The Last Word: Perspectives From the President by Msgr. Peter I. Vaccari
where hundreds of thousands of young Catholics are expected to meet with Pope Francis. In his message for the gathering, Pope Francis reflects on Mary’s haste throughout her life. In the most significant historic location on the globe, Nazareth, where the young Virgin consents to the power of the Holy Spirit and the Word became flesh, Mary is not concerned about herself. Only days after this exceptional experience, Mary goes out “with haste” to help her cousin Elizabeth, whom the angel told her has “also conceived a son” (Lk 1:36). As Pope Francis writes: “Mary did not remain paralyzed, for within her was Jesus, the power of resurrection and new life. … Mary becomes a temple of God, an image of the pilgrim church.”
“Mary arose and went with haste.” (Lk 1:39) In this Perspectives, I appeal to all readers of ONE, in English and in Spanish, in print and online, to cultivate a healthy, wise and prudent spirituality of haste! We need more of you who are faithful, dependable followers of the mission of the Gospel to welcome a new, grace-filled time — or “kairos” — to become more engaged in the mission of CNEWA. We need you to bring your lives of faith and prayer, wisdom and knowledge, advocacy — but never partisan politics — and sense of mission to a deeper level. I have advocated in previous columns for the priorities of prayer, being well informed and a deepening generosity. Permit me to add a fourth priority — it is time to reach out to our youth. Now. Today. “In haste.” “Mary arose and went with haste” (Lk 1:39) is the theme for the next World Youth Day in Lisbon, 1-6 August,
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Having moved with haste to assist another, Mary in her encounter with Elizabeth receives the grace of joy and an affirmation of her divine purpose on Earth, which we commemorate as a church on the feast of the Visitation, 31 May. The pope reminds us: “The grace of the Holy Spirit permits no delay.” Mary, whose life on Earth and in heaven is always directed toward others, “is the woman of Easter,” he writes. This will be the pope’s first international World Youth Day since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which each in their own way destabilized already precarious situations and aggravated issues of great concern worldwide: mass migration, human trafficking, violence, religious persecution and fanaticism, inflation, poverty and hunger. The articles in this edition of ONE touch on these issues of concern and confirm the truth, exigency and imperative of the need to move “with haste” in the mission of CNEWA: