By Kristina Millare
Vatican City, Jan 22, 2025 / 09:50 am
Pope Francis on Wednesday continued his yearlong jubilee catechesis series on “Jesus Christ Our Hope,” emphasizing that those who trust in God have no reason to fear.
“The presence of the Lord always gives us this grace of not fearing,” the Holy Father said at his Jan. 22 general audience. “He says to Mary: ‘Do not be afraid! … And he says to us too: ‘Do not be afraid, keep going; do not be afraid!’”
Reflecting on St. Luke’s Gospel account of the annunciation and incarnation of Jesus Christ, the pope encouraged Catholics to constantly live in “the presence of the Lord” by welcoming the “Word of God” — just like the Blessed Virgin Mary — into their lives.
“Mary welcomes the Word in her own flesh and thus launches the greatest mission ever entrusted to a woman, to a human creature,” he told his listeners. “She places herself in service: She is full of everything, not like a slave but as a collaborator of God the Father.”
“Let ourselves open our ears to the divine Word and to welcome it and cherish it, so that it may transform our hearts into tabernacles of his presence, in hospitable homes where hope grows,” he added.
