Mary and the Missionary Church

(01 Jun 10 – RV) At twilight on Monday evening, thousands gathered around the replica grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in the Vatican Gardens to pray the rosary and mark the close of the Marian month of May with Pope Benedict XVI .

The faithful, many from abroad, gathered outside the oldest church in the Vatican, St. Stephen of the Abyssinians, which lies just behind St Peter’s Basilica. From there a torch lit procession wound its way through the gardens, up the hill to the summit where the Grotto commands a view over the entire city state.

There they were joined by Pope Benedict XVI after the recitation of the rosary, who invited them to contemplate Mary in the mystery of the Visitation.

He said “In the Virgin Mary who goes to visit her relative Elizabeth we recognize the clearest example, and the true meaning of our path, the path of all believers and the Church itself. The Church is missionary by nature, is called to proclaim the Gospel everywhere and always, to transmit the faith to every man and woman, and in every culture”.

Pope Benedict described Mary’s journey as “truly missionary”; “It is a journey that leads her far from home, into the world, to places that are alien to her daily habits, pushing her, in a sense, to the very limits within her reach. Right here, is the secret of our lives as human beings and as Christians. Our lives, as individuals and as Church, are projected outside of ourselves”.

The Pope then reflected on Mary’s service in charity. She knew her elderly cousin Elizabeth was pregnant and that she could be of assistance: “Elizabeth became the symbol of so many elderly and sick, indeed, of all people in need of help and love. And how many there are today in our families, our communities, our cities! And Mary - who was called "the handmaid of the Lord" (Lk 1:38) – becomes the handmaid of humanity. More precisely, she serves the Lord whom she sees in her brethren”

Mary’s charity, however, does not stop at concrete help, but reaches its highest point in gifting Jesus himself; “Jesus is the only true treasure that we have to gift humanity. The men and women of our time have a deep nostalgia for Him, even when they seem to ignore or reject Him. The society we live in, Europe, the whole world, is in great need of Him”.

"We are entrusted with this extraordinary responsibility. We must live it with joy and commitment so that ours is a civilization in which truth, justice, freedom and love, the indispensable pillars of a real orderly and peaceful coexistence, truly reign”.