Te Deum: God changes the world through small gestures of love

Last updated: Thu 31 Mar 2022 PM

After having created a surprise by going to a Roman parish to attend, as a simple faithful, the funeral of a 95 year old friend who died yesterday, Pope Francis concluded the year as he does every December 31 with the celebration of First Vespers of the Solemnity of St. Mary Mother of God and the Te Deum in St. Peter's Basilica, in thanksgiving for the past year.

In his homily, Francis warned against the temptation to lock God in the temple. God "dwells in the midst of his people," he stressed. "His fidelity is concrete, it is close to the daily existence of his children", remarked Francis, emphasising that in the Gospel, "when God wants to make all things new through His Son, He does not begin in the temple, but in the womb of a small and poor woman".

The Pope pointed out the extraordinary character of this choice of God, which "does not change history through the powerful men of civil and religious institutions, but from the women of the periphery of the empire, such as Mary", or Elizabeth, though known as a barren woman.

The Word of God incarnated in the daily life of the people of Rome

The Bishop of Rome then asked himself about the greatness and paradoxes of his city, which remains under God's gaze despite all the difficulties of life. "Rome is not only a complicated city, with many problems, with inequalities, corruption and social tensions. Rome is a city in which God sends his Word, which takes root by means of the Spirit in the hearts of its inhabitants and pushes them to believe, to hope in spite of everything, and to love while struggling for the good of all", Francis hammered out.

A few hours before the change of year, the Pope gave encouragement to the people of his diocese. "I think of so many courageous people, believers and non-believers, whom I have met during these years and who represent the beating heart of Rome. Truly God has never forgotten to change the history and the face of our city through the people of the little and poor who live there," Francis hammered out. With all of them, "witnessing to the new life of the Gospel is a service of love that changes reality", the Bishop of Rome insisted on hammering out, as he greeted the Mayor of the city, Virginia Raggi, at the end of this liturgical moment that is generally not well publicized on the international level, but to which the people of Rome are very attached.

And for his last public appearance of 2019, at the end of the celebration, Pope Francis went to St. Peter's Square to visit the crib that has been installed there since the first week of Advent. With his usual good manners, and visibly delighted by these opportunities for direct contact, he engaged in many exchanges with the pilgrims present, paying particular attention to the children.

Source: Vatican News