Month of Mary 2021 – “Hope is in you”

We have all, at different levels, degrees and circumstances, endured a difficult time. There is no doubt that we have suffered, but we have also met again, perhaps with loved ones, perhaps with new friends, or simply lived a time of greater silence and introspection. The Covid-19 pandemic has lasted longer than we expected and even imagined. Today it is possible to say that the situation is different. We have returned to the streets and to life as we knew it. There are things that have not changed. They probably will, or so we hope. There are other things that have allowed us to look at life with new eyes, with the eyes of what is essential. In all of this, the question of God is always necessary and pertinent. What has become of the elusive God of Jesus, in the midst of these storms? He was certainly healing and comforting; there is no doubt that he was feeding communal pots and sharing prayers from a distance. She certainly found a propitious time to enter our homes, laughing with us, teaching some of us the art of cooking, re-educating us in forgiveness and the sublime experience of domestic community. Thus, with its ups and downs; between mourning and celebrations, with attentive and vigilant hope in an important political process that we are experiencing; with ardor in our hearts, like the disciples of Emmaus, to go out, walk, share or simply be with friends and family… this is how the month of Mary finds us. Thus, in the back and forth of a shifting time and profound transformations, we turn our gaze and our spirit towards the mother of tenderness and the strong disciple of the Magnificat. May this blessed month be, above all, maturity in the spiritual journey and dedication to the impoverished face of those who cry out to God for a new time and who together with the “Mother of the weary” pray with hope “they will call me blessed” (Lk 1:48). A simple outline is proposed to accompany the month, which we hope will rather inspire reflection and silence. May this month help us to rest in Mary in order to go out on mission, that is, to meet our brothers and sisters to share life and nourish hope. With an attentive heart, from a mysticism with open eyes and with our feet on the ground – like Mary, to invoke the – as Mary also did; we wish you the best of months. • Invocation to Mary • Bible reading • Brief reflection • For personal and/or community meditation • Open conclusion

PEDRO PABLO ACHONDO TE

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