On the Vigil of the feast of St. Mary, Mother of God, Pope Francis said the hope of brotherly fraternity is not based on ideology, the economic system, or progress in technology, but the incarnate Son of God.
January 1 is celebrated for Saint Mary, Most Holy Mother of God, and on New Year’s Eve a Te Deum is sung, meaning a hymn of thanksgiving at year’s end.
“This is the time of thanksgiving, and we have the joy of living it by celebrating the Holy Mother of God. She, who keeps the mystery of Jesus in her heart, also teaches us to read the signs of God times in light of this mystery,” Francis said in St. Peter’s Basilica.
He said 2024 has been a “challenging year” for the city of Rome, given the multiple constructions sites preparing for the 2025 Jubilee Year that began at Christmas.
“Rome is called to welcome everyone so that everyone can recognize each other as children of God and brothers among themselves. Therefore, at this moment we want to raise our thanksgiving to God because he has us permission to work, to work a lot, and above all, because he gave it to us to do it with this great meaning, with this broad horizon which is the hope of brotherhood,” the pope said.
He said the Jubilee – with the motto “Pilgrims of Hope” – is a great chance to build unity among people.
“Yes, the hope of the world lies in brotherhood! And it’s nice to think that our city has in recent months has become a construction site for this purpose, with this overall meaning: Preparing to welcome men and women from all over the world, Catholics and Christians of other confessions, believers of every religion, seekers of truth, freedom, justice and peace – all pilgrims of hope and brotherhood,” the pontiff said.
“But we can – and I would say we must – ask ourselves: Does this perspective have a basis? There hope of a fraternal humanity is only a rhetorical slogan or has a ‘rocky’ basis on which to stand build something stable and long-lasting?” Francis asked.
The answer is given to us by the Holy Mother of God by showing us Jesus. The hope of a world brotherly is not an ideology, it is not an economic system, it is not technological progress. No. The hope of a fraternal world is ‘He’, the incarnate Son, sent by the Father so that we can all become what we are – that is, children of the Father who is in heaven, and therefore brothers and sisters among us,” he continued.
“And so, while we gratefully admire the results of the work carried out in the city, let’s take awareness of what the decisive construction site is, the construction site that involves each of us: It is the one in which, every day, I will allow God to change in me what is not worthy of a child, what is not human, and in which I will strive, every day, to live as a brother and sister to my neighbor,” Francis said.
Pope Francis is scheduled to celebrate the Mass for the World Day of Peace at the Vatican on Wednesday morning.
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