Pope watches film on Mary of Nazareth

Pope Benedict XVI viewed a screening of a film on the life of the Mother of God Wednesday evening at the Vatican. Following the screening, the Holy Father thanked the producers of the film – an international collaborative effort titled, Mary of Nazareth.

In his remarks, Pope Benedict pointed out that “it is not easy to characterize the figure of any mother, because the riches of the maternal life are difficult to describe, but this is even more challenging when it comes to the Mary of Nazareth, who is the mother of Jesus, the Son of God made man.”

The film touches on the lives of three women of the New Testament: Herodias, the wife of Herod Antipas, Mary Magdalene, and the protagonist of the film, Mary, the Mother of Jesus.

“She is a mother who desired to keep her Son with her, but she knows he is God,” said the Pope. “Her faith and love are so great, she accepts her part in His mission. Mary is saying ‘Here I am, Lord’ from the Annunciation to the Cross.”

The Pope said this ‘Here I am, Lord!’ is a paradigm for how to order our lives.

“Mary of Nazareth is the woman of 'Here I am’, giving herself completely over to the Divine Will,” the Holy Father said. “In this ‘yes’, which is repeated even as she suffers the loss of her Son, she finds an overwhelming and profound happiness.”