“MARY’S secret is humility,” Pope Francis told faithful gathered at St Peter’s Square for his Sunday Angelus.
God looks at the heart, he said, and Mary’s humility drew God’s gaze to her.
Oftentimes the human eye was instead overtaken with appearances and grandeur, while overlooking the essential importance of humility, he said.
By looking to Mary assumed into Heaven, Pope Francis said we see how “humility is the way that brings her to Heaven”.
To rise up to Heaven, we need to be humble, he said, noting the origin of the word humble comes from the Latin word humus meaning “earth”.
Our gifts or wealth were not what allowed us to be exalted by God, but instead it is our humility, our loving and serving God in total giving that matters, he said.
This means we should examine ourselves and how we are doing with humility in our own live, he said.
Do we listen, like Mary, or desire to be the one always talking in order to have the attention and praise, he said.
These are important questions to ask ourselves and especially when looking to the Madonna, saying “in her littleness, Mary wins heaven first”, because she recognized her “lowliness” since with God, “only those who recognise themselves as nothing can receive the all”.
Pope Francis said Mary was “full of grace” because of her humility.
He said the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was a “huge message of hope for us”.
“Mary reminds you today that God calls you too to this glorious destiny,” he said.
These are not just nice words, but “pure reality” he said, “as live and true as the Madonna assumed into Heaven”.
In conclusion, he asked everyone to pray that Mary may “accompany us on our journey that leads from Earth to Heaven”, striving to live with humility, the secret to our journey.
