Peace be with you! A blessed #LaudatoSiSunday everyone. Today is the Fourth Sunday of Advent. In the Gospel, we hear the angel greeting Mary: “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”

Mary, deeply troubled by the visit reflected on what the greeting meant. But the angel told her: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.” (Lk 1:30-31)

While we prepare to remember and celebrate the Incarnation of our Lord, in the silence of our hearts let us reflect like Mary, let us also comfort our sisters and brothers like the angel telling us that we should not be afraid.

Pope Francis in Laudato Si’ passage 238 says that Jesus’ “reflection, through whom all things were created, united himself to this earth when he was formed in the womb of Mary.” 

And we know that “the Mother who cared for Jesus, now cares with maternal affection and pain for this wounded world.” (LS, 241)

Let us also be like Mary, saying ‘yes’ to the will of the Father – to be the Ark of the Covenant, to be the vessel of honor (cf 2 Tm 2:21), as we become vessels of the Spirit (cf 1 Cor 6:19). Pope Francis also reminds us of the words of the bishops of Brazil that the “Spirit of life dwells in every living creature and calls us to enter into relationship with him.” (Laudato Si’, 88)

Sisters and brothers, this Christmas season, let us find Jesus in every creature with leaps of faith and joy. Thus, we pray like the Holy Father:

“Son of God, Jesus,

through you all things were made. You were formed in the womb of Mary our Mother,

you became part of this earth,

and you gazed upon this world with human eyes. Today you are alive in every creature in your risen glory. Praise be to you!” (LS, 246)