Pope Invites Faithful to Find Refuge in Mary

(31 May 08 - RV) Pope Benedict XVI marked the Feast of the Visitation of Our Lady and the end of the Marian Month of May here at the Vatican with a reflection on today's liturgy at the close of a suggestive prayer vigil, held in St Peter's Square. Below we publish a provisional Vatican Radio translation of the Pope's address:

My dear brothers and sisters,

Today we conclude the month of May with this suggestive Marian prayer meeting. I greet you all with affection and thank you for participating. I greet Cardinal Angelo Comastri; together with him I greet the other Cardinals present, the Archbishops, bishops and priests who have taken part in this evening prayer. I also greet all of the consecrated lay and you my dear lay faithful, who have come to honour the Blessed Virgin.

Today we celebrate the feast of Our Lady’s visitation and the memorial of the Immaculate heart of Mary, when we are all invited to turn our gaze with trust upon Mary. We have appealed to her this evening through the ancient pious practice of the Rosary. When it is not reduced to a mechanic repetition of traditional formulae then the Rosary is a biblical meditation which helps us retrace the events of the life of Our Lord accompanied by the Blessed Virgin, keeping Him, like her in our hearts. In many Christian communities, the month of May sees the beautiful practice of solemnly reciting the Rosary both in the family and in the parish. Now that the month has ended, this good habit should not cease; in fact it should be continued with increasing commitment, so that thanks’ to the school of Our Lady, the light of faith grow ever brighter in the hearts of Christians and in their homes.

Today’s liturgy of the Feast of the Visitation, presents us with of Luke’s Gospel passage which tells of Mary’s journey to Nazareth to the home of her elderly cousin Elizabeth. We imagine the state of being of the Virgin in the aftermath of the Annunciation, when the Angel came to her. Mary now finds herself carrying a great secret within her womb; she knew that something extraordinarily unique had taken place; she understood that the last chapter of the history of the world’s salvation had begun. But everything around her had remained the same; the village of Nazareth was ignorant to what had happened to Her.

Before worrying about herself, however, Mary firsts thoughts go to her elderly cousin Elizabeth, who she knew was in the last stages of pregnancy and compelled by the mystery of love which she has just welcomed within her, she “quickly” sets out on a journey to lend her help. This is the simple and sublime greatness of Mary! When she reaches Elizabeth’s house, something takes place, the depth and beauty of which no artist will ever be capable of depicting. The interior light of the Holy Spirit surrounds them. And Elizabeth, enlightened from on high exclaims: “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled”.

 
These words may appear disproportionate given the real context. Elizabeth is one of the many elders of Israel and Mary is an unknown girl from an unknown village in Galilee. Who are they and what can they possibly do in a world where other people count and other powers have weight? And yet, once again Mary surprises us; her heart limpid, completely open to the light of God; her soul is without sin, not weighted down by pride and selfishness. Elizabeth’s words ignite in her a canticle of praise, which is an authentic and profound “theological” reading of history: a reading which we must continue to learn from her in whom faith is without shadow and without fault. “My soul glorifies the Lord”. Mary recognizes the greatness of God. This is the first indispensable sentiment of the faith; the sentiment which gives security to the human creature and frees us from fear, even in the midst of the storms of history.


Going beyond the surface, Mary “sees” with the eyes of faith, God’s work throughout history. This is why she is blessed, because she believed: because of her faith, she welcomed the word of God and conceived the Word incarnate. Her faith enabled her to see that the thrones of the powerful of this world are all provisional, while God’s throne is the only rock which neither changes nor falls. And her Magnificat down through the centuries remains the truest most profound interpretation of history, while the interpretations given by this world's many wise men have been denied by the events of time.

Dear brothers and sisters! Let us return home with the Magnifcat in our heart. Let us carry within us the same sentiments of praise and thanksgiving of Mary towards the Lord, her faith and her hope, her docile abandonment to the hands of Divine Providence. Let us imitate her willingness and generosity in serving our brethren. In fact only by welcoming God’s love and dedicating our existence to generous and disinterested service to our neighbour, will we be able to elevate with joy and song of praise to the Lord. We hope to obtain this grace with the Blessed Virgin, who this evening invites us to find refuge in her Immaculate heart.