Fr Cantalamessa: Mary is the star of evangelization
Gathered with members of his household Friday morning in the Redemptoris mater Chapel
of the Apostolic Palace, Pope Benedict XVI heard the second in a series of sermons
dedicated to the theme of the New Evangelization. After singing the ancient Advent
hymn, Rorate coeli, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa delivered a 5-part discourse
centered on the history of the Church’s preaching of the Gospel, beginning with the
great re-thinking of the relationship between the pilgrim Church on Earth to the secular
authority accomplished by St Augustine of Hippo, and leading through the great periods
of evangelization – and in some cases re-evangelization – of the peoples of Europe
in the wake of the collapse of the Roman Empire in the West, before turning to the
magnificent renewal of learning and missionary zeal – concentrating on the creation
and development of monasticism, which itself ran through the dark centuries after
the fall of the West and made possible the magnificent achievements of the High Middle
Ages. Then, Fr. Cantalamessa turned to the present, reflecting on the relationship
between Mission and Contemplation, saying, “It is not enough that there be in the
Church those who dedicate themselves to contemplation and those who dedicate themselves
to mission: there must rather be a synthesis of the two things in the very life of
every missionary.” Fr. Cantalamessa concluded his reflections on a Marian note, saying,
“Mary is the Star of Evangelization, for she brought the Word, not to this or that
people, but to the whole world,” and noting that she did so by carrying the Word in
her womb – not in her mouth or on her lips. “She was filled,” he said, “even physically,
with Christ – and she radiated Him with her very presence.” Listen