Pope at Audience: Mary takes us by the hand to Jesus

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

"The Blessed Mother shows us Jesus. She always opens the doors for us! The Madonna is the mother who takes us by the hand towards Jesus."

Pope Francis gave this comforting reminder to the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square during his weekly General Audience on Wednesday morning.

As he continued his catechesis series on the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church, the Pope discussed Marian devotion, after having discussed, in prior Audiences, the Holy Spirit's role in sacraments and Christian prayer.

In his remarks,  the Holy Father called on the faithful to turn to Mary, entrust themselves to her, and imitate her 'yes' to the Lord.

READ POPE FRANCIS' FULL GENERAL AUDIENCE ADDRESS HERE

First disciple

Mary, as the first disciple and figure of the Church, the Holy Father suggested, "is herself a 'letter' written with the Spirit of the living God." 

Precisely for this reason, he suggested, she can be “known and read" by everyone. "For when she said yes to God," he marveled, "it was as if Mary said to God: 'Here I am, I am a writing tablet: let the Writer write whatever He wishes, let the Lord of all do with me what He wills.'"

"Today," the Pope noted, "we might say that Mary offers herself to God as a blank page upon which He can write whatever He wants."

Mary's “yes,” Pope Francis recalled quoting a well-known exegete, "represents 'the pinnacle of every religious attitude before God, for she expresses, in the highest manner, passive availability united with active readiness, the deepest emptiness accompanied by the greatest fullness.'”

'Here I am'

Therefore, this is how, he said, the Mother of God is an instrument of the Holy Spirit in His work of sanctification. 

"Amid the endless flood of words spoken and written about God, the Church, and holiness," the Pope reflected, the Blessed Mother suggests only two words that everyone can pronounce on any occasion: “Here I am” and “fiat.” 

Through the Blessed Virgin's example and intercession," he continued, "she encourages us to also say our own 'yes' to Him whenever we face a call to obedience or a challenge to overcome."

Pope Francis concluded by saying let us learn from the Blessed Mother's example of being receptive to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit.

Pope Francis at General Audience