The Pope has contemplated in the Audience This morning of the month of May to the Virgin Mary in her "school of humility, which is the surest way to heaven". "God is attracted by Mary's littleness, by her inner littleness", Mary also "was humble in difficult moments, it is her most granite virtue, always small, humble", he said. This is a theme dear to the Pope's heart, who said at other times.
The Holy Father concluded with Mary and her humility the last of the catechesis sessions of the cycle on the vices and virtues, in which at the end, before praying the Our Father and giving the Blessing, as usual, he prayed for peace in the "martyred Ukraine", in Palestine, in Israel and in so many places in the world at war. Earlier, while driving through St. Peter's Square in the Popemobile, he blessed and gave a caress to numerous babies brought by their families.
"Make our life a Magnificat".
"She is amazed when the angel brings her God's announcement and remains at the foot of the cross, while the idea of a triumphant Messiah is shattered," the Pontiff continued. "Mary is a model of humility and littleness, let us ask Mary to teach us to live the virtue of humility, to make our life a Magnificat."
In fact, the reading for the Audience's reflection was the Gospel of St. Luke, when Mary visits her cousin St. Elizabeth, and exults: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, because he has looked upon the humility of his handmaid. From now on all generations will congratulate me".
"The great antagonist of pride."
The Pope began his catechesis by pointing out that humility is not one of the three theological virtues or of the four cardinal virtues, but it is "the root and foundation of the Christian life, the gateway to all the virtues, the great antagonist of the most lethal of vices, pride. Pride and pride swell the human heart. [...]. Humility comes from humus, earth. At times, "we feel invaded by delusions of omnipotence, which do us great harm. We are wonderful creatures, but limited". The Pope cited as one of the remedies for pride "the contemplation of the starry sky, the moon and the stars. [...] What is man that you should remember him?"
Humility is the virtue of people who keep in their hearts the perception of their own smallness, he continued. "There is a very ugly vice, arrogance, pride, which makes us seem more than we are. Humility and poverty of spirit are the door to everything. Humility leads us to place everything in its right measure".
In his address to the pilgrims in several languages, the Pope referred, among other things, to the children who, in Poland and in other places make their First Communion on these dates, so that they may remember the children who suffer in war-torn countries. He also encouraged to pray for vocations and consecrated life.
