Dear brothers and sisters, happy feast day!

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  We express our joy because the Father of Heaven wanted her to be “preserved immune from all stain of original sin” (Pius IX, Apostolic Constitution Ineffabilis Deus, 8 December 1854), full of innocence and holiness in order to be able to entrust to her, for our salvation, “his only-begotten Son … whom … the Father loves from his heart” (cf. ibid.)

The Lord has granted to Mary the extraordinary grace of a completely pure heart, in view of an even greater miracle: the coming of Christ the Savior into the world as man (cf. Lk 1:31-33).  The Virgin learned about this, with the wonder typical of the humble, from the greeting of the Angel: “Hail, full of grace: the Lord is with you” (v. 28) and with faith she responded with her “yes”: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (v. 38).

Commenting on these words, Saint Augustine says that “Mary believed, and what she believed was fulfilled in her” (Sermon 215, 4).  The gift of the fullness of grace, in the young woman of Nazareth, was able to bear fruit because she in her freedom welcomed it, embracing the plan of God.  The Lord always acts in this way: he gives us great gifts, but he leaves us free to accept them or not.  For this reason, Augustine adds: “We also believe, because that which came to be [in her] can also benefit us” (ibid.).  And so this feast, which makes us rejoice for the unsullied beauty of the Mother of God, also invites us to believe as she believed, giving our generous assent to the mission to which the Lord calls us.

The miracle, which took place at Mary’s conception, was renewed for us in Baptism: cleansed from original sin, we have become children of God, his dwelling place and the temple of the Holy Spirit.  And just as Mary, by means of a special grace, was able to welcome Jesus in herself and give him to all people, so too “Baptism allows Christ to live in us and allows us to live united with him, to cooperate in the Church, each according to his or her condition, for the transformation of the world” (Francis, Catechesis, 11 April 2018).

Dear friends, how great is the gift of the Immaculate Conception, but so also is the gift of Baptism that we have received!  The “yes” of the Mother of the Lord is wonderful, but so also can ours be, renewed faithfully each day, with gratitude, humility and perseverance, in prayer and in concrete acts of love, from the most extraordinary gestures to the most mundane and ordinary efforts and acts of service.  In this way, Christ can be known, welcomed and loved everywhere and salvation can come to everyone.

Today, let us ask the Father for this, through the intercession of Mary Immaculate, while we pray together the very same words by which she herself first believed.

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After the Angelus:

Dear brothers and sisters,

I warmly greet all of you, Romans and pilgrims from Italy and other parts of the world.  In particular, I greet the faithful from Molina in Spain, the Cultural Assocation “Firenze in Armonia” and “Ragazzi dell’Immacolata.”  I willingly bless the group from Rocca di Papa and the torch that will light the Christmas Star on the Fortress of that beautiful town.

I extend a special greeting to the members of Italian Catholic Action, who today celebrate Membership Day in their parish communities. I wish everyone a fruitful educational and apostolic activity, so that they may be credible witnesses of the Gospel.

To you, dear Romans and pilgrims, I have an appointment this afternoon in the Piazza di Spagna, where I will go for the traditional tribute to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception.

I wish all of you a peaceful feast day in the light of our heavenly Mother.