Words of Pope Benedict XVI, at Mass on Feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe:
…Mary is not only a mother to the Church, she is also a model… Because of her “Yes” to the call of God, the Virgin Mary made manifest to mankind God’s divine love. She continues to point us to Christ, who is the definitive answer to the question about the meaning of our lives and to the many questions posed today in the American continent, he said.
“By her maternal charity, she cares for the brethren of her Son, who still journey on earth surrounded by dangers and anxieties, until they are led into the happiness of their true home,” the Pope said, quoting the words of Lumen Gentium, 62.
It is important, the Pontiff exhorted, that the Latin American countries safeguard their faith and their cultural identity even as they start to play a greater role on the world stage. The Pope specifically mentioned the need to defend human life from its conception until its natural end. He also urged these countries to promote peace and to protect family life…
When the Church was preparing to mark the 500th anniversary of the proclamation of Christ in the American continent Blessed John Paul II announced a program of evangelization new in its ardor, in its methods, and in its expressions, Benedict XVI commented.
As part of my responsibility to confirm in the faith, the Pope said that he also wanted to encourage them in their efforts to strengthen the Christian faith in their countries. If this is done then the number of authentic disciples and missionaries of Our Lord will increase.
The Pope urged them to let their faith orient their lives and to continue in their task of building a society based on developing what is good and in the triumph of love and the spreading of justice. (Underlining is mine)
He finished by entrusting these wishes expressed to the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe. He also invoked the help of the many saints and blessed who over the course of history of the American continent were heroic models of Christian virtue.
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