Homily of Pope Francis at the Mass celebrated in East Timor

We offer the official version provided by the Vatican of the homily delivered by Pope Francis during the Mass celebrated on the esplanade of Tasitolu (East Timor) on Tuesday, September 10, 2024, during his apostolic trip to Asia and Oceania.

“A child is born to us, a son is given to us” (Is 9:5).

These are the words with which the prophet Isaiah addresses, in the first reading, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, in a time of prosperity for the city, but characterized, unfortunately, by great moral decline.

There is a lot of wealth, but well-being blinds the powerful, it deceives them into believing that they can be enough for themselves, that they do not need the Lord; and their presumption leads them to be selfish and unjust. Therefore, despite the abundance of goods, the poor are abandoned and suffer from hunger, infidelity to God spreads and religious practice is increasingly reduced to a mere formality. The deceptive appearance of a world, at first sight perfect, thus hides a much darker and sadder, harsh and cruel reality, in which there is a great need for conversion, mercy and healing.

That is why the prophet announces to his compatriots a new horizon, which God will open before them, a future of hope and joy, where abuse and war will be banished forever (cf. Is 9:1-4). He will bring forth for them a great light (cf. v. 1) that will free them from the darkness of the sin by which they are oppressed, and he will do so not with the power of armies, weapons or riches, but through the gift of a son ( cf. vv. 5-6).

Let’s stop to reflect on this image. God shines his saving light through the gift of a son.

In all parts of the world, the birth of a child is a bright moment, of joy and celebration, which instills good wishes in everyone: to be renewed in goodness, to return to purity and simplicity. When faced with a newborn, even the hardest heart is moved and filled with tenderness, those who are discouraged find hope, those who are resigned dream again and believe in the possibility of a better life. The fragility of a child carries with it a message so strong that it touches even the most hardened spirits, bringing with it purposes of harmony and serenity. It’s wonderful what happens when a baby is born!

And all this is nothing more than a revealing spark of an even greater light, because at the root of all life is the eternal love of God, there is his grace, his providence and the power of his creative Word. Not only that, but, in Christ, God himself became man, he became a child to be close to us and to save us. The invitation, then, in the face of this mystery, is not only to be amazed and moved, but also to open ourselves to the love of the Father and to allow ourselves to be modeled by Him, so that He can heal our wounds, fix our differences, put order in our existence, until becomes the foundation of our personal and community life, in all areas.

This reality is beautiful in Timor-Leste, because there are many children; You are a young country in which life is palpitating and bustling in every corner. And the presence of so much youth and so many children is an immense gift, in fact, it constantly renews the freshness, energy, joy and enthusiasm of its people. But it is an even stronger sign, because making space for the little ones, welcoming them, caring for them; and making all of us small before God and before our brothers, are precisely the attitudes that open us to the action of the Lord. By making ourselves small, we allow the Almighty to do great things in us, according to the measure of his love, as Mary teaches us in the Magnificat (cf. Lk 1:46-49), and also in this celebration.

Today, in fact, we venerate the Blessed Virgin as Queen, that is, as the mother of a King, Jesus, who wanted to be born small to become our brother, entrusting her powerful action to the “yes” of a fragile and poor young mother ( cf. Lk 1,38).

And Mary understood it, to the point that she chose to remain small throughout her life, in fact, she became smaller and smaller, serving, praying, disappearing to make room for Jesus, even when this cost her a lot, even when she did not understand. well everything that was happening around him.

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, let us not be afraid to make ourselves small before God and one another; of losing our lives, of giving our time, of reexamining our programs, giving up whatever is necessary for a brother or sister to improve and be happy. Let us not be afraid to resize, when necessary, our projects, not to minimize them, but to make them even better through the gift of ourselves and the acceptance of others, with all the unpredictability that this entails. Because true royalty is that of those who give their lives for love, like Mary, and like Jesus on the cross, who gave everything, making himself small, defenseless and weak (cf. Phil 2:5-8), to prepare a place for each of us in the Kingdom of the Father (cf. Jn 14:1-3).

All this is very well symbolized by two beautiful traditional jewels of this land, the Kaibauk and the White. Both are made of precious metal; That means they are important.

The first symbolizes the horns of the buffalo and the light of the sun, and is placed high up, as an ornament on the forehead, as well as on the upper part of the houses, following the shape of the roofs. It symbolizes strength, energy and heat, and can represent the life-giving power of God. Furthermore, placed at the height of the head and on the top of the houses, it reminds us that, with the light of the Word of the Lord and with the strength of his grace, we too can collaborate with our choices and actions to the great design of salvation.

The second, the Whitewhich is placed on the chest, complements the first. He remembers the delicate light of the moon, which humbly reflects the light of the sun at night, enveloping everything with a light fluorescence. It speaks to us of peace, fertility and sweetness, while it symbolizes the tenderness of the mother, who with the delicate reflections of her love makes what she touches resplendent with the same light that she, in turn, receives. of God.

Kaibauk y Whitestrength and tenderness of Father and Mother. Thus the Lord manifests his royalty, made of charity and mercy.

Let each of us ask together, in this Eucharist, as men and women, as a Church and as a society, to know how to reflect in the world the powerful and tender light of the God of love, of that God who, as we pray in the Responsorial Psalm, “He lifts up the helpless from the dust, lifts up the poor from his misery, to make him sit among the nobles (…) of his people” (Ps 113,7-8).