Pope Leo reflects at Mass celebrating Our Lady’s birthday: ‘In Mary, salvation finds a home’

The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary reveals how God can transform history through humility, Pope Leo XIV said in a Sept. 7 homily for Mass celebrating her birthday. 

During a vigil Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Genazzano, Rome, Pope Leo approached the mystery of Mary’s hidden life through the writings of fellow Augustinian St. Thomas of Villanova.

“Why, I wonder, is there no description of the manner of her conception, her birth, her upbringing, her habits, the virtues that adorned her, the human relationship she shared with her Son, how she related to Him, or how she lived with the apostles after His Ascension?” Pope Leo said, quoting St. Thomas.

Pope Leo said those questions invite the faithful to engage more deeply with Scripture, following Mary’s example of asking questions of God and pondering events in her heart.

“The Gospel according to Matthew, however, seems, through its silence, to vindicate Saint Thomas of Villanova,” the Pope said. “We have heard it: it records Mary’s presence, but not a single word from her. Yet Mary’s mere presence — and that of the Son within her — sets the whole story in motion: that of Joseph and his entire household.”

The Holy Father then described how that story began to unfold.

“Mary’s presence brings about a kind of leap in the genealogy, like an unexpected novelty, capable of altering not only expectations but also a man’s predictable behaviour,” he said. “What Joseph hears, what he decides and what he does is, in fact, a response to God and to Mary’s presence, to her absolute otherness, which transcends all possible discourse and narrative. In Mary, salvation finds a home: God with us!”

>> Our Lady’s Nativity: The hidden birth that heralded Christ’s coming <<

The Holy Father then turned to the mystery celebrated in her Nativity.

“Dear brothers and sisters, we feel almost a sense of vertigo in the face of this Mystery: it is impossible to grow accustomed to it!” Pope Leo said. “We celebrate the birth of a little girl called to become the Mother of her Creator, the Mother of God who saves. And yet, a little girl is simply born, just like the daughters and granddaughters we hold in our arms.”

The apparent simplicity of Mary’s birth, the Pope explained, reflects the quiet way God reveals His power.

“Today we bestow upon her noble and exalted titles, such as Lady and Queen, but God’s way has been and remains simpler and more silent, yet no less powerful and transformative,” he said.

That same humility is found in Christ and in the kingdom He came to establish.

“In Jesus Christ, God chose the humblest historical circumstances and the humblest of creatures to reveal the uniqueness of His Kingdom, in which arrogance has no place and omnipotence is creation, service and care for life,” Pope Leo said.

Returning to St. Thomas’ writings on the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Holy Father encouraged Christians to contemplate what Scripture leaves unspoken about her.

“In contemplative prayer, that which the world does not tell us, but which already exists, takes shape; that which is still invisible, but which possesses a new kind of power in itself,” Pope Leo said. “This is not a matter of fantasy, but of prophecy. We need this, in times of destruction and uncertainty, in order to see the work of God and to serve it.”

Concluding, he recalled that the Church’s collect for the day prayed that Mary’s nativity feast day would increase peace within each person. 

“Yes, dear friends, let us imagine peace — let us expand the boundaries of our understanding and paint a picture of it in our souls — so that we may recognize that it already exists, and so that we may welcome and serve it,” Pope Leo said. “It is God’s gift, the breath of the Risen One, the work of the Holy Spirit. Let us allow peace to grow within us. It will germinate in the world. And the Mother of Good Counsel will accompany us on this mission.”