On May 1,
Pope Francis in his General Audience spoke both of St. Joseph the Worker and
the Virgin Mary. This post does not contain the entire audience, just the
references to Mary. Let's take a look at the Marian references.
Today, the 1st of May, we celebrate St. Joseph the Worker and
begin the month traditionally dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
Pope Francis acknowledges this longstanding tradition of the Church to honor Mary during the month of May.
The
second thought: in the silence of his daily activity, St. Joseph shared with
Mary a single, common focal point of attention: Jesus. They accompany
and guard, with dedication and tenderness, the growth of the Son of God
made man for us, reflecting on everything that happens. In the Gospels, Luke
points out twice the attitude of Mary, which is also that of St.
Joseph: "She treasured all these things, and pondered them in her
heart" (2:19.51).
Remember
that Pope Francis has invoked Mary's protectress role and the role of Joseph
protecting the Church from the first days of his papacy.
And
in this month of May, I would like to recall the importance and the
beauty of the prayer of the Holy Rosary. Reciting the Hail Mary, we
are led to contemplate the mysteries of Jesus, to reflect, that is, on the
central moments of his life, so that, as for Mary and for St. Joseph, He may be
the center of our thoughts, our attention and our actions. It would be nice if,
especially in this month of May, you would pray together as a family,
with your friends, in the parish, the Holy Rosary or some prayer to Jesus and
the Virgin Mary! Praying together is a precious moment for making
family life and friendship even more stable! Let us learn to pray more in the
family and as a family!
It is
nice to see Pope Francis recommending the prayer of the holy rosary for
families and parishes. The pope acknowledges that Jesus is at the center
of the rosary prayer. This is, of course, evidenced by the name of Jesus
at the center of the Hail Mary. Pope Francis' comment also helps us to
call to mind the rosary priest Fr. Patrick Peyton's saying, "the family
that prays together, stays together."
Dear
brothers and sisters, let us ask St. Joseph and the Virgin Mary to
teach us to be faithful to our daily commitments, to live our faith in everyday
actions and to give more space to the Lord in our lives, to stop to contemplate
his face.
As I
mentioned in a recent post, Pope Francis speaks about specific actions of the
Madonna. He has spoken often about her protection, help, and today he
tells us that she can teach us to be faithful to our daily
commitments. Also, Pope Francis speaks about contemplating Christ's face.
Pope John Paul II in his Apostolic Exhortaiton, Rosarium Virginis
Mariae, referred to the rosary as an aid to contemplating the face of
Christ in the school of Mary. It seems that Pope Francis is inviting us to contemplate the face
of Christ through the rosary.
