ROME, DEC. 20, 2010 -- As we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ at Christmas, the message the Virgin Mother of God wants to give us today is that we be not afraid, because “Jesus has conquered evil, he has conquered it at the roots, liberating us from its dominion,” said the prelate of the Italian armed forces, Archbishop Vincenzo Pelvi.
“How much in need we are of this beautiful news,” he said. “Evil is recounted, repeated and amplified in the media every day, accustoming us to the most horrible things, making us become insensitive and, in some way, intoxicating us, because the negative is not fully disposed of and it accumulates day after day.”
In a Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica for the feast of the Virgin of Loreto, the archbishop said Mary “speaks to us of God and induces us to wait even in more difficult human situations, reawakening in us the desire to be accepted as persons, because every human story is a sacred story, and requires the greatest respect.
“She reminds us that before God we do not have to be the best, the splendid, the first in the class; that at least before him credit cards do not count, or academic titles or influential friends,” he said. “Before God what counts is love, humility, and the willingness to allow oneself to be molded and remolded by his hand.”
The prelate said that as we prepare for Christmas and the coming of the Infant Jesus, the Mother of God is a precious guide of our waiting.
“In a few days it will be Christmas and our thoughts go to the Holy House of Loreto, where the birth of Christ, his earthly life, humble and hidden, is meditated and rediscovered, in a certain sense in a palpable personal experience, which moves and transforms,” said the 62-year-old.
“Christmas is approaching and we feel unprepared. But the liturgy gives us the Virgin Mary as guide of our waiting. “Only women, only mothers know about waiting: It is physically inscribed in their bodies. And they teach that one waits not because of an absence to fill, but because of a superabundance of life, which now urges within. One waits to generate.”
Choice of love
Archbishop Pelvi said God’s choice of Mary to be the Mother of His only Son is pure grace and gratuitousness. “God chose insignificant Nazareth, and not a great and rich capital. He chose little Mary and not the daughter of a great commander. He chose Joseph the carpenter, and not an important man of affairs. It is the logic that runs through Scripture, from the beginning to the end.”
Pronouncing her “yes”, Mary denied herself, and decided to let God alone act.
“With her,” he said, “there appeared in the world a creature who was only goodness, a hand incapable of striking, a word incapable of wounding, a threatened yet victorious innocence, a gesture that does not enclose an ambiguity, a look that never loses the innocence of its brilliance; a heart without divisions, a virginity without regret; a maternity that is not possessive; a spouse who loves in total dedication and tenderness.”
Added the archbishop: “The Virgin of Loreto is a gentle and reassuring presence. She watches constantly and repeats to each one: You are loved, God chose you before the creation of the world ... And now ? He is with you, He fills your life; you will be loved forever.”
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