Homily of Most Rev. Charles John Brown D.D., Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines
December 10, 2024 | Fiesta and Pontifical Coronation of Our Lady of Loreto
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ:
For me as your apostolic nuncio, it gives me so much joy and happiness to be with you this evening here in this very famous Sampaloc Church, Loreto Church, officially the Archdiocesan Shrine and Parish of Our Lady of Loreto. As you can see, I am accompanied by your beloved Archbishop, His Eminence, Jose F. Cardinal Advincula, Jr., D.D., Archbishop of Manila
I want to thank in a very, very special and sincere way, the Rector, and Team Ministry Moderator of the Shrine, that is the Rev. Fr. Enrico Martin F. Adoviso, for having invited me this evening to be with you, for what is an historic moment.
We are all this evening witnesses to something historic, and extraordinary that will be remembered for centuries, certainly. The moment in which your beautiful image of Our Lady of Loreto, here in Sampaloc received the Pontifical Coronation. The crowning of Our Lady, authorized by the Holy See, authorized in the name of the Holy Father, Pope Francis himself. For me, as your papal nuncio, it gives me a lot of joy to be the one chosen to [in the name of the Holy Father] crown this beautiful, glorious image of Mama Mary, Our Lady of Loreto.
It was five years ago, in 2019 that our Holy Father, Pope Francis, decided that the Feast Day or the Memorial of Our Lady of Loreto, that is December 10, should be inserted in the Roman Calendar. That means the Liturgical Calendar for the entire Catholic Church. That means, from one end of the world to another, on December 10, priests and people have the possibility to celebrate the Memorial that is, in a certain sense, the Feast day of Our Lady of Loreto; and shows our Holy Father's great love for Our Lady.
Today, this evening, brothers and sisters, we have what we might call an “embarrassment of riches”, an embarrassment of. we can say spiritual riches. Because not only in a few moments, will you all be witnesses to the Pontifical Coronation of the image of Our Lady of Loreto, but at the end of Mass, we will also have the Declaration of the Bond of Spiritual Affinity. That means a special spiritual connection between your beautiful Archdiocesan Shrine and Parish with the Basilica in Rome called Mary Major (Santa Maria Maggiore), a famous Basilica in Rome dedicated to Our Lady. With the famous image of Our Lady, the image in which the Holy Father, Pope Francis, always prays before he goes on his international journeys. So, as I said, we have an embarrassment of riches this evening.
The Spirituality of the House
The whole spirituality of Loreto revolves around the house of Mary. It was indeed in that house of Mary, in Nazareth, which pious tradition believes was brought by angels all the way into Italy, and is now resting in the Town of Loreto in Italy. That house of Mary, that house of Our Lady in Nazareth, is where the Gospel we heard took place: the Annunciation (Lk 1:26-38). The place in Nazareth, her house where the angel Gabriel came to Mary and asked her to be the Mother of God. Mary said, Yes. “Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum.” “Let it be done to me according to thy word.”
That house we believe in pious tradition was miraculously transported to Loreto. So today, tonight, even in your beautiful archdiocesan shrine, we think about the spirituality of the house, the importance of the house. That is where Mary grew up, where she lived her life as a young girl, as a young woman, before being espoused, being engaged to Joseph, and before the angel Gabriel came to her, and asked her to be the mother of God, and Mary said “yes” in that house.
It is very interesting that the house of Mary, which is now piously present in Loreto, is an image, also in a certain sense, of Mary herself. What do I mean? Think about it for a moment, the famous Litany of Our Lady, the Litany of Loreto, all those beautiful titles of Mary that we recite with such pious devotion as disciples and devotees of Mary. We call her Mystical Rose, Tower of David, Tower of Ivory, then House of Gold. Mary is called the “House of Gold”, and then the “Ark of the Covenant”.
What was the Ark of the Covenant? It was an ornamental precious chest, a container, a beautifully decorated container in which the Jewish people kept the most holy things that they had: the fragments of the 10 Commandments and other things that were placed in the Temple of God. The Ark of the Covenant is, for the Jewish people, the presence of God with them.
In Mary, we have a new Ark of the Covenant. Because in Mary's womb, in the Gospel we hear today, when Mary said “Let it be done to me according to thy word,” “the Word was made flesh” at that moment. Made flesh in her womb. She becomes pregnant with the baby Jesus, with the unborn baby Jesus, in the Annunciation, in her house. Then, in a certain sense, Mary herself is the place where God is dwelling. Mary herself is the one carrying God in this world. Because Jesus is “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God” [who] became a small embryo in her womb on March 25, and then is born for us on Christmas Day.
So, Mary, in a certain sense, we can describe her as the “Domus Dei”, the House of God, the One who carries God within her. So, the spirituality of the house, it's so significant for us, all of us, devotees of Our Lady of Loreto.
It is interesting, isn't it? That Jesus himself, when He was born, is not born in a house. Isn't it interesting? Mary is that House of Gold carrying the baby Jesus, but Mary and Joseph have nowhere to lay their head. Because, of course, as all of us know, they leave Nazareth in obedience to the necessity to be enrolled in the census. They travelled the length of Israel down to Bethlehem. There, there is no house for Mary and Joseph. So Little Baby Jesus on Christmas Day was born in a stable, in a cave, not in a house, because Mary is the House carrying Jesus.
It makes us think about our own lives, and how when we receive God's grace― we, in a certain sense, different from Mary, but in some ways analogous, similar to Mary, we become the House of God when you live in God's grace, when God's grace is in you through the Holy Sacraments of Baptism, then the Eucharist, God's presence is in you as well. Not in the same way as Mary, it is different, but His presence is in you. You become the house of God when Jesus dwells in you through the power of the Sacraments.
Also, when we think about houses, we need to make room in our own hearts for Jesus. We need to find more space for Jesus in our own hearts.
Of course, as all of us know, when we travel the streets of Manila, we see a good number of people who have no house, or on the streets, even families. Right? Even little children. I think especially during this time of Advent, our hearts should be moved when we see them. They are Mary, Joseph, and Jesus on the streets of Manila today. To stop and give them something, a kind word, help.
The priests, I know, are helping these homeless people on our streets, but they are an image for us, a sacramental, a quasi-sacramental image to us of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus in Bethlehem. So, this idea of giving a house to them, or at least giving them comfort, shelter, and a sign of love, and maybe some food, or perhaps whatever they need, it's important for us. That's how we make room for Jesus in our own hearts. “There was no room for Him in the inn” in Bethlehem (Lk. 1:7) but let us make room for Him in our hearts by caring for the people around us who don't have a place to live.
So, in our minds this evening, all of these different images of the house are present: the house of Mary, where the Annunciation took place; Mary as the House of Gold, the One who carries Jesus; Mary and Joseph looking for a place to stay in Bethlehem; we ourselves as a place where God dwells by sacramental grace, but we need to show that grace to those around us by helping those who have no home, who have no house.
So, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as I said for me, as your apostolic nuncio, it gives me so much joy and happiness to be with you this evening. All of us are devotees of Our Lady. So, let us ask Our Lady to continue to bless us, to shower her blessings, which she, through her intercession, obtains from Jesus and gives to us, all of those things that each of us have in our hearts is evening.
For me it is a great joy to be with you this evening. We can say, Our Lady of Loreto, Virgen de Loreto, pray for us.
Transcribed by Joel V. Ocampo
photo from Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Loreto Network Facebook page
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