» 12/08/2011 18:14 VATICAN Like Mary, the Church carries Jesus, meets the opposition of a fierce adversary, pope says During the act of veneration of the statue of the Virgin in Rome’s Spanish Square, Benedict XVI explained the meaning of the Woman in the Book of Revelation (and the Immaculate), “clothed with the sun” but “with the moon under her feet” and “on her head a crown of twelve stars”. Although the “Church suffers persecution”, it “is victorious”, and the “only danger of which” it “can and should be afraid is the sin of its members”.
Rome (AsiaNews) – In a comprehensive reading of the Woman of the Book of Revelation in today’s act of veneration of the Immaculate Mary, symbolised by the statue of the Virgin that stands at the top of the column in Rome’s Spanish Square, Benedict XVI said that the Woman (Rev, 12:1) represents the Church, which like Mary “carries in its breast Christ and delivers him to the world”. Because of this, “because it carries Jesus, the Church too meets the opposition of a fierce adversary, represented by the apocalyptic vision of “a huge red dragon” (Rev, 12:3).
The pope arrived in the square at 4 pm after receiving the homage of the Merchants’ Association of nearby Via dei Condotti, an exclusive shopping street. After a short prayer and a reading from the Book of Revelation, Benedict XVI explained the Biblical text as well as the imagery of the statue of the Immaculate, “a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars” (Rev, 12:1).
“First of all, the woman in the Book of Revelation is Mary herself,” the pontiff said. She is “clothed with the sun” because the “Immaculate reflects with her entire persona the light of the ‘sun’ that is God. Mary is fully associated with the victory of Jesus Christ, her Son, over sin and death. She is free from any shadow of death and totally full of life.” For this, the woman “has the moon under her feet, which is a symbol of death and mortality.”
This, Benedict XVI said, “is clearly visible in the two big mysteries of her life: at its start, when she was conceived without original sin, which is the mystery we are celebrating today, and at its end, when she was assumed body and soul into Heaven in the Glory of God. Yet, her entire life was also a victory against death because it was all spent in the service of God, in complete oblation to Him and to one’s fellow man. For this reason, Mary is herself a hymn to life, a creature that fulfils the word of Christ, ‘came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly’, (John, 10:10)”.
The sign of “the crown of twelve stars” represents “the twelve tribes of Israel, which means that the Virgin Mary is at the centre of the People of God and all the communion of saints.”
“In addition to representing Our Lady, this sign embodies the Church, the Christian community of all times. It is pregnant in the sense that it carries in its breast Christ, and delivers him to the world. This is the pain of the pilgrim Church on earth, which amid God’s consolations and the world’s persecutions must bring Jesus to mankind.”
“It is for this reason, because it carries Jesus, the Church meets too the opposition of a fierce adversary, represented by the apocalyptic vision of “a huge red dragon” (Rev, 12:3), which has tried to devour Jesus, the “male child, destined to rule all the nations” (Rev, 12,5), but in vain for Jesus, through his death and resurrection, has risen to God and sits next to his throne. Thus, defeated once and for all in heaven, the dragon attacks the woman, the Church, in the desert of the world. In every age, the Church is supported by the light and strength of God, which nourishes the desert with the bread of his Word and Holy Eucharist. This way, in each tribulation, through the many tests that it has encountered in the course of time and the various parts of the world, the Church suffers persecution but is victorious. Thus, the Christian community is the presence and assurance of God’s love against all the ideologies of hate and selfishness.”
“The only danger of which the Church can and should be afraid,” said Pope Benedict, is the sin of its members,” he said in concluding. “Mary, on the other hand,” he added, “is Immaculate, free from all stain of sin. The Church is holy, but at the same time marked by our sins.”
“For this reason, the pilgrim people of God, turns to its celestial Mother and ask for her help, asking that she accompany their journey of faith, that she encourage their commitment to the Christian life and that she support their hope. We need it, especially at this difficult moment for Italy, Europe, and so many parts of the world.”
“May Mary help us see the light past the cover of clouds that seem to envelop reality. For this reason, we too, especially on this occurrence, shall not stop asking with filial trust for her help: ‘Oh Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who turn to you.’ Ora pro nobis, intercede pro nobis ad Dominum Iesum Christum!”
