Jesus was born of a woman; he is one of us. For this reason, he is able to save us

At the beginning of this new year which the Lord has granted us, we do well to lift our eyes and hearts to Mary. For, like a Mother, she points us to her Son. She brings us back to Jesus; she speaks to us of Jesus; she leads us to Jesus. The Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, immerses us once more in the mystery of Christmas. In Mary’s womb, God became one of us, and we, who have opened the Holy Door to inaugurate the Jubilee, are reminded today that “Mary is the door through which Christ entered this world” (Saint Ambrose, Ep. 42, 4: PL, VII).

The Apostle Paul sums up this mystery by telling us that “God sent forth his Son, born of a woman” (Gal 4:4). Those words – “born of a woman” – echo in our hearts today; they remind us that Jesus, our Saviour, became flesh and is revealed in the frailty of the flesh.

Born of a woman. Those words bring us back to Christmas, for the Word became flesh. The Apostle Paul, in saying that Christ was born of a woman, almost senses the need to remind us that God became truly man through a human womb. There is a temptation, which many people today find attractive, but can also mislead many Christians, to imagine or invent a God “in the abstract”, associated with some vague religious feeling or fleeting emotion. No. God is tangible, he is human, he was born of a woman; he has a face and a name, and calls us to have a relationship with him. Christ Jesus, our Saviour, born of woman, has flesh and blood. Coming from the bosom of the Father, he takes flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary. From the highest heaven, he comes down to earth. Son of God, he becomes the Son of man. The image of the Almighty God, Christ came among us in weakness; though he was without blemish, “for our sake, God made him to be sin” (2 Cor 5:21). He was born of a woman; he is one of us. For this reason, he is able to save us.

Pope Francis, excerpt from his homily of January 1, 2025, on the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, at St Peter’s Basilica

The Pope opened the Holy Door for the Jubilee Year 2025 on December 24, 2024 in Rome.