Cardinal Cantalamessa: Journey with Mary this Advent
By Joseph Tulloch
In his second sermon for Advent 2023, Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa meditated on Mary鈥檚 journey of faith.
The Cardinal, a Franciscan friar, delivered his homily on Friday morning to the Papal Household, including Pope Francis himself.
Mary鈥檚 spiritual journey
Cardinal Cantalamessa began his homily by noting that, for a long time, Christians failed to appreciate the richness of Mary鈥檚 spiritual journey.
鈥淚t was taken for granted,鈥 he said, 鈥渢hat she had made her act of faith at the moment of the Annunciation and remained in it all her life.鈥
This changed, the Italian friar noted, with the Second Vatican Council, which affirmed that Mary 鈥渁dvanced in the pilgrimage of faith鈥 (LG, 58).
The Cardinal thus went on to stress the variety of Mary鈥檚 spiritual journey: the 鈥渏oyful enthusiasm鈥 of her meeting with Elizabeth, the shocking revelation of Simeon鈥檚 prophecy, and 鈥渁ll the ups and downs of her Son鈥檚 life鈥, ending, finally, in the cross.
鈥淥f Mary,鈥 Cardinal Cantalamessa concluded, 鈥渨e must say, with much greater reason, what the Apostle says of Abraham: Mary believed, hoping against all hope, and thus she became the mother of many peoples. Our mother in faith!鈥
Joining Mary in belief
Cardinal Cantalamessa then went on to quote from St Augustine: 鈥淢ary believed, and in her life what she believed came true. Let us also believe, so that what came true in her can benefit us too!鈥
In order to give a 鈥渃urrent context鈥 to these words of Augustine鈥檚, the Italian friar turned to a phrase from the French writer Blaise Pascal: 鈥淭he heart has its reasons that reason does not know 鈥 The heart, and not the reason, feels God.鈥
He thus called upon his listeners, again quoting Pascal, to 鈥淩eturn to your heart!鈥
鈥淩eturn from your wanderings that have led you astray; return to the Lord 鈥 Return to the heart: there examine what perhaps you perceive of God, because the image of God is found there. Christ dwells in the interiority of man.鈥
At Christmas, invite Jesus into your heart
Cardinal Cantalamessa brought his sermon to a close with an encouragement to 鈥渙pen the door of our heart鈥 and 鈥渕ake it a cradle for the baby Jesus, making him feel, in the chill of this world, the warmth of our love and our infinite gratitude.鈥
鈥淭his鈥, he suggested, 鈥渋s not just a beautiful, poetic fiction; it is the most difficult undertaking in life. Giving birth to Jesus means letting one's "self" die, or at least renewing the decision to no longer live for ourselves, but for Him who was born, died and rose again for us.鈥
Thia undertaking, Cardinal Cantalamessa stressed, 鈥渨ill not end with Christmas, but it might begin with it.鈥
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