On Saturday, October 7, the Pope received an audience with the confraternity, or brotherhood, of Our Lady of Montserrat, due to the 800th anniversary of its foundation. The pilgrims from Catalonia had arrived under the leadership of the president of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, the Archbishop of Barcelona, Cardinal Juan José Omelha and the abbot of the Montserrat Shrine, Manel Gas. The Pope showed his joy by receiving visitors from the world-famous sanctuary of the Mother of God on the feast of the Queen of the Rosary.
Inese Steinert – Vatican
“Honoring Mary means celebrating the closeness and tenderness of God, who meets his people, does not leave us alone, has given us a Mother who cares for us and accompanies us,” said Francis. “It means celebrating God’s closeness, because God’s style is closeness, compassion and tenderness. This is how God loves, and when we see Mary, we understand God’s closeness, God’s compassion.”
The Pope lingered at the image of Our Lady of Montserrat. The statue of Mary has a dark face, which is why it is popularly called “Morenet”. The Mother of God is depicted sitting with the Child Jesus on her knees. In her right hand is a sphere that symbolizes the universe. “It is the Queen and the Lady of all creation,” said Francis. He noted that Marian piety plays a major role in the expressions of devotion among people who believe in God. She is the Mother.
The Holy Father invited us to think about how many believers have visited this shrine in the 800 years since the confraternity of Our Lady of Montserrat was founded and humbly and simply asked “Morenet” to intercede for themselves and their loved ones. How much childlike love, supplication, and grateful action have been shown! The Pope added:
“When God’s people go to visit their Mother, it manifests itself, manifests itself in a way that it may not use in another form of prayer. In front of Mate, it is as if the noblest feelings of a person awaken. When Mary hears our prayers, she makes this gesture, which is the most Marian gesture. She points to Jesus: “Do as He says!” It is a typically Marian gesture. She shows the way and speaks to her Son so that He listens.”
Addressing the Fraternity of Our Lady of Montserrat, the Pope noted that the evangelizing power of popular piety creates favorable conditions for the growth and strengthening of bonds of friendship and fraternity between nations. Francis mentioned that this was already understood by Saint Paul VI, who changed the words “the religiosity of the people” to “the piety of the people”. In his Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii nuntiandi, there are clear paragraphs about this grace. This is the grace that belongs to the nations, that is, “the godliness of the people.”
Francis pointed out that from this point of view, Marian devotion has a privileged place. Mary is the guardian. In Italian, it reads “advocate”, so keeping in mind the “too functional” nature of this word, the Holy Father chose the word “facilitator” in his address to the Fraternity of Our Lady of Montserrat. “Mary is a facilitator in conflicts and problems, as she did when the wedding guests ran out of wine,” he explained. Maria helps to “untie the knots” that can get tangled between people. She, therefore, also smooths the path of friendship between nations, inviting us to turn our gaze to the beginning and purpose of our existence, which is Jesus Christ. It encourages us to follow her example, patiently and faithfully walking the paths of peace, kindness, listening and dialogue.
“Our Lady of Montserrat, with the globe in her hands, invites us to live in the spirit of this universal fraternity, without borders, without exclusion, which illuminates the shadows and makes closed environments open,” said the Pope. He pointed out that Mary is attentive not only to Jesus, but also to all who believe in Him. With the power of the Risen One, she wants to create a new world where we are all brothers, where every marginalized person has a place in our cities, where justice and peace reign. Francis reminded that Mary has no outcast:
“She is the Mother of the rejected, the Mother of those who are rejected by us. She goes to look for them. She knows no rejection. Because she is a Mother, she knows how to hear many things, many prayers, even if they are born from a hypocritical heart, from a heart that is not correct to itself, from an unjust heart that does evil. She listens, she also listens to the child who has committed a crime.”
At the end of the meeting, Francis wished that Our Lady would take care of the Moserrata confraternity and help it continue its common path.
2023-10-07 14:34:59
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