Immaculate Conception in the Vatican: Pope Francis presides at Mass with new cardinals

Pope Francis assured that the Immaculate Conception, whose Solemnity is celebrated this Sunday, December 8, “is not a myth, nor an abstract doctrine, nor an impossible ideal; but rather it is the proposal of a beautiful and concrete project” for all humanity.

When contemplating Mary, conceived without original sin, the Pope warned that “the risk, however, would be to think that it is a distant beauty, a beauty that is too high, unattainable. But it’s not like that.”

“The Immaculate Conception is not a myth, nor an abstract doctrine, nor an impossible ideal; but rather it is the proposal of a beautiful and concrete project, the fully realized model of our humanity, through which, by the grace of God, we can all contribute to improve our world,” he stressed.

In the homily of the Mass that he presided in St. Peter’s Basilica together with the 21 new cardinals that he created yesterday in the Vatican, the Holy Father listed several of the challenges that must be faced in today’s world, where many times There is “no love, no happiness” and no freedom.

“Whoever disrespects father and mother, who does not want children, who considers others as an object or as a nuisance, who considers sharing as a loss and solidarity as impoverishment, does not spread joy or a future.” Pope Francis warned.

“What is the point of having money in the bank, comforts in the apartments, false ‘contacts’ in the virtual world, if then the hearts remain cold, empty or closed? What good are the high levels of financial growth of privileged countries, if half the world dies from hunger and war, while the rest watch with indifference? “What’s the point of traveling around the entire planet, if then each encounter is reduced to the emotion of the moment, to a photograph that no one will remember after a few days or a few months?” he questioned.

The Holy Father asked the Mother of God that “her Heart full of love conquers us, converts us and makes us a community where filiation, spousal and motherhood are the rule and criterion of life; where families meet, husbands share everything, fathers and mothers are present, in flesh and blood, close to their children, and children take care of their parents.”

Regarding the new cardinals, Pope Francis highlighted that “they are brothers whom I have asked to help me in the pastoral service of the universal Church. They come from numerous parts of the world, bearers of a single Wisdom with many faces, to contribute to the growth and extension of the Kingdom of God. Let us commend them in a particular way to the intercession of the Mother of the Savior.”

Pope Francis and 3 aspects of the beauty of Mary Immaculate

In his homily the Holy Father highlighted three aspects of the immaculate beauty of the Mother of God: “Mary daughter, Mary wife and Mary mother.”

Regarding the first, the Pope highlighted that “here the Virgin appears to us as beautiful as a flower, grown unnoticed and finally ready to open in total self-giving. Because Mary’s life is a continuous giving of herself.”

Regarding the second, Pope Francis highlighted that Mary “is the one that God chose as a companion for his salvation project. There is no salvation without the woman because the Church is also a woman.” With her “yes” to the Lord, the Virgin becomes an example of fidelity and loyalty.

Regarding the third, the Pontiff indicated that Mary as a mother is the one who usually turns to in the face of difficulties, because “here the Immaculate Conception is beautiful in her fertility, that is, in her knowing how to die to give life, in her forgetting of herself to take care of those who, small and defenseless, cling to Her.”