"The protection of Mary accompanies us throughout our lives"--Pope Benedict XVI

Aug 15, 2007 / 07:17 am

“The protection of Mary accompanies you throughout your life”, the Pope reminded the faithful today, before reciting the Angelus prayer on the Feast of the Assumption. The Holy Father also expressed his hope that her example may “inspire and sustain” those who follow Christ and so share in the glory of the Resurrection.

Addressing the crowd outside the Apostolic Palace at Castel Gandolfo, the Pope explained that because Our Lady is now assumed into heaven, she “is not far from us, but rather remains ever closer to us, and her light is projected on our life and on the entire history of humanity.”

“Attracted by the celestial brilliance of the Mother of the Redeemer,” he said, “we resort with trust to the one on high, who watches us and protects us”. 

The Feast of the Assumption, the Pope said, “reminds us that the Blessed Virgin Mary is one with her divine son and always in agreement with him”.  Mother and Son, he added, are “closely associated in the struggle against the infernal enemy until there is complete victory over him”.  That victory, he said, is over sin and death.

For this reason, the Pope went on, “just as the glorious resurrection of Christ was the definitive mark of this victory, so the glorification of Mary in her virginal body constitutes the final confirmation of how much she is in full solidarity with her Son in the struggle for that victory”.

The Pope then referred to Pope Pius XII’s solemn declaration of the Assumption as a formal dogma of the Church, on All Saints Day, 1950.  Quoting Pope Pius’ apostolic constitution to underline the depth of theology of the dogma, he said: “The revered Mother of God, from all eternity joined in a hidden way with Jesus Christ in one and the same decree of predestination, immaculate in her conception, a most perfect virgin in her divine motherhood, the noble associate of the divine Redeemer who has won a complete triumph over sin and its consequences, finally obtained, as the supreme culmination of her privileges, that she should be preserved free from the corruption of the tomb and that, like her own Son, having overcome death, she might be taken up body and soul to the glory of heaven where, as Queen, she sits in splendor at the right hand of her Son, the immortal King of the Ages”.  (Apostolic Constitution of Munificentissimus Deus, 1950)

Concluding his address, the Pope reminded the faithful that “we all need her help and comfort to confront the trials and challenges of each day”, and to be able to share one day in her same destiny, imitating, in docility, her generous service to mankind. 

It is only in this manner, the Pope said, that we can “already look forward to, here on our earthly pilgrimage, the peace and joy that exists in fullness for those who arrive at the immortal destination of Paradise”.