In the month of May, dedicated to Mary and on the eve of his visit to Fatima, Pope Benedict XVI has asked the 20 thousand faithful gathered in St Peter's Square for the recitation of the Regina Caeli "to pray for the intercession the Virgin Mary Church, especially priests, and for world peace. " "May - said the pope – is a much loved month and arrives at a particularly auspicious time. In our hemisphere spring has arrived with many colourful flowers and the climate is favourable for walks and excursions. For the liturgy, May always belongs to the Easter season, the time of the ''alleluia ', the unveiling of the mystery of Christ in light of the Resurrection and the Easter faith, and a time of waiting for the Holy Spirit, who descended with power upon the infant Church at Pentecost. For both of these contexts, the 'natural' and the liturgical, it fits well within the tradition of the Church to devote the month of May to the Virgin Mary. She, in fact, is the most beautiful flower to bloom in creation, the 'rose' which appeared in the fullness of time, when God sent his Son, and gifted the world a new spring. She is a humble and discreet protagonist of the first steps of the Christian community: Mary is the spiritual heart, because her very presence among the disciples of the Lord Jesus is the living memory and pledge of the gift of his Spirit. "
Recalling the Sunday Gospel; " Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him," (Jn 14:23), Pope Benedict XVI pointed out that "these words are addressed to the disciples, but can be applied at the highest level to She who is the first and perfect disciple of Jesus. Mary in fact was the first to fully observe the word of her son, thus proving that she loves him not only as a mother, but first as a humble and obedient servant, which is why God the Father has loved her and why the Holy Trinity dwelt within her. And also, where Jesus promised to his friends that the Holy Spirit will assist them by helping them to remember every word and understand it deeply (cf. Jn 14:26), how can we not think of Mary, who in her heart, the Temple of the Spirit, faithfully meditated and interpreted all that her son said and did? In this way, before and especially after Easter, the Mother of Jesus becomes the Mother and model of the Church".
"At the heart of this Marian month – he continued - I have the joy of travelling to Portugal in the next few days. I will visit the capital Lisbon and Porto, the second city of the country. The main goal of my trip will be Fatima, to mark the tenth anniversary of the beatification of the two shepherd children, Jacinta and Francisco. For the first time as the Successor of Peter, I will visit the Marian shrine that was so dear to Pope John Paul II. I invite everyone to come with me on this pilgrimage, actively participating, a heart and soul, with prayer as we invoke the intercession of the Virgin Mary for the Church, especially priests, and for world peace. "
After the Marian prayer, the Pope greeted participants in the 30th “Spring Marathon – Catholic Schools Day” encouraging all "to keep the high quality of formation and education in your schools, which are a valuable asset for the Church and for Italy".
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