Typically the Church’s Liturgical Calendar calls for the
celebration of a holy person, but today we celebrate the dedication of a holy
place, St. Mary Major, one of Rome’s four principle basilicas. The others are St. Peter’s, St. John Lateran,
and St. Paul outside the Walls. The
present church of St. Mary Major was built in the fifth century, not long after
the Council of Ephesus affirmed Mary’s title as “Mother of God.” The basilica is the largest and oldest church
in the world honoring God through Mary.
It stands atop one of Rome’s seven hills, and despite many restorations,
still has the character of an early Roman basilica.
For four hundred years today’s feast was called “Our Lady of
the Snows”. According to legend, the
basilica was constructed on the site where the Mother of God produced a
miraculous mid-summer snow fall and left her footprints as a sign. The legend was long celebrated by releasing a
shower of white rose petals from the dome of the basilica every August 5.
Below the Basilica’s main altar are relics from the manger
of Bethlehem, in which Mary laid the newborn Savior of the World.
The morning after his Papal election, Pope Francis went to
pray at Saint Mary Major, and after returning safely from World Youth Day, he
went again to Mary Major, to offer thanksgiving to Mary for that her protection
and care for all of those pilgrims. Before
making his pontifical visit to Latin America and the United States last year,
you guessed it, he went to pray for the success of his mission at Mary Major.
At the beginning of this Holy Year of Mercy, Pope Francis
opened the Holy Doors at St. Mary Major.
“It is most fitting that on this day we invoke the Blessed
Virgin Mary above all as ‘mother of mercy.’…She is the Mother of mercy, because
she bore in her womb the very Face of divine mercy, Jesus, …The Son of God,
made incarnate for our salvation, has given us his Mother, who joins us on our
pilgrimage through this life, so that we may never be left alone, especially at
times of trouble and uncertainty.”
“For us, Mary is an icon of how the Church must offer
forgiveness to those who seek it,” Pope Francis continued.
“The Mother of forgiveness teaches the Church that the
forgiveness… must be every bit as broad as that offered by Jesus on the Cross
and by Mary at his feet. There is no other way.”
We may not be able to make a physical pilgrimage to the
Marian Basilica of Rome today, but we look to her today, to ask her to teach us
to forgive as we out, to be instruments of mercy as we ought. In the words of
Pope Francis “Let us allow Mary to lead us to the rediscovery of the beauty of
an encounter with her Son Jesus. Let us open wide the doors of our heart to the
joy of forgiveness, conscious that we have been given new confidence and hope,
and thus make our daily lives a humble instrument of God’s love”…for the glory
of God and salvation of souls
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