Dear Brothers
and Sisters!The star of Mary
Immaculate shines down on the path of Advent. She is the "sign
of sure hope and solace to the people of God during its sojourn
on earth" ("Lumen Gentium," 68). To reach Jesus, the true light,
the sun that has dissipated all the darkness of history, we need
human persons near to us who reflect Christ's light and thus
illuminate the road to be taken. What person is more luminous
than Mary? Who can be for us better than her the star of hope,
the sunrise that proclaims the day of salvation (cf. "Spe Salvi,"
49)?
For this reason the liturgy brings us
to celebrate today, as we approach Christmas, the solemn feast
of the Immaculate Conception of Mary: The mystery of God's grace
overshadowed from the first moment of her existence this
creature who was destined to be the Mother of the Redeemer,
preserving her from the contagion of original sin. Gazing upon
her, we recognize the height and beauty of God's project for
every man: becoming holy and immaculate in love (cf. Ephesians
1:4), in the image of our Creator.
What a great gift to have Mary
Immaculate as mother! A mother shining with beauty, transparent
to God's love. I think of the young people of today, growing up
in an environment saturated by messages that propose false
models of happiness. These young men and women run the risk of
losing hope because they often seem orphans of true love, the
love that fills life with meaning and joy. This was a theme dear
to my venerable predecessor, Pope John Paul II, who many times
proposed Mary as "Mother of Love" to the young people of our
time.
Not a few experiences tell us that
young people, adolescents and even children are easy victims of
the corruption of love, deceived by unscrupulous adults, who,
lying to them and to themselves, draw them into the dead ends of
consumerism. Even the most sacred realities, such as the human
body, temple of the God of love and life, become objects of
consumption; and this happens earlier and earlier, already in
pre-adolescence. How sad it is when the young lose wonder, the
enchantment of the best sentiments, the value of respect for the
body, manifestation of the person and his inscrutable mystery!
Mary, the Immaculate one, whom we
contemplate in her beauty and holiness, calls us back to all
this. On the cross, Jesus entrusts her to John and to all the
disciples (cf. John 19:27), and from that moment she became
Mother for all humanity, Mother of Hope. We address our prayer
to her with faith as we are in our heart on spiritual pilgrimage
to Lourdes, where on this very day a special jubilee year has
begun on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Mary's
appearances in the grotto of Massabielle. Mary Immaculate, "star
of the sea, shine upon us and guide us on our way!" ("Spe Salvi,"
50).
[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]
© Copyright 2007 -- Libreria Editrice
Vaticana
The Immaculate Conception