Mary and the Church are a Mother

Dear friends,on January 1 we celebrate the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.

Both Mary and the Church conceive and give birth at Christmas, by the grace of the Holy Spirit.

Through participation in the motherhood of the Blessed Virgin and of the Church, women who belong to a member organisation, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, are giving birth to a new period in the history of WUCWO.

But... how to give birth today? By applying the message of Pope Francis for the 2019 World Day of Peace. The Holy Father tells us that political responsibility does not only belong to the ones who govern, but also to each citizen.

Dear friends, our political commitment - which is one of the highest expressions of charity - should lead us to concern ourselves with the future of human life and the planet: with women and their children in gestation, with the youngest and most vulnerable members in the family.

I would like this to be part of our spirituality, of our daily prayer and of our commitment to action, just like the Holy Spirit inspired us in our resolutions of the General Assembly in Senegal.

And may the Word, which became flesh, dwell among us! May you have a Happy and Holy Year!

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE 52nd WORLD DAY OF PEACE

Dear Pope Francis,

today we, the women of WUCWO (World Union of Catholic Women's Organisations), pray in a special way for you and wish you a very happy and holy birthday!

This message for the month of December 2018 contains three points: to make the exhortation of Pope Francis on this first Sunday of Advent our own, to offer a word to the young women, and to give thanks.

Dear friends,

let me introduce you to my vision of WUCWO and then to its structure and functioning.

Each person, each living being and each organisation, if it does not grow, diminishes little by little and finally dies. And Jesus told us: "You shall know them by their fruits" (Mt 7:16).

Dear friends,

this month we will add special intentions in our daily prayers for the good results of our General Assembly in Senegal.

May our gathering be an event of prayer, communion, friendship, mutual acceptance and support.

I humbly ask all those who cannot participate to make the participants feel their closeness and support. Each organisation, single member can find its own way to offer prayers for WUCWO General Assembly.

Next month we will celebrate our General Assembly in Dakar.

All WUCWO women are praying so that it may be a real moment of communion, sharing, friendship, and a living testimony of the Church, spouse of Christ, “sent by the Risen Christ to pass on to men and women the forgiveness of sins and thereby make the Kingdom of love grow, to sow peace in hearts so that they may also be strengthened in relationships, in every society, in institutions.” (Pope Francis, Regina Caeli, April 7th 2013)

In the Office of Readings proposed to celebrate the Assumption of Our Lady, we find a passage taken from the letter to the Ephesians (1,16 – 2,10) in which St Paul states that God “raised us up with him and gave us a place with him in heaven, in Christ Jesus” (2,6). This can happen because of the immense mercy, forgiveness of our Creator. The same forgiveness shown by Jesus to the woman in Simon’s house( Lk 7,48).

On our way towards Dakar we need to reflect more and more about the challenges we face in order to discuss and find together the best actions to contribute and bring justice and peace in such globalised indifference.

We celebrated Pentecost a few weeks ago.

The power of the Holy Spirit pushed, enhanced the apostles to go all over the world to bring the Good News. WUCWO women commit to be carriers of “living water” wherever people are thirsty for it; where they are not respected, where life is not preserved, where the human dignity is trampled, where people are suffering because of hunger, conflicts, persecutions, and wars.

This month is dedicated to Our Lady, and we want to put under her special protection our path towards our General Assembly and all WUCWO life. This year May 13th –WUCWO day – will fall on Sunday, so we have the possibility to involve more people in the celebration.

This month opens with Easter Sunday! What a joyful day for Christians! The spring of our hope! The free gift of salvation offered by the merciful Lord through Jesus who offered himself to expiate our sins.