Holy Mass of the Nativity of Mary

On Sunday, 8 September 1985, the Holy Father celebrated the Holy Mass of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Eschen-Mauren. In his homily, the Pope reflected on the mystery of Mary from two different perspectives, that found in Micah 5, and that found in Matthew 1.

Dear brothers and sisters,

1. As a joyfully gathered Church of Christ, we celebrate today the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The liturgy invites us to thank the Most Holy Trinity for the birth of the Mother of our Savior, “whose holy life enlightens the entire Church” (“Tertia Antiphon”).

The birth of Mary brings light and hope to all the communities of Christ and today in particular to the Church in Liechtenstein. This mystery forms the spiritual framework for the pastoral visit of the Successor of Peter to your local Church. In it I greet a part of the ancient Diocese of Chur, whose roots reach back to the Roman province of Rhaetia. You honor Saints Lucius and Gallus among the first fathers of your faith, and through their missionary work you have been, since the dawn of Christianity, the Church of Christ in the area of ​​the Alps and near the Rhine that connects the peoples. In many ways, in the past and in the present, you have shown that you also recognize Mary as the Mother of your local Church, and that you venerate her as the Patroness of your country, as the example and hope of your faith, and that you emulate her in her “holy life”.

2. The Scriptures of today's liturgy lead us to consider the mystery of Mary from two different perspectives at the same time. The prophet Micah considers it from the distance of the ancient covenant.

His prediction announces the birth of the Messiah and Anointed One: “. . . who is to be ruler over Israel, whose origin is from of old” ( Micah 5:1). This refers to the eternal word of God, who is the Son of the same nature as the Father. He will be our “shepherd in the power of the Lord”; with him we will live “in safety”; for he will be our “peace”.

At the same time the prophet speaks of the woman, "who must give birth" ( Micah 5:2). A creature, a woman is chosen to play a decisive role in God's saving work; she will be the first for whom the messianic "security" and "peace" will be fulfilled in a concrete way. She will be blessed among all women; she will be a gift for all humanity, because she will give birth to the Savior.

3. On the contrary, the evangelist Matthew observes today's mystery very closely. Here we are already at the center of that event which the prophet Micah could only outline from afar.

Mary enters the public eye as a pregnant woman. At first, men are disconcerted; they seem to be ashamed of her. But then Joseph, her husband, comes to know the importance of this child they are expecting: he is wanted in a unique way by God; he is “of the Holy Spirit”. His name will be “Jesus”, a name that indicates his future task: “He will save his people from their sins”. Yes, he will be an authentic “Emmanuel”: in him “God is with us”: and Joseph took his wife with him (cf. Mt 1:18-24). Thus he declares himself for Mary and for the fruit of her body; courageously he places himself at the side of the Mother of the Savior and thus sustains the great trial of his life.

4. In this way today's readings lead us to consider from two different perspectives the great mystery of the eternal word who became man and at the same time the mystery of Mary's motherhood.

We meditate on this close connection between the two mysteries every year, especially between Christmas and New Year, between the day of Christ's birth and the day of Mary's motherhood; however, particular emphasis must be given to this connection during the preparation of the now not distant celebration of the two thousand years of the human birth of our Redeemer.

God chose Mary to become the Mother of Jesus Christ. According to the faith of the Church, the whole person and existence of Mary are marked by this exceptional calling. This is why we look at her entry into this world, at her birth, with veneration and gratitude; and even if the exact date of this birth is not known to us, it falls unmistakably in the years immediately preceding that holy night in Bethlehem.

5. Today, however, the liturgy does not speak only of past events. The reading of the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans reminds us of God's eternal plan of salvation with its meaning that is always current even for our time. This plan is born directly from the becoming man of the Son of God, "the firstborn among many brothers" ( Rom 8:29).

It is God's will that we become brothers and sisters of Jesus and that we "partake of the substance and form of his Son"; in Jesus he has already "justified" and "glorified" all those he has called to follow him. Wonderful words of the apostle, in which the Church recognizes the word of God himself! Yes, great things the Lord has done in making us members of his Church. A spontaneous joy and gratitude must flow from our hearts; our response must be to love God with body and soul, with heart and reason, with all our strength. Only then can what the letter of St. Paul affirms so grandly at the beginning be fulfilled in us too: "We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him" (cf. Rom 8:28-30). How true these words became for Jesus himself, who through the sacrifice of his life became our Redeemer; but how true they also became for Mary, the first redeemed, who for the love of her Son was preserved from sin and thus became the Mother of all the redeemed.

In this way Mary, through her vocation to be the Mother of Christ, participates in a particular way in that common calling addressed by Christ to all men and which can be realized in communion with him.

If we venerate the mystery of Mary’s birth with love, we will realize ever more clearly that through her “yes” and through her motherhood, God is with us. “Emmanuel” (God with us): this is the name for the Son of God, who came into this world and who through his fraternal presence sanctifies every human reality and opens it to God.

6. This also applies to that very first source of the human community that we call family. Today's feast of the birth of Mary and the mystery of the human birth of God in the womb of the Holy Family direct our attention, during this Eucharistic celebration, precisely to the family.

During the special audience for the pilgrims from Liechtenstein who came to Rome two years ago, I said, among other things, about the family and its great importance for the natural and supernatural life of the individual and for society: “Personal reconciliation with God is the necessary premise for reconciliation and peace to become a reality also in the human community. Each individual is called to make his own contribution. Begin within the narrow confines of the family! The Church is convinced that the well-being of society and one’s own well-being are closely linked to the well-being of the family. Everything that happens for the healing and strengthening of the family benefits the entire community” ( Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II , VI/2 [1983] 767). Then I also strongly warned: “Humanity today is in urgent need of Christian reconciliation. Let us institute it and give it wherever we are able to procure it for others: in our families, in our workplaces, in the community, in the community of all the people!” ( Ibid ).

It is precisely in the immediate family circle or in the neighborhood that we sometimes experience the harshness of quarrels and intransigence among men in a very painful way. As Christians we must always be ready to speak a conciliatory word and to reach out to reconciliation.

7. A marriage that has entered into crisis; a marriage that from a human point of view is close to ruin; a marriage burdened by the mutual estrangement of the partners can be saved by the spouses only on condition that they know how to forgive each other and work with perseverance towards reconciliation. What is valid for the relationship between spouses, also applies to the relationship of parents with children and of children with parents. When conflicts arise in a family between young and old, between father or mother and son or daughter, these must be resolved through mutual understanding and mutual forgiveness. Children and adolescents, fathers and mothers, never be too proud or too stubborn, so as not to be able to reach out to each other for reconciliation, when an argument has taken place! Do not be obstinate and do not bear resentment when it comes to resolving a dispute! But an essential part of all this is reconciliation with God through a good personal confession, since every offense committed against our neighbor is also an offense committed against God, whose beloved creatures we are all. Therefore, do not exclude God in the reconciliation between men and grasp that means of salvation which is called confession and which gives the inner peace, which only the Lord can give!

Marriage and family can respond to their highest Christian calling only when the regular practice of personal conversion and confession and reconciliation through confession have their fixed place in the lives of spouses and family members.

The Liechtenstein People's Mission, which will begin shortly, would be lacking in one of its essential tasks, I would even say that it could not initiate the "encounter with life" in Christ, if it were to fail to lead the faithful also to a good Confession. I therefore earnestly ask the preachers of the mission to reserve their lively attention to this topic; in particular I suggest the community celebration of the sacrament of Penance with the subsequent personal Confession and absolution of each individual person.

“Encounter with life” - this is the leitmotif of the mission - is first of all a liberation from sin and guilt, from lack of freedom and egocentrism, from error and confusion and therefore a journey towards holiness and the sanctification of community life. Mary, who was born and lived without the stain of sin, stands before our eyes as the great example of such holiness. May her example be light and strength for us!

8. The family as the cell of society and the living stone of the ecclesial community is at the same time also the first place of prayer. The Second Vatican Council says: “When parents, by their example and their common prayer, begin their journey, the children and all those who live in the family community will more easily find this path to authentic humanity, salvation and holiness. But the spouses, in their dignity and role as fathers and mothers, must carefully fulfill the duty of education, especially religious education, which is their special responsibility” ( Gaudium et spes , 48). At the same time, however, it is also true that children, as members of the family given by God, contribute in their own way to the sanctification of their parents.

In this diocese, and therefore also in your country of Liechtenstein, the “Family Church” project began a few years ago, which aims to serve common prayer in the family. Carry on with this important task and promote it to the best of your ability! Common prayer at the table should not be missing in any Christian family. I am aware that for some it involves a great effort to start this custom again. Put aside all false religious shame and pray together! “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them,” the Lord promises us ( Mt 18:20).

We can rightly think that the Mother of the Lord was born into a religious and devout family. Mary herself prays a lot. In the Magnificat, the famous praise of the power and glory of the Lord, she teaches us the main direction of every prayer: “My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” ( Lk 1:46-47). Sing this praise to God too! Show God, through faithful participation in the Eucharistic celebrations on Sundays and weekdays, that you love and honor him above all things and at the same time are ready to give this love a concrete and community expression! Go to the Eucharistic Lord in the tabernacle and pray there to the God mysteriously present for yourselves, for your family, for the families of your homeland, for the family of humanity and for the family of God in the Church! I exhort all of you, children, young people and adults, lay people and priests, men and women religious, the healthy and the sick, the disabled and the elderly: pray! Yes, remain faithful to daily prayer! Prayer is the force that truly changes and liberates our life; in prayer the authentic “encounter with life” occurs.

9. The family is therefore a fundamental refuge and place of exercise for the fundamental values ​​and qualities that characterize the individual person. The family is the soil from which the awareness of the dignity of the human person draws nourishment. The moral order of marriage and the family, as God established it in the plan of creation, is nowadays frequently disturbed by the reckless behavior of many, and not rarely is it even destroyed. Disintegrating ideologies that consider themselves modern would have us believe that this order is outdated and even inimical to man. Thus it already happens that many Christians are ashamed of committing themselves with conviction to those fundamental moral principles. Such an attitude on the part of man cannot bring any blessing, either for the individual or for society, which in turn is, to a large extent, determined by the moral and religious quality of the individual and his family.

The Catholic Church will never tire of repeating in full and without limits and of always emphasizing again those principles that concern the evil of extramarital cohabitation, of marital infidelity, of the ever-increasing practice of divorce, of the misuse of marriage and of abortion. The tasks of the Christian family in today's world are many and important.

Every religiously and morally healthy family is at the same time a precious leaven for the entire community of peoples. The authentic Christian family is a blessing for the world. I would like to encourage all the families among you to become more and more truly Christian families and to face the task connected with this in today's time with great courage. Humanity needs this witness of faith in the historical hour in which we live. Do not let yourselves be diverted by any setback, failure, disappointment or insecurity and shape your married and family life in the spirit of Christ and his Church!

10. The convinced Christian never gives up! He continues confidently and tenaciously because he knows that there is someone who accompanies him, who gives strength and confidence precisely in the moments of anguish in life. This example was given to us by Mary, the dawn of salvation who gave birth to Christ, the sun of justice (cf. “Preface of the Feast”).

She walked the path with her divine Son to the foot of the Cross. Thanks to the suffering fidelity in which she lived her difficult vocation as Mother of Christ, she was able to know for herself what Paul says today in the second reading: "We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him" ( Rom 8:28). May the holy life of the Virgin Mary, whose birth the Church celebrates today so solemnly in the Principality of Liechtenstein with the Successor of Peter, also become a light for your life as Christians, in your families and in your entire community of people. Her example and her help enable you to live your vocation worthily. Above all, remain a large religiously and morally healthy family within the all-embracing borders of this beautiful country of yours, and live always in union with the universal Church and with its supreme pastor.

God bless you and protect you through the intercession of Our Lady of Liechtenstein, the Mother of our Redeemer, who under the cross also became the Mother of us all. Amen.

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