Yesterday the Holy Father lead a profession of Faith for all the Italian bishops as they are meeting in plenary session. He addressed them. At the end of the address, Francis pronounced a prayer to Mary which should move any but the coldest heart.
This isn’t Secretariat of State boilerplate. This is Francis.
Some context: Before this prayer, Francis had mentioned that the first faithful bishops have are their priests. He spoke about obedience and self-emptying, the gift of self as what distinguishes pastoral ministry. He mentions the Devil again, of course. He warns about the seduction of a career, money, laziness, being a functionary, worrying about structures more than people. The whole thing bears reading.
Then, after saying “I place you, and I place myself, too, under the mantle of Mary, Our Mother”, he concluded with this!
Mother of the silence that preserves the mystery of God, deliver us from the idolatry of the present, to which those who forget are condemned. Purify the eyes of pastors with the balm of memory:that we might return to the freshness of the beginning, for a praying and penitent Church.
Mother of the beauty that blossoms from fidelity to daily work, remove us from the torpor of laziness, of pettiness, and defeatism. Cloak Pastors with that compassion that unifies and integrates: that we might discover the joy of a humble and fraternal servant Church.
Mother of the tenderness which enfolds in patience and mercy, help us burn away the sadness, impatience, and rigidity of those who have not known what it means to belong.
Intercede with your Son that our hands, our feet and our hearts may be swift: that we may build the Church with the truth in charity.
Mother, we will be the People of God, on pilgrimage towards the Kingdom. Amen.
Benedict has his voice. Francis has his.
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I have not been able to wrap my mind around Francis yet. One can not categorize him very easily. He is hard for me to understand at times. Just when I think I am starting to figure him out, he does something to surprise me.
But, I have no doubt that I (and the Church as a body) have much to learn from this godly man.
At times he may make us uncomfortable. Yet I am starting to feel that when he makes us uncomfortable, we may need to look inward at ourselves to find the answer why.
One early line that moved me, that we might return to the freshness of the beginning, for a praying and penitent Church.
simply beautiful and moving…I am so impressed with the Marian attachment of this Pope, in a similar way that both Benedict and Blessed John Paul II were…great men, great pastors guided by the greatest Mother, La Madonna.
Pope Francis: “that we might return to the freshness of the beginning…”
Very nice and reminds me of a letter St Clare wrote to St Agnes of Prague, she says:
“But because one thing is necessary, I invoke this one thing and advise you, by the love of Him to whom you have offered yourself as a holy and pleasing sacrifice, to be mindful, like a second Rachel, of your founding purpose always seeing your beginning. What you hold, may you continue to hold, what you do, may you keep doing and not stop, but with swift pace, nimble step, and feet that do not stumble so that even your walking does not raise any dust, may you go forward tranquilly, joyfully, briskly, and cautiously along the path of happiness, trusting in no one and agreeing with no one insofar as he might want to dissuade you from pursuing your founding purpose or might place a stumbling block in your way, preventing you, in that perfection with which the Spirit of the Lord has called you, from fulfilling your vows to the Most High. (Letter II to St Agnes of Prague).
and as Jesuit, May 24 would be significant to him as the commemoration of Madonna della Strada, Our Lady of the Way.
We have been blessed with an extraordinary succession of saintly, brilliant Popes since 1979 — Popes John Paul I, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis have ALL of them been absolutely brilliant, saintly, and holy Pastors of our Earthly Church.
Francis (and Benedict before him) ask all to pray for Our Lady of Sheshan (China) today.
This could well be applied to dads toward their families regarding ” laziness, … pettiness, and defeatism”
I have had a hard time too understanding Papa Francisco, but this prayer is absolutely amazing. It was just what I needed today, too, struggling with defeatism myself today.
I’m adding this to my Rosary novena. Thank you for sharing!
The traditionalists that went wild when Pope Francis was elected should realize that a man devoted to
Mary will not steer to far aground. Pope Francis seems VERY devoted to Mary.
A wonderful prayer.
The 3 pleas could be considered as candidates for addition to the Litany of Loreto
Mother of silence …
Mother of the beauty of daily work …
Mother of tenderness …
Was it Blessed John Paul II added ‘Mother of the Church, pray for us’?