Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI
Castel Gandolfo (Agenzia Fides) – The Church of Christ “lives in her fragile members, and she is renewed by their Magnificat. Even in our own day, the poor and persecuted Christian communities, the witnesses of tenderness and forgiveness in places of conflict, and the peacemakers and bridge-builders in a broken world, are the joy of the Church. They are her enduring fruitfulness, the first fruits of the Kingdom to come.” This was recalled by Pope Leo in his homily on the occasion of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, during the liturgical celebration he presided over at the Pontifical Parish of St. Thomas of Villanova in Castel Gandolfo.In Mary of Nazareth,” the Bishop of Rome emphasized on the day the Church celebrates the Assumption of the Mother of God into heaven, “we recognize our own history: the history of the Church, immersed in the common lot of humanity.”Mary, witness to the resurrection of her Son, saw Jesus freely utter on the cross the “yes” which “which would strip death of its power, the death that still spreads wherever our hands crucify and our hearts remain imprisoned by fear and mistrust.” Mary, the Pontiff recalled, stood at the foot of the cross, “united with her Son.” “In our day,” Pope Prevost continued, “we are like Mary whenever we do not flee, whenever we make Jesus’ “yes” our own. That “yes” still lives and resists death in the martyrs of our time, in witnesses of faith and justice, of gentleness and peace.”In the solemn liturgy of the day, the Gospel of Luke once again presents the episode of Mary’s Visitation to her cousin Elizabeth. A “decisive moment” of her vocation, which the liturgy repeats precisely on the day that celebrates “the crowning” moment of her life. “Every human story, even that of the Mother of God,” Pope Leo noted, “is brief on this earth and comes to an end. Yet nothing is lost.” The Magnificat, which the Gospel places on the lips of the young Mary, “now radiates the light of all her days. One single day — the day she met her cousin Elizabeth — contains the seed of every other day, of every other season. And words are not enough; a song is needed, one that continues to be sung in the Church “from generation to generation”.In this way, the Pontiff continued, “the Resurrection enters our world even today, but the life of God breaks through our despair through concrete experiences of fraternity and new gestures of solidarity.”Prior “to being our final destiny,” the Bishop of Rome emphasized, “the Resurrection transforms — in soul and body — our dwelling on earth.” Through the power of Christ’s Resurrection, precisely “the humble, the hungry, the faithful servants of God” can already see on earth the wonders that the Virgin Mary sings of in the Magnificat: the powerful overthrown from their thrones, the rich sent away empty, the promises of God fulfilled. “Such experiences,” the Successor of Peter emphasized, “should be found in every Christian community.They may seem impossible, but God’s Word continues to be brought to light. When bonds are born, with which we confront evil with good and death with life, we see that nothing is impossible with God.”On the other hand, sometimes, “where human self-reliance prevails, where material comfort and a certain complacency dull the conscience, this faith can grow old. Then,” the Pontiff continued, “death enters in the form of resignation and complaint, of nostalgia and fear. Instead of letting the old world pass away, one clings to it still, seeking the help of the rich and powerful, which often comes with contempt for the poor and lowly. The Church, however, lives in her fragile members, and she is renewed by their Magnificat. Even in our own day, the poor and persecuted Christian communities, the witnesses of tenderness and forgiveness in places of conflict, and the peacemakers and bridge-builders in a broken world, are the joy of the Church. They are her enduring fruitfulness, the first fruits of the Kingdom to come.”For this reason,” Pope Leo suggested, “we are right to see in Mary, assumed into heaven, our own destiny. She is given to us as the sign that the Resurrection of Jesus was no isolated event, no mere exception. In Christ, we, too, can “swallow up death”.” The victory over death remains, without a doubt, “is God’s work, not ours. Yet Mary is that wondrous union of grace and freedom, which urges each of us to have trust, courage and participation in the life of God’s people.”In each of our lives, many voices whisper: “Why bother? Let it go. Think of your own interests.” These are voices of death. We, on the other hand,” concluded the Bishop of Rome, “are disciples of Christ. It is his love that drives us — soul and body — in our time. As individuals and as the Church, we no longer live for ourselves. This — and only this — spreads life and lets life prevail. Our victory over death begins here and now.” (GV) (Agenzia Fides, 15/8/2025)
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