This Tuesday, December 31, 2024, Pope Francis presided over the first vespers of the Solemnity of Holy Mary, Mother of God, and the Te Deum of thanksgiving for the year that is ending, in St. Peter’s Basilica.
Below is the full homily of Pope Francis:
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 the times in the light of this mystery.
The year that is ending has been a demanding one for the city of Rome. Citizens, pilgrims, tourists and all those who pass through have experienced the typical phase that precedes a Jubilee, with the multiplication of large and small projects. This evening is the time for wise reflection, to consider that all this work, in addition to its value in itself, has had a meaning that corresponds to Rome’s own vocation, its universal vocation. In the light of the Word of God that we have just heard, this vocation could be expressed thus: Rome is called to welcome everyone so that everyone may recognize themselves as children of God and brothers and sisters.
For this reason, at this moment we want to express our gratitude to the Lord because he has allowed us to work, and work hard, and above all because he has given us the grace to do so with this great sense, with this broad horizon that is the hope of fraternity.
The motto of the Jubilee, “Pilgrims of hope”, is full of meaning, according to the different possible perspectives, which are like so many “paths” of pilgrimage. And one of these great routes of hope to follow is fraternity: it is the path that I proposed in the Encyclical Fratelli tutti . Yes, the hope of the world is in fraternity! And it is beautiful to think that our City, in recent months, has become a workshop for this purpose, with this global sense: to prepare to welcome men and women from all over the world, Catholics and Christians of other confessions, believers of all religions, seekers of truth, freedom, justice and peace, all pilgrims of hope and fraternity.
But we must ask ourselves: does this perspective have any basis? Is the hope for a fraternal humanity just a rhetorical slogan or does it have a “rock” foundation on which something stable and lasting can be built?
The answer is given to us by the Holy Mother of God, who shows us Jesus. The hope of a fraternal world is not an ideology, it is not an economic system, it is not technological progress. 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.
So, as we admire with gratitude the results of the work done in the city, as we give thanks for the work of so many, many men and women who have done it, and as we thank the Mayor for this work of moving the city forward, let us become aware of what is the decisive workshop, the workshop that involves each one of us: this workshop is the one in which, every day, I will allow God to change in me what is not worthy of a son — to change! — what is not human, and in which I will commit myself, every day, to live as a brother and sister to my neighbor.
May our Holy Mother help us to walk together, as pilgrims of hope, on the path of brotherhood. May the Lord bless us all; forgive our sins and give us the strength to continue forward on our pilgrimage in the coming year. Thank you.