On the eve of the Marian Day

At the conclusion of the Marian prayer this afternoon in Saint Peter's Square, the statue of the Madonna of Fatima was transported by helicopter to the Shrine of Divine Love in Rome.

Beginning at 7:30 this evening in that same Shrine, the recitation of the Rosary began.  Meanwhile, throughout the world, at various other Marian shrines, the rosary was also recited at the same time.  When this prayer was concluded, it was followed by a Vigil of Prayer focused on the theme: With Mary throughout the night which will continue throughout the nighttime hours until the break of dawn.  At that moment, the traditional pilgrimage of the Madonna of Divine Love will conclude, having arrived at the Shrine.

Before the recitation of the rosary this evening, a video message prepared by the Holy Father was broadcast for the benefit of all those who had gathered in various Marian shrines throughout the world as part of the Marian Day which will be observed at the Vatican tomorrow.

Video message of His Holiness, Pope Francis

for the Vigil of Prayer

at the Shrine of Our Lady of Divine Love

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I greet all the pilgrims present in this Shrine of Divine Love, and all those who join us from the Marian shrines of Lourdes, Nazareth, Lujan, Vailankanni, Guadalupe, Akita, Nairobi, Benneux, Częstochowa and Marian Valley.

This evening I am united to all of you in praying the Holy Rosary and in Eucharistic adoration under the gaze of the Virgin Mary.

Mary’s gaze! How important this is! How many things can we say with a look! Affection, encouragement, compassion, love, but also disapproval, envy, pride and even hatred. Often a look says more than words; it says what words do not or dare not say.

At whom is the Virgin Mary looking? She is looking at each and every one of us. And how does she look at us? She looks at us as a Mother, with tenderness, mercy and love. That was how she gazed at her Son Jesus at all the moments of his life – joyful, luminous, sorrowful, glorious – as we contemplate in the mysteries of the Holy Rosary, simply and lovingly.

When we are weary, downcast, beset with cares, let us look to Mary, let us feel her gaze, which speaks to our heart and says: Courage, my child, I am here to help you!. Our Lady knows us well, she is a Mother, she is familiar with our joys and difficulties, our hopes and disappointments. When we feel the burden of our failings and our sins, let us look to Mary, who speaks to our hearts, saying: Arise, go to my Son Jesus; in him you will find acceptance, mercy and new strength for the journey.

Mary’s gaze is not directed towards us alone. At the foot of the Cross, when Jesus entrusted to her the Apostle John, and with him all of us, in the words: Woman, here is your son (Jn 19:26), the gaze of Mary was fixed on Jesus. Mary says to us what she said at the wedding feast of Cana: Do whatever he tells you (Jn 2:5). Mary points to Jesus, she asks us to bear witness to Jesus, she constantly guides us to her Son Jesus, because in him alone do we find salvation. He alone can change the water of our loneliness, difficulties and sin into the wine of encounter, joy and forgiveness. He alone.

Blessed is she who believed! Mary is blessed for her faith in God, for her faith, because her heart’s gaze was always fixed on God, the Son of God whom she bore in her womb and whom she contemplated upon the Cross. In the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Mary says to us: Look at my son Jesus, keep your gaze fixed on him, listen to him, speak with him. He is gazing at you with love. Do not be afraid! He will teach you to follow him and to bear witness to him in all that you do, whether great and small, in your family life, at work, at times of celebration. He will teach you to go out of yourself and to look upon others with love, as he did. He loved you and loves you, not with words but with deeds.

O Mary, let us feel your maternal gaze. Guide us to your Son. May we not be Christians on display, but Christians ready to get our hands dirty in building, with your Son Jesus, his Kingdom of love, joy and peace.