Second Feast of the Family, an event promoted by the Governorate
Pope Francis’ visit
Pope Francis’ visit to the 2nd Feast of the Family, held on Saturday, 11 May, in San Michele Arcangelo Square in Vatican City State’s Governorate, was a welcome surprise. The Pontiff paused to speak to participants on the feast day promoted by the Governorate, and offered a special greeting to children and the elderly. He was welcomed by Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, President of the Pontifical Commission of Vatican City State and President of the Governorate, by Sister Raffaella Petrini, General Secretary, by Giuseppe Puglisi-Alibrandi, Vice General Secretary, and by Father Franco Fontana, Director of the Community of Salesians in the Vatican and chaplain of the Directorate of Security and Civil Protection Services and of the Vatican Museums.
Cardinal Vérgez Alzaga highlighted the spirit of the Feast during Mass: “it is a cordial encounter that unites all the various sectors of the Governorate”, as well as, “the expression of the fraternity that bonds our working community and makes each of its members, not just a colleague, but also a travelling companion in the journey of life”. After the eucharistic celebration, participants enjoyed a cheerful time of games and fun for the children.
The following is Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga’s homily:
We are gathered here to celebrate the Feast of the Family. It is a friendly encounter that brings together all the various sectors of the Governorate, an expression of the fraternity that bonds out working community and makes each of its members, not just a colleague, but also a traveling companion in the journey of life.
Tomorrow, Mother’s Day will be celebrated throughout the world. I would like to borrow Pope Francis’s words to send a special greeting to all mothers, “thanking them … for their precious work in raising children and in protecting the value of the family. Let us also remember the mothers who are watching us from heaven and continue to watch over us with prayer. Our thoughts also go to our heavenly Mother, … Let us entrust ourselves to her in order to continue our journey with joy and generosity”.
Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension of our Lord. This feast does not signal the end of the Paschal Mystery but just one of its stages. It is the last time that the Risen One appears to the disciples. Easter time will conclude on the Feast of Pentecost, with the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The Feast of the Ascension is the celebration of Christ’s glorious return to the Father. We heard the following words in the Acts of the Apostles: “And when he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven”. And the Gospel of Mark says, “So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went forth and preached everywhere” . The Bible passages express this mystery with symbolic language. The heavens evoke the divine world, God’s cloud of glory.
Christ does not abandon us. His ascension into heaven is the last visible apparition of the Risen Christ. Heaven, which Jesus entered, begins here, when we live with Christ on earth, when we offer our lives to him, when we pray to him, when we are joined to him in the Sacraments and when we gather together and serve one another.
However, in order for the new world to be manifested, and for the Kingdom of God to be established here on earth, we cannot remain passive. In the Gospel according to Mark, shortly before his Ascension, Jesus leaves us a mission: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation”.
Before going to heaven, the Risen Jesus sends his disciples to proclaim the faith and the Gospel to the whole world and to transform it, according to God’s plan. Jesus does not tell them to let themselves be transformed by the world: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned”.
As we prepare for Pentecost, let us pray to the Holy Spirit to continue his work in us, the family of the Governorate, in our communities, in our families, in our parishes and in his Church. May the world open out to the wind of the Spirit and be transformed by it. May we believe that he is working in our lives. May his love penetrate in such a way, that our witness will touch the hearts of those around us and lead them to the Lord who wishes to save them.
In the “City of God”, Saint Augustine wrote: “And now we have three incredibles, all of which have yet come to pass. It is incredible that Jesus Christ should have risen in the flesh and ascended with flesh into heaven; it is incredible that the world should have believed so incredible a thing; it is incredible that a very few men, of mean birth and the lowest rank, and no education, should have been able so effectually to persuade the world, and even its learned men, of so incredible a thing”.
A divine plan can only be achieved by God’s power. This is why, after the Ascension, the disciples return to Jerusalem to await the coming of the Holy Spirit. This Feast of the Ascension leads to evangelization.
Today, we are celebrating the second Feast of the Family. The Holy Family is the icon of humanity that welcomes God. Jesus did not become God. He was always God, but all human beings have the vocation to be, like Jesus, children of God, albeit adoptive ones. In other words, Jesus does not replace God, but comes to reveal him, and by revealing who God is (his Father and our Father), he also reveals who man is (a creature whose vocation is to participate in the divine life of Jesus, Son of the Father).
This theme of the Covenant between heaven and earth, between God and humanity, can be found throughout the Bible. From Genesis to Revelation, God reveals himself as a Father who wants to extend his trinitarian family to all of humanity. Hence, the Incarnation of Jesus. With his Incarnation, Jesus chose all of humanity as his family. In the end, it is not we who invite God to take his place in our human families, but rather, it is God who takes the first initiative of inviting us to join his divine family.
I would now like to share this feast day with you, recalling that we have the fortune of being able to pray to Mary. She helps us pray to God because she trustingly followed him throughout her life. She is accessible to all because she is so close to us. It is a great joy to pray to Mary, Mother of Jesus, and our Mother too. You should set aside some time every day to pray to her! Learn to pray to Mary, allowing her to speak to your heart. Obviously, there is not just love in our hearts. There are many things, some of them good, some not, but what truly matters is love.
“We are not orphans, we have a mother! Our Lady, mother Church, is our mom. We are not orphans, we are children of the Church, we are children of Our Lady, and we are children of our mothers”. These words of Pope Francis, accompany the greetings of the family of the Governorate to all mothers. On that occasion, the Holy Father had also said, “thank you, thank you for what you are in your family and for what you give to the Church and the world”.
I conclude this Solemnity of the Ascension of Our Lord by offering a heartfelt blessing to all of you, to your families, to all your loved ones and to all mothers. Let us entrust ourselves to Mary, Mother of the Family and Mother of the Church. Amen.
