and grants us his love, which saves us, heals us and gives us strength. He asks us only to obey his word and to trust in him.
This was the experience of the Virgin Mary. At the message of the angel, she does not hide her surprise. It is the astonishment of realizing that God, to become man, had chosen her, a simple maid of Nazareth. Not someone who lived in a palace amid power and riches, or one who had done extraordinary things, but simply someone who was open to God and put her trust in him, even without understanding everything: “Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word” (Lk 1:38). That was her answer. God constantly surprises us, he bursts our categories, he wreaks havoc with our plans. And he tells us: trust me, do not be afraid, let yourself be surprised, leave yourself behind and follow me!
Today let us all ask ourselves whether we are afraid of what God might ask, or of what he does ask. Do I let myself be surprised by God, as Mary was, or do I remain caught up in my own safety zone: in forms of material, intellectual or ideological security, taking refuge in my own projects and plans? Do I truly let God into my life? How do I answer him?
In the passage from Saint Paul which we have heard, the Apostle tells his disciple Timothy: remember Jesus Christ. If we persevere with him, we will also reign with him (cf. 2 Tim 2:8-13). This is the second thing: to remember Christ always – to be mindful of Jesus Christ – and thus to persevere in faith. God surprises us with his love, but he demands that we be faithful in following him. We can be unfaithful, but he cannot: he is “the faithful one” and he demands of us that same fidelity. Think of all the times when we were excited about something or other, some initiative, some task, but afterwards, at the first sign of difficulty, we threw in the towel. Sadly, this also happens in the case of fundamental decisions, such as marriage. It is the difficulty of remaining steadfast, faithful to decisions we have made and to commitments we have made. Often it is easy enough to say “yes”, but then we fail to repeat this “yes” each and every day. We fail to be faithful.
Mary said her “yes” to God: a “yes” which threw her simple life in Nazareth into turmoil, and not only once. Any number of times she had to utter a heartfelt “yes” at moments of joy and sorrow, culminating in the “yes” she spoke at the foot of the Cross. Here today there are many mothers present; think of the full extent of Mary’s faithfulness to God: seeing her only Son hanging on the Cross. The faithful woman, still standing, utterly heartbroken, yet faithful and strong.
And I ask myself: am I a Christian by fits and starts, or am I a Christian full-time? Our culture of the ephemeral, the relative, also takes its toll on the way we live our faith. God asks us to be faithful to him, daily, in our everyday life. He goes on to say that, even if we are sometimes unfaithful to him, he remains faithful. In his mercy, he never tires of stretching out his hand to lift us up, to encourage us to continue our journey, to come back and tell him of our weakness, so that he can grant us his strength. This is the real journey: to walk with the Lord always, even at moments of weakness, even in our sins. Never to prefer a makeshift path of our own. That kills us. Faith is ultimate fidelity, like that of Mary.
The last thing: God is our strength. I think of the ten lepers in the Gospel who were healed by Jesus. They approach him and, keeping their distance, they call out: “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” (Lk 17:13). They are sick, they need love and strength, and they are looking for someone to heal them. Jesus responds by freeing them from their disease. Strikingly, however, only one of them comes back, praising God and thanking him in a loud voice. Jesus notes this: ten asked to be healed and only one returned to praise God in a loud voice and to acknowledge that he is our strength. Knowing how to give thanks, to give praise for everything that the Lord has done for us.
Take Mary. After the Annunciation, her first act is one of charity towards her elderly kinswoman Elizabeth. Her first words are: “My soul magnifies the Lord”, in other words, a song of praise and thanksgiving to God not only for what he did for her, but for what he had done throughout the history of salvation. Everything is his gift. If we can realise that everything is God’s gift, how happy will our hearts be! Everything is his gift. He is our strength! Saying “thank you” is such an easy thing, and yet so hard! How often do we say “thank you” to one another in our families? These are essential words for our life in common. “Excuse me”, “sorry”, “thank you”. If families can say these three things, they will be fine. “Excuse me”, “sorry”, “thank you”. How often do we say “thank you” in our families? How often do we say “thank you” to those who help us, those close to us, those at our side throughout life? All too often we take everything for granted! This happens with God too. It is easy to approach the Lord to ask for something, but to go and thank him: “Well, I don’t need to”.
As we continue our celebration of the Eucharist, let us invoke Mary’s intercession. May she help us to be open to God’s surprises, to be faithful to him each and every day, and to praise and thank him, for he is our strength. Amen.
Let them rage -they lack love because of hiding who they really are.
Pray for them.
An important Miracle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMEWxRB-1dc
The Heaven of these humourless, angry and ugly attackers of Catholics must be worse than Hell, thanks but no thanks.
“We don’t need no theology!” — The “Pope” of these people Paul Crouch.
What do I care when you have no respect for the scripture?I respect Holy Scripture. And what you have printed out and what I have printed out both explain, to me anyway, that Mary brings people to Jesus. Why do you think so many Catholics credit Mary for their return to the faith, their deepening of the faith, their love of the faith? Because she leads them to her Son.
>> “ Because she leads them to her Son.” <<
.
Or to the false son that Satan provided.
Oy, who said Papists don’t blush? What is she then, if one has to go through her to come to Jesus?Please wake up, Puny! You have to "meet" Mary, honor her, love her, but you can surely pray to Jesus alone [I always do at Adoration and Mass], but He's not going to let you into heaven, if you first don't know his mother. How absurd to think otherwise! What kind of derelict Son do you think Jesus is? He is the model for ALL men to live by. Should all men now neglect their earthly mothers casting them aside as if they served little, if any, good purpose?
Do not derisively alter another poster’s name.
“I respect Holy Scripture.”
In that case, why do you claim that Mary is sinless, when I showed you scripture which said that no one is sinless? And why do you claim that Mary brings people to Jesus, as if faith in her is necessary, when I showed you it was the Holy Spirit who brings us to Jesus? Why are you asserting things that are not in the scripture at all?
“And what you have printed out and what I have printed out both explain, to me anyway, that Mary brings people to Jesus.”
Sure, considering you based it on nothing to begin with, it makes sense that you would base it out of nothing x nothing.
“Why do you think so many Catholics credit Mary for their return to the faith, their deepening of the faith, their love of the faith?”
Because they are idolaters with feeble ideas about religion, and because they believe they will get into heaven based on their own righteousness and devotion in a human woman who is not omnipresent or omniscient, and therefore cannot hear their vain cries?
Certainly, if you think that Mary will save you, go ahead. I pity you greatly, but go ahead.
“Please wake up, Puny! You have to “meet” Mary, honor her, love her, but you can surely pray to Jesus alone”
Ah, you have no idea how much I feel for you in these delusions. I WAS a Catholic. I’ve PRAYED to Mary. Guess what? She never helped me. But God did. Ah, how did a religion it is that you are in, that you are satisfied with so little, when true answer to prayer is available by the only God who can hear. Not your dumb idols, which hear nothing and can do nothing.
Stick with your blasphemies! I will stay with Jesus Christ.
Oops, actually, I showed you two other verses. I didn’t show you the ones stating that all have sinned. Here you go:
Rom_3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
1Jn_1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
Psa_143:2 And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.
Isa_64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
1Co_15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
Not your dumb idols, which hear nothing and can do nothing.You're grouping Mary, the mother of Christ, in with "dumb idols"? Even by fallen-away kids wouldn't talk like that! Gives me something to be happy about in that regard, I guess.
“You’re grouping Mary, the mother of Christ, in with “dumb idols”?”
Nay, just the blasphemous statue you call Mary, which cannot hear you. Don’t get the two confused. The true Mary needed a savior just like everybody else.
Mary has already stated she is the “Immaculate Conception.” Ignore all the miracles at Lourdes if you must. Block them out of your head and your ears. Cover up you ability to reason. In the end, I don’t really care how you worship, though. I just loathe the attacks on Mary, the sinless mother of God.
“Mary has already stated she is the “Immaculate Conception.” Ignore all the miracles at Lourdes if you must. Block them out of your head and your ears.”
Well, of course I’ll reject an unknown spirit who makes little girls wear tight ropes around their waist because the sacrifice of Christ on the cross wasn’t good enough to pay for anyone’s sins. I read the scripture, after all:
“But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.”
(Gal 1:8-9)
Thanks! I see the Coptic Church approved of these apparitions. I hadn’t known much about them previously.
“I’m disengaging from your wise-guy commentary;”
That actually assumes that you were actually “engaging” in some kind of discourse. I considered it more like a barking noise, at best.
Please wake up, Puny! You have to "meet" Mary, honor her, love her, but you can surely pray to Jesus alone [I always do at Adoration and Mass], but He's not going to let you into heaven, if you first don't know his mother.
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 10:7-9 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
Acts 4:11-12 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.Of course, this is true, but Mary can lead one to Jesus to begin with. They are inseparable. Just like any mother and her child would be, however, because Mary is sinless, it's a bind that is difficult to even put into words; they are naturally forever attached by a pure love.
But the Godhead isn’t a circle. It’s a triangle, with God the Father at the top. Where pray tell, does Mary fit in the triangle?
Do not derisively alter another poster’s name.So it is okay for a guest of Free Republic to select a disrespectful handle, but it's not okay to derisively alter that nic?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.