Virgin Mary teaches "true humility," says Pope Francis
The Virgin Mary, said Pope Francis on December 8, 2021, during the Angelus, teaches "true humility": " not to have eyes for oneself, but for God and for others." On the occasion of the feast of the Immaculate Conception, the pontiff encourages everyone to live each day, following the example of the Mother of Christ, "with humility and joy.
Mary, the Pontiff emphasized, was "troubled" by the Angel's announcement that she was "full of grace." She was not used to honors and compliments, the 266th pope explained to the many people present despite the pouring rain, because she "felt small inside, and this smallness, this humility, attracted the gaze of God."
Moreover, the Angel's Announcement—adds the head of the Catholic Church—takes place in Mary's home and not in the streets. "In that little house in Nazareth, the greatest heart a creature has ever had was beating," he said.
As with Mary, "God wants to do great things with us in our daily lives: in the family, at work, in our everyday environments," Pope Francis says. Because it is there, he insists, that "God's grace loves to act."
Our Lady, the pontiff says, "frees us from the misleading idea that the Gospel is one thing and life is another." She shows that the ideal of holiness is not a "utopia" but that it is a matter of "living each day what happens to us with humility and joy."
