During the Mass celebrated at the sanctuary of the Black Madonna of Czestochowa on Thursday,July 28, Pope Francis said we are always called upon to listen, get involved and reach out, sharing people’s joys and hardships, so that the Gospel is passed on to the world through the transparency of life.
The Pope Francis celebrated Mass marking the1050th anniversary of Poland’s baptism in front of the sanctuary of the Black Madonna of Czestochowa, the image of the Virgin with the slashed face. During the mass, he pointed out the evangelising path the Church should take, meditating on the way in which God entered history.
These important pointers are reflective of an approach that is a million miles away from any form of influence, power and support based on interests. People gathered in their droves to listen to Francis and take part in the liturgy which he concelebrated with bishops and thousands of Polish priests in this place which is considered to be the beating heart of Polish faith. President Duda and top state figures were present, seated in the front row. Juan Carlos Varela Rodríguez, the President of Panama - where the next edition of WYD is most likely to take place - also attended the mass.
Before going to Czestochowa, Francis paid a visit to the former archbishop of Krakow, Cardinal Franciszek Macharski, who is currently in hospital.
Upon his arrival, the Pope paused for a moment to pray in silence before the great byzantine icon which was “unveiled” with the raising of a silver and gold panel. Francis brought a golden rose as a gift to the Madonna, while the Pauline monks presented Francis with a replica of the Black Madonna.
Before the start of the mass, Pope Francis tripped on the stairs leading up to the stage erected against the wall of the sanctuary, where he celebrated the religious ceremony. He had been making his way over to the icon of the Black Madonna to venerate her, thurible in hand. He picked himself up in a flash and resumed the mass accompanied by his entourage.
“It is particularly striking,” the Pope said in his homily, “how the coming of God into history came about: he was “born of a woman”. There was no triumphal entrance or striking epiphany of the Almighty. He did not reveal himself as a brilliantly rising sun, but entered the world in the simplest of ways, as a child from his mother, with that “style” that Scripture tells us is like a rainfall upon the land, like the smallest of seeds which sprouts and grows.” He comes “in littleness, in humility”.
Even when Jesus performs his first miracle, transforming water into wine at the wedding at Cana, Francis recalls, “is no amazing deed done before the crowd, or even a word to settle a heated political question like that of the subjection of the people to the power of Rome. Instead, in a small village, a simple miracle takes place and brings joy to the wedding of a young and completely anonymous family.” “It tells us that the Lord does not keep his distance, but is near and real. He is in our midst and he takes care of us, without making decisions in our place and without troubling himself with issues of power. He prefers to let himself be contained in little things, unlike ourselves, who always want to possess something greater.”
“To be attracted by power, by grandeur, by appearances,” Francis pointed out, “is tragically human. It is a great temptation that tries to insinuate itself everywhere. But to give oneself to others, eliminating distances, dwelling in littleness and living the reality of one’s everyday life: this is exquisitely divine”.
God “saves us, then by making himself little, near and real”, he “especially loves the little ones,
to whom the kingdom of God is revealed,” “he especially loves them because they are opposed to the ‘pride of life’”. Addressing the Polish Catholic Church, the Pope pointed out examples of “so many sons and daughters of your own people”, from martyrs “to ordinary yet remarkable people who bore witness to the Lord’s love amid great trials those meek and powerful heralds of mercy who were Saint John Paul II and Saint Faustina”.
“The Lord,” Bergoglio recalls, “does not want to be feared like a powerful and aloof sovereign.” Hence, Francis’ concrete advice to the Church: “we are constantly called: to listen, to get involved and be neighbours, sharing in people’s joys and struggles, so that the Gospel can spread every more consistently and fruitfully: radiating goodness through the transparency of our lives”. A model which has nothing to do with influence or power, claims to privileges and support based on interests.
The history of Poland “shaped by the Gospel, the Cross and fidelity to the Church, has seen the contagious power of a genuine faith, passed down from family to family, from fathers to sons and above all from mothers and grandmothers, whom we need so much to thank”. Francis went on to reflect on the figure of Mary: “If there is any human glory, any merit of our own in the fullness of time, it is she. Mary is that space, preserved free from sin, where God chose to mirror himself.” It is to her faithful should pray, asking her to “obtain for you the desire to leave behind all past wrongs and wounds, and to build fellowship with all, without ever yielding to the temptation to withdraw or to domineer”.
The Madonna “is neither imperious nor intrusive, but a Mother and a handmaid. Let us ask for the grace to imitate her sensitivity and her creativity in serving those in need, and to know how beautiful it is to spend our lives in the service of others, without favourites or distinctions.” Because, the Pope concluded, “the transition from before to after Christ means little if it remains a date in the annals of history. May each one of us be able to make an interior passage, a Passover of the heart, towards the divine “style” incarnated by Mary. May we do everything in littleness, and accompany others at close hand, with a simple and open heart.”
