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“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child
leaped in her womb.” Tonight’s Gospel passage recalls the visitation of
Mary to Elizabeth, which took place just after Mary had conceived the
Saviour in her womb by the power of the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth is
herself with child, who “leaps for joy” at Mary’s greeting of her
kinswoman. Even from his mother’s womb, John the Baptist, chosen to be
the precursor of the Messiah, heralds the dawn of salvation. The joy of
redemption in Christ, Son of God and son of Mary, is first proclaimed
by an unborn child.
Tonight the people of God gather to pray for the
protection of all human life. We do so on the feast of Our Lady of
Guadalupe, the Queen and Patroness of America, North and South. On the
occasion of his visit to that holy place in 1999, Pope John Paul II
established that all of America would celebrate December 12th as a
liturgical feast in honour of the Virgin of Guadalupe. To her maternal
and loving care, Pope John Paul II entrusted the cause of life.
Accordingly, in union with our brothers and sisters in all the
countries of America, we entreat the intercession of Our Lady for all
whose lives are at risk.
In the first place, we pray for an end to
abortion. There is no greater
evil afflicting our society. The death of thousands of innocent
children each year fills our hearts with a profound sadness and shame,
that is only deepened by the indifference and even pride with which
many of our fellow citizens respond to this tragic situation. The
direct and willful destruction of innocent human life through abortion
is the most blatant example of what the pope had long called the
culture of death, which remains prevalent in our day.
There are other instances of the culture of death
that call us to pray
to Our Lady and to speak out for life. The restorative promise of stem
cells is leading many to carry out this research on human embryos, a
process that destroys human life at its very inception. As human life
nears the end of its earthly journey, or is marked by suffering or
handicap, voices are increasingly raised in support of euthanasia. We
are also witnesses to attacks on the dignity of human life through
poverty and homelessness, violence and abuse, hatred and racism, war
and terror.
In the midst of this culture of death, we
Christians must proclaim the
Gospel of life. God loves each and every human life He has created.
This love endows each man, woman and child with an inalienable dignity.
The love of God has been perfectly revealed in Jesus Christ, whose
death and resurrection brings freedom from sin and the gift of new
life. The saving power of God’s love in Christ was first foretold by
the ancient prophets, whom we hear throughout this Advent season
proclaiming God’s promise to dwell in the midst of his people. It was
later heralded by John the Baptist, even from his mother’s womb. Now
the responsibility to evangelize, to proclaim the good news of life, is
entrusted to the Church. We must not tire of being a pro-life people.
Discouraging results, lack of support, or widespread indifference must
never dissuade us. Our hope-filled resolve stems not from our own
strength, but from the truth that Jesus Christ is Lord and Head of the
Church, always present with us. He has conquered the power of death by
his own dying and rising, and has sent the Holy Spirit as the power to
renew the hearts of all people.
We depend also on the power of Mary’s prayer.
Throughout the continent,
we honour Mary as our mother and as the evangelizer par excellence of
America. Her wondrous apparition to San Juan Diego, recalled by this
feast today, was an important moment in the evangelization of America.
It gave the indigenous peoples, represented in Juan Diego, access to
the Gospel of Jesus Christ and thus awakened them to the life and hope
Christ brings. Our entire continent today needs a new evangelization, a
renewed proclamation of the Gospel of life. Our first reading from
Revelation encourages us to look to Mary for help in this effort.
That passage speaks of two “portents” in heaven:
the first is “of a
woman clothed with the sun”, the second is of a great dragon standing
before the woman, ready to devour the child she was about to deliver.
The dragon represents the hostile forces of evil, standing in
opposition to life. This dragon is unable to harm either the child or
the woman. In the image of the woman and child, the Church sees herself
represented, as well as Mary, each of whom, in their own unique way,
gives birth to Christ. The Church, with Mary as its preeminent member,
offers Christ to the world as the one who will save it from all that
rages against life and against whom the forces of evil are powerless.
As we struggle in the face of threats to life, Mary is with us,
offering us hope by her example and giving us strength through her
prayer. So let us not forget to implore Our Lady’s intercession so that
the Gospel will put down new and deep roots in our country, roots that
will bear fruit in a new and abiding respect for human dignity.
Before concluding, I take this opportunity to
offer sincere thanks, in
the name of the Church as well as my own, to all here present who have
committed yourselves to the cause of life. At times it is a lonely
struggle. Thank you for your perseverance and dedication. Mary’s
appearance to Juan Diego gave clear witness both to God’s concern for
the poor and vulnerable and to His proximity to them. This assures us
that our work to protect the most vulnerable among us, especially the
unborn, will ultimately, by the power of God’s victorious grace, meet
with success.
It is appropriate tonight to conclude this homily
with a prayer to
Mary, the Virgin of Guadalupe. I invite you to unite your hearts to
mine as I pray in the name of all of us the prayer with which John Paul
II concluded his encyclical letter Evangelium Vitae:
O Mary,
bright dawn of the new world,
Mother of the living,
to you do we entrust the cause of life:
Look down, O Mother,
upon the vast numbers of babies not allowed to be born,
of the poor whose lives are made difficult,
of men and women who are victims of brutal violence,
of the elderly and the sick
killed by indifference or out of misguided mercy.
Grant that all who believe in your Son
may proclaim the Gospel of life
with honesty and love
to the people of our time.
Obtain for them the grace
to accept that Gospel
as a gift ever new,
the joy of celebrating it with gratitude
throughout their lives
and the courage to bear witness to it
resolutely, in order to build,
together with all people of good will,
the civilization of truth and love,
to the praise and glory of God,
the Creator and lover of life.
Amen.
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