At 18.00 this evening, the Holy Father Leo XIV presided over Holy Mass on the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in the Sanctuary of the Mother of Good Counsel in Genazzano.
The following is the homily delivered by the Pope during the Eucharistic celebration:
Homily of the Holy Father
Dear brothers and sisters,
As you will recall, “in the early days of my pontificate I felt a duty and a deep desire to visit Genazzano, the Sanctury of Our Lady of Good Counsel, who has accompanied me throughout my life with her maternal presence, her wisdom and the example of her love for her Son, the Son who is always the centre of my faith” (Entry in the guest book of the Sanctuary, 10 May 2025). It is with joy that I am here once more, to celebrate with you the Vigil of the Nativity of the Most Holy Virgin and to entrust to the Child Mary that which is still being born within this poor yet magnificent humanity: fragile as a seedling, yet a sign of God’s faithfulness. Yes, Mary is the dawn of a different day, of our world finally freed from evil. And here we are, in her presence, gathered around the Altar from which salvation comes to us and transforms us, making us children in the Son. Let us ask her for her Good Counsel, so that we may receive the divine Word, cherish it within us and bring it to light through courageous and wise decisions of authentic conversion.
Dear friends, in this place of long-standing Augustinian presence, I shall return to the biblical passages just proclaimed with the help of Saint Thomas of Villanova, an Augustinian friar and bishop who, by dedicating his life to the service of the poor, penetrated deeply into the truth of the faith. He was able to see the paradox of Mary’s smallness and, so to speak, her marginality, which was made central to the plan of salvation. Let us ask ourselves: what must the birth of a baby girl have meant in the time of Joachim and Anne? Saint Thomas delves deeply into this: “I have reflected many times”, he writes, “and I have asked myself why the Evangelists, who have spoken so at length about Saint John the Baptist and the Apostles, tell us so briefly the story of the Virgin Mary, who surpasses them all in her life and in her personal stature. Why, I wonder, is there no description of the manner of her conception, her birth, her upbringing, her habits, the virtues that adorned her, the human relationship she shared with her Son, how she related to Him, or how she lived with the apostles after His Ascension? All these things were important, and the faithful would have read them with singular devotion; they would have been a delight to the common people. Oh, Evangelists, I appeal to you! Why have you deprived us of such great joy through your silence? Why have you omitted such joyful, long-awaited and pleasant details?” (cf. Complete Works VII, 266,8).
We find in these words an important suggestion for our faith: to question the Scripture and its writers, to engage in discussion with the text and to dialogue with the witnesses of Revelation, as we would with friends. We are, in fact, ‘fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household” (Eph 2:19), and from Mary herself we learn the kind of understanding that converses with God, asks questions (cf. Lk 1:34) and interprets events by treasuring them and pondering them in the heart (cf. Lk 2:19, 51). The Gospel according to Matthew, however, seems, through its silence, to vindicate Saint Thomas of Villanova. We have heard it: it records Mary’s presence, but not a single word from her. Yet Mary’s mere presence – and that of the Son within her – sets the whole story in motion: that of Joseph and his entire household. Mary’s presence brings about a kind of leap in the genealogy, like an unexpected novelty, capable of altering not only expectations but also a man’s predictable behaviour. What Joseph hears, what he decides and what he does is, in fact, a response to God and to Mary’s presence, to her absolute otherness, which transcends all possible discourse and narrative. In Mary, salvation finds a home: God with us!
Again, our Saint Thomas writes: “Well, regarding these reflections of mine to which I was referring, as to why no book has been written on the deeds of the Virgin, as has been done for the deeds of Paul, […] it occurs to me only that it was so because it pleased the Holy Spirit, and that, by His prompting, the Evangelists remained silent about her, for the simple reason that the Virgin’s glory, as we read in the Psalm, was all within her (cf. PIs 44:14 Vulg.), and could be imagined rather than described, and that, as a summary of her story, what is expressed in the title suffices: that Jesus was born of her. What else do you wish to know? What else are you seeking in the Virgin? It is enough for you to know that she is the Mother of God” (ibid.).
Dear brothers and sisters, we feel almost a sense of vertigo in the face of this Mystery: it is impossible to grow accustomed to it! We celebrate the birth of a little girl called to become the Mother of her Creator, the Mother of God who saves. And yet, a little girl is simply born, just like the daughters and granddaughters we hold in our arms. Today we bestow upon her noble and exalted titles, such as Lady and Queen, but God’s way has been and remains simpler and more silent, yet no less powerful and transformative. It is the way of Jesus Himself, “the firstborn among many brethren (Rom 8:29). Just like Mary, we too are “predestined to be conformed to the image of [the] Son” (ibid.): by grace, certainly, but by desiring and preferring His way, His choices, His path above all others. In Jesus Christ, God chose the humblest historical circumstances and the humblest of creatures to reveal the uniqueness of His Kingdom, in which arrogance has no place and omnipotence is creation, service and care for life.
Saint Thomas of Villanova then adds: “Let your imagination run free, expand the boundaries of your understanding, and paint within the depths of your soul a young woman who is most pure, most prudent, most beautiful, most devout, most humble, most meek, full of every grace, most rich in holiness, adorned with all the virtues, embellished by all the charisms, utterly pleasing to God; magnify her as much as you can, imagine her to the fullest extent of your ability” (ibid.). Saint Thomas invites us to engage in this marvellous exercise of the imagination. And he observes: “The Holy Spirit did not describe it in writing, but waited for you to paint it within yourself” (ibid., VII, 266,9). Dear brothers and sisters, this is exactly the case: in contemplative prayer, that which the world does not tell us, but which already exists, takes shape; that which is still invisible, but which possesses a new kind of power in itself. This is not a matter of fantasy, but of prophecy. We need this, in times of destruction and uncertainty, in order to see the work of God and to serve it.
The prophet Micah, in tiny Bethlehem, foresaw the coming of a King of Peace, thanks to whom we might at last dwell on earth in safety (cf. Mic 5:1–4). And today, in the Collect, turning to little Mary, we asked that “the feast of her birth may increase peace within us”. Yes, dear friends, let us imagine peace – let us expand the boundaries of our understanding and paint a picture of it in our souls – so that we may recognize that it already exists, and so that we may welcome and serve it. It is God’s gift, the breath of the Risen One, the work of the Holy Spirit. Let us allow peace to grow within us. It will germinate in the world. And the Mother of Good Counsel will accompany us on this mission.
