Dear brothers and sisters,

Today, on the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, at the beginning of the new civil year, the Liturgy offers us the text of a beautiful blessing: “May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord let his face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord uncover his face to you and bring you peace” (Num 6:24-26).

In the Book of Numbers, this blessing follows the instructions regarding the consecration of the Nazirites, highlighting the sacred and fruitful dimension of offering gifts within the relationship between God and the people of Israel. Human beings offer the Creator all that they have received, and he, in turn, responds by turning toward them his benevolent gaze, just as he did at the dawn of creation (cf. Gen 1:31).

Moreover, the people of Israel, to whom this blessing was addressed, were a people who had been set free – men and women reborn after a long period of slavery, thanks to God’s intervention and the generous response of his servant, Moses. In Egypt, they had enjoyed certain comforts: food was available, as were shelter and a measure of stability. Yet this came at the cost of their freedom; enslaved, they were oppressed by a tyranny that demanded ever more while giving ever less (cf. Ex 5:6–7). Now, in the desert, many of those former comforts were lost. But in exchange there was freedom, which took shape as an open road toward the future, found in the gift of a law of wisdom and in the promise of a land where they might live and grow without shackles or chains. In short, it was a rebirth.

Thus, at the dawn of the new year, the Liturgy reminds us that for each of us, every day can be the beginning of a new life, thanks to God’s generous love, his mercy and the response of our freedom. It is beautiful to view the coming year in this way: as an open journey to be discovered. Indeed, through grace, we can venture forth on this journey with confidence – free and bearers of freedom, forgiven and bringers of forgiveness, trusting in the closeness and goodness of the Lord who accompanies us always.

We recall this truth as we celebrate the mystery of Mary’s divine motherhood. By her “yes,” she helped give a human face to the source of all mercy and benevolence: the face of Jesus. Through his eyes – first as a child, then as a young man and as an adult – the Father’s love reaches us and transforms us.

Therefore, as we set out toward the new and unique days that await us, let us ask the Lord to help us experience at every moment, around us and upon us, the warmth of his fatherly embrace and the light of his benevolent gaze. In this way, we may better understand and keep constantly in mind who we are and towards what marvellous destiny we are heading (cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 41). At the same time, let us also give God glory through prayer, holiness of life, and by becoming mirrors of his goodness for one another.

Saint Augustine taught that, in Mary, “the Creator of man became man: so that, though he orders the stars, he might suckle at a woman’s breast; though he is the Bread (cf. Jn 6:35), he might hunger (cf. Mt 4:2)… in order to free us, even though we were unworthy” (Sermon 191, 1.1). In this way, Augustine recalled one of the fundamental features of God’s face: the complete gratuity of his love. As I emphasized in the Message for this World Day of Peace, God presents himself to us “unarmed and disarming,” as naked and defenceless as a newborn in a cradle. He does this to teach us that the world is not saved by sharpening swords, nor by judging, oppressing or eliminating our brothers and sisters. Rather, it is saved by tirelessly striving to understand, forgive, liberate and welcome everyone, without calculation and without fear.

This is the face of God that Mary allowed to take shape and grow within her womb, completely transforming her life. It is the face she proclaimed through the joyful yet delicate light of her eyes while bearing him in her womb; the face whose beauty she contemplated daily in her home as Jesus grew as a child, boy and young man; and the face she followed with the heart of a humble disciple, as he walked the paths of his mission, all the way to the cross and the resurrection. To do so, she too laid aside every defence, renouncing expectations, claims and comforts – as mothers so often do – consecrating her life without reserve to the Son she had received by grace, so that she might, in turn, give him back to the world.

In Mary’s divine motherhood, then, we see the meeting of two immense, “unarmed” realities: that of God, who renounces every privilege of his divinity to be born in the flesh (cf. Phil 2:6-11), and that of a human person who, trustingly and fully, embraces God’s will. In a perfect act of love, she offers him the greatest power she possesses: her freedom.

Reflecting upon this mystery, Saint John Paul II invited us to contemplate what the shepherds found in Bethlehem: “the disarming tenderness of the Child, the surprising poverty in which he is found and the humble simplicity of Mary and Joseph.” These realities transformed their lives, making them “messengers of salvation” (Homily at Mass on the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, XXXIV World Day of Peace, 1 January 2001).

He spoke these words at the conclusion of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, in terms that resonate with our reflection today: “How many gifts,” he affirmed, “how many extraordinary occasions the Great Jubilee has offered to believers!  In the experience of forgiveness received and given, in the commemoration of the martyrs, in listening to the cry of the world’s poor… we too have glimpsed the saving presence of God in history. We have, as it were, physically felt his love which renews the face of the earth” (ibid.). He then concluded: “Just as he asked the shepherds who hastened to adore him, Christ asks of believers, to whom he has given the joy of meeting him, a courageous readiness to set out once again to proclaim his Gospel, old and ever new. He sends them to enliven our human history and culture with his saving message” (ibid.).

Dear brothers and sisters, on this Solemnity, at the beginning of the new year, and as we approach the conclusion of the Jubilee of Hope, let us draw near to the Nativity scene in faith. Let us approach it as the place of “unarmed and disarming” peace par excellence – a place of blessing where we recall the wonders the Lord has worked in the history of salvation and in our own lives. Then, like the humble witnesses at the grotto, let us set out once more, “glorifying and praising God” (Lk 2:20) for all that we have seen and heard. May this be our commitment and our resolve for the months ahead, and, indeed, for the whole of our Christian lives.

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