Pope urges Christians to imitate Mary’s faith

October 12, 2013 - Pope Francis on Saturday told Christians to imitate the faith of Mary who even before conceiving Jesus in flesh first conceived Him in faith and steadfastly followed Him every step right up to Calvary and Easter. Pope Francis was addressing some 150,000 faithful participating in the Marian Day, Saturday and Sunday, to mark the current Year of Faith in the presence of the original statue of the Madonna of Fatima, Portugal. The Pope reflected on three aspects of Mary’s faith, namely, a faith that unties the knot of sin, a faith that gave flesh to Jesus and her journey on her Son’s footsteps up to Calvary.
Talking about the knot of sin the Pope said it is the knot of disobedience, of unbelief that breaks trust with God thus taking way our peace and serenity. They are dangerous, since many knots can form a tangle which gets more and more painful and difficult to undo. But nothing is impossible for God’s mercy! And Mary, whose “yes” opened the door for God to undo the knot of the ancient disobedience, is the Mother who patiently and lovingly brings us to God.
Talking about the second aspect, the Pope explained that Mary first conceived Jesus in faith and then in the flesh, when she said “yes” to the message God gave her through the angel. The Pope said this means that God did not want to become man by ignoring our freedom; he wanted to pass through Mary’s free assent, her “yes”. The same takes place in us spiritually when we receive word of God with a good and sincere heart and put it into practice. And believing in Jesus means giving him our flesh with the humility and courage of Mary. It means giving him our hands, to caress the little ones and the poor; our feet, to go forth and meet our brothers and sisters; our arms, to hold up the weak and to work in the Lord’s vineyard, our minds, to think and act in the light of the Gospel; and especially our hearts, to love and to make choices in accordance with God’s will.
Lastly, in imitating Mary in her journey, the Pope said we need to have not only Jesus’ sentiments of humility, mercy and closeness to others, but also his firm rejection of hypocrisy, duplicity and idolatry. Mary’s journey of faith passed through the cross and she understood this from the beginning, when Herod sought to kill the newborn Jesus. This faith encountered misunderstanding and contempt in the hour of his passion but she kept it burning even through the night of Holy Saturday, until her heart was filled with the joy of faith at the news of the empty tomb. (Source: Vatican)