15S, Blessed Álvaro del Portillo: continuing his legacy

On September 15, we commemorated the day on which Blessed Álvaro del Portillo, successor of St. Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer, assumed the office of prelate of Opus Dei in 1975. Two weeks later, on September 27, we celebrated his beatification in 2014, an official recognition of his holy life and tireless work for the Church. At the CARF Foundation we honor his legacy, want to understand his impact and offer an opportunity to support the formation of future priests.

Blessed Álvaro del Portillo, a man of faith and service

The Blessed Álvaro del Portillo was born in Madrid on March 11, 1914. Although he began his career as an engineer, his true vocation was to serve God. In 1944, he followed this call and was ordained a priest. Throughout his life, he maintained a close relationship with St. Josemaría Escrivá, whom he not only assisted as a close collaborator, but also as a faithful friend.

After the death of St. Josemaría in 1975, Don Álvaro was unanimously elected as his successor, assuming the responsibility of guiding Opus Dei into a new stage of growth and consolidation. On September 15 of that same year, he became the first successor of the founder of the Work, standing out for his humility and unwavering dedication.

Don Alvaro was known for his profound dedication to others. Far from seeking the limelight, his main desire was to serve with humility, guiding those around him towards a life closer to God. Pope Francis described him as a man who "loved and served the Church with a heart stripped of worldly interest." His focus was always on helping others to discover and fully live their vocation.

beato Álvaro del Portillo

His legacy of service lives on today, especially in the work of the CARF Foundation. The values that Blessed Álvaro del Portillo promoted are the pillars that guide the CARF Foundation in its mission and support for the formation of priests. For Don Alvaro, the education of future priests was not only an academic question, but also a human, spiritual and pastoral one. He believed that priests should be well prepared in all aspects, so that they could be close shepherds, capable of guiding their brothers with humility and simplicity.

Today, the CARF Foundation continues this mission by providing the resources necessary for seminarians and diocesan priests from around the world to receive a comprehensive formation at prestigious universities in the following areas Rome y Pamplona. In doing so, the foundation is not only promoting the education of future priests, but is perpetuating Blessed Alvaro's commitment to the universal Church. The priests trained, with the support of the benefactors of the CARF Foundation, are prepared to work with love and dedication in dioceses around the world, as Blessed Alvaro would have wanted.

The Succession of Blessed Álvaro del Portillo

The election of Blessed Álvaro del Portillo as the successor of St. Josemaría Escrivá was a milestone full of spiritual significance. Over the years, Blessed Alvaro had worked side by side with St. Josemaría, sharing his vision and dedication to Opus Dei and the Church, which naturally prepared him to take over. However, when he received the news of his election on September 15, 1975, Blessed Álvaro was not able to take over. Blessed Álvaro del Portillo He did so with deep humility and a great sense of responsibility.

In lieu of celebrations, he asked for prayers from all the members of Opus Dei, expressing his willingness to serve by saying: "Before the tomb of our beloved Founder, all of us, Holy Father, renew our firm resolution to be faithful to his spirit and also offer our lives for the Church and for the Pope. These words reflect his character, always ready to serve the Church and the Pope.

For Blessed Álvaro del Portillo, it was essential that each person encounter God in the simplest and most ordinary aspects of his or her existence. During his lifetime, he promoted this message and strengthened the presence of Opus Dei in new countries, helping thousands of people to grow humanly and spiritually. It fell to him to consolidate the juridical path of the Work, as seen by its founder.

His ability to lead from humility and service made him a close and respected pastor, whose decisions were always oriented to the spiritual good of all who approached him. This approach, which guided his every decision, made him not only a true shepherd bishop, loved and respected by all those who knew him.

The beatification of Don Alvaro

The September 27, 2014 was a historic day not only for Opus Dei, but for the whole Church. In an emotional ceremony held in Valdebebas, Madrid, Alvaro del Portillo was beatified, officially recognized as a saint. The beatification was possible thanks to a miracle attributed to his intercession: the surprising recovery of a Chilean child, José Ignacio Uretawho, after suffering a cardiac arrest of more than 30 minutes, inexplicably recovered without sequelae. This fact, which was exhaustively investigated by the Church, became a clear sign of Blessed Alvaro's closeness and his continuous care from heaven.

The beatification ceremony was presided over by Cardinal Angelo Amato, representing Pope Francis, who underscored the crucial role of Blessed Alvaro as a model of "unwavering fidelity to the Church and her mission." Hundreds of thousands of faithful attended the event, many of them deeply moved by the recognition of the life and work of one who always lived with exemplary humility.

For many, the beatification of Don Álvaro was the celebration of a man who, through his simplicity, closeness and spirit of service, had touched countless lives. Throughout his life, Blessed Álvaro del Portillo not only helped to expand the Work, but also inspired many to live their faith joyfully, with their eyes fixed on God in their daily lives. This spirit of dedication, which characterized him so much, is still alive today in those who seek to follow his example and continue his mission of serving the Church with generosity and love.

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The impact of Blessed Álvaro del Portillo on priestly formation

One of the most significant legacies left by Blessed Alvaro del Portillo was his firm commitment to the formation of priests. For him, priests should not only be good spiritual guides, but also people capable of accompanying everyone with closeness and humility. This human and spiritual approach remains key to the mission of Opus Dei and the CARF Foundation, which today strives to continue this work in 131 countries and more than 1,100 dioceses.

From the CARF Foundation, we give our benefactors the opportunity to participate in this important mission: to support the formation of the priests of today and tomorrow. The education that seminarians and diocesan priests receive not only prepares them academically, but also pastorally, so that they can be at the service of God and others. By supporting the missionYou are not only contributing with a donation, you are investing in the future of the Church.

Blessed Alvaro del Portillo is a model of total dedication to God and to the Church, and his life continues to inspire tens of thousands of people in many countries and projects, including the CARF Foundation with its work of helping in the formation of priests.

Chiara Lubich and the Jesus of the Fourth Word

Chiara is an indispensable reference in these difficult times in which many Christians feel discouraged because they are a minority in the midst of a pluralistic and complex society that seems to live with its back to God.

The importance of Chiara's texts

These Christians feel abandoned and nostalgic for a past time, supposedly idyllic, which they have not lived. They are overcome by sadness and resemble the bent-over woman in the Gospel (Lk 13:10-17), unable to lift her head up to heaven. These Christians, in need of regaining their joy that Christ brings usIt would be good for them to deepen and meditate on the texts of Chiara, a woman always attentive to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit. She knew very well that the Christian's strength never ceases to be borrowed, for our weakness becomes strength in Christ.

Chiara and the figure of Christ

One of my favorite texts by Chiara Lubich is an article written for the Zenit agency for Good Friday 2000. She was eighty years old at the time, although she could have written it at the beginning of her spiritual journey, for here we find one of the most characteristic features of her spirituality: meditation on Jesus forsaken.

In contrast to the expectations of those Christians attached to the supposed security lived in other times, Chiara presents the figure of a Christ stripped of his divinity on the cross in order to unite himself even more to man, to experience the anguish and helplessness of the human being at certain moments of his life. This is the meaning of the fourth word pronounced on the cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me" (Mt 27:47).

Chiara Lubich

Chiara and the wounded of life

I once read an explanation that did not convince me at all: Jesus had begun to pray a psalm containing these words and his exhaustion prevented him from continuing his prayer. It is possible that Jesus could have been praying that psalm, but it is certain that his words clearly express what he was feeling at that moment. For centuries insufficient attention has been paid to this fourth word, perhaps because some imagined it to be an unanswerable question.

Believers, on the other hand, know, as you recall ChiaraHe also points out that the Father resurrected and exalted his Son forever. In this regard, he further notes: "In Him, love was nullified, light was extinguished, wisdom was silenced. We were separated from the Father. It was necessary for the Son, in whom we all found ourselves, to taste separation from the Father. He had to experience God's abandonment so that we would no longer feel abandoned".

Hope at the feet of Christ

Chiara sees in this Jesus who cries out his abandonment many people who suffer physically, such as the blind, the mute or the deaf, but she also sees those who suffer in spirit: the disillusioned, the betrayed, the fearful, the timid, the disoriented... The latter are the wounded of life, an expression used on some occasions by St. John Paul II, and which I saw not long ago as the sign of a section in a bookstore in Lourdes. I think that those who are sick in spirit are much more numerous than the others, because in a society lacking in solidarity there are countless people who live in loneliness and helplessness.

In them Jesus is abandoned, for as Chiara says: "We can see him in every brother who suffers. By approaching those who resemble him, we can speak to them of Jesus forsaken.".

Sufferers have been sold the idea that their life is a failure and that nothing is worthwhile. But Jesus has suffered much more than all of them. Chiara reminds us that behind all the painful aspects of life there is the face of Christ. We could add that it is a concrete face with identity, even if it has very varied representations, and if his face is recognizable, so must be the face of our brothers and sisters because, as Chiara points out, each one of them is Him.

It is our task to transform pain into love, a task that humanly seems impossible, but it will be possible thanks to the strength and other gifts that the Spirit of Christ infuses us with..

 
 

John XXIII's idea of the Church as a sign and instrument of unity, which was the soul of the Second Vatican Council, was uniquely in tune with the charism of Chiara Lubich.

Chiara and her vision of youth

The evocation of the abandonment of Christ crucified leads me to relate Chiara to Olivier Clément, a well-known French Orthodox theologian. Both had a great admiration for Patriarch Athenagoras and had some personal meetings which they recorded in their writings. In the face of the political-social storms of the time, such as May '68, Athenagoras is not pessimistic or nostalgic for a supposedly better past, and assures Clément that these young protesters inspire him with compassion.

Although they do not realize it, they are completely abandoned young people and their cry is still a cry of orphans. The patriarch, a great expert in humanity, sees the student revolt as a call for help. For his part, Clément stresses that, despite the apparent triumph of nihilism, there is a great void in a protest movement that claims to be the heir of Marx, Nietzsche and Freud.

"Unlike the consumerist economy, based on a culture of having, the economy of communion is the economy of giving ...." Chiara Lubich.

Authentic Christian ecumenism

They believe, like so many others, in the transformation of structures, or perhaps not even in that, although they do not realize that the only creative revolution in history is the one born from the transformation of hearts. For her part, Chiara Lubich, witness of a turbulent era in which Christ is once again abandoned and replaced by hopeless utopias, finds in Athenagoras the heart of a father, a youthful spirit full of faith and hope.

He does not describe him as a separated brother, a very frequent expression in the post-conciliar period, because he is convinced that he belongs to the same house, to the same family. This is authentic ecumenism, in which differences have lost their color thanks to the sun of charity. So much so that the cry of Jesus abandoned on the cross is necessarily addressed to all Christians without exception. The encounter with the abandoned Jesus, present in so many brothers and sisters whom we cannot leave alone, is a good example of ecumenism.

Antonio R. Rubio PloGraduate in History and Law. Writer and international analyst.
@blogculturayfe / @arubioplo

Good Italian literature in 5 books

"There is nothing more metaphysical than truth. And truth is simple."

Speaking of literature, this quote belongs to Five Italian classics (Ed. Rialp), the latest book by the priest and historian Mariano Fazio, and I find it very appropriate to discover the value of good literature. It is a literature that contains much truth. It could be called "metaphysical" because it goes beyond its historical or sociological components and can do a lot of good because of its simplicity and its possibility of reaching the heart of the human being to show him that this heart contains something very big: the capacity for love.

This is the only thing that should concern us, not a brilliant résumé, nor our occupational or leisure prowess that pretends to make us self-sufficient and worthy of childish admiration, nor even less our erudition.

In the evening of life, you will be examined for love.says a classic Castilian, St. John of the Cross. Even non-believers can verify that men also examine other men for the love they have put in people and things.

Mariano Fazio introduces the reader to good Italian literature, that which has marked his reading since childhood and which he has rediscovered in his maturity. Five authors and some of their books are enough to come to the conclusion that good literature is the one that aspires to make us betterThe prevailing mentality of many writers of the last two centuries has been that the only criterion of truth is experience, although there are few things less objective than experience.

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Bishop Mariano Fazio was born in Buenos Aires on April 25, 1960. He has a degree in History from the University of Buenos Aires and a doctorate in Philosophy from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross. He is the author of more than 20 books on modern society and secularization processes.

Dante's Divine Comedy

First of all, the author presents us with this book, which is a book for the path of life, which introduces us to the Florentine poet in the middle of it, and serves Fazio to reach an accurate conclusion: we have to accept our own limitations and we cannot solve existential problems on our own.

Dante himself will have to ask for help, that of the poet Virgil, expression of right reason and human virtues that smooth the path of grace, and that of his beloved Beatrice, who leads him to the light of Paradise.

A notable reflection of this work is that man does everything for love. Love is equivalent to desire, but the negative consequence is that, if this love is directed exclusively towards oneself and material things, the human being ends up failing because he has not had eyes for the love of God and others.

The bride and groom of Alessandro Manzoni

The second greatest work of Italian literature and one of the favorite novels of the Pope Francis. It tells the story of Renzo and Lucia, two young people who encounter all kinds of obstacles to their marriage in 17th century Lombardy.

A nobleman, Don Rodrigo, determined to get Lucia at all costs, will spare no means to make her his. But she will win not only because of her simplicity and natural affection, but also because she trusts fully in divine Providence.

Manzoni, on the other hand, does not hide the defects of his lover, Renzo, although his generosity and ability to be moved by the misfortunes of others will help the young man to mature. Renzo's greatest act of maturity will be that of forgiveness, which he will grant to don Rodrigo, when the latter is dying victim of the plague that devastated Milan at that time.

This engaged couple is the protagonist in a succession of characters who have much to teach us. Even evil can serve as a way for others, like the religious Friar Cristobal, to practice Christian charity to the point of heroism. Manzoni's characters present the most diverse traits, for they are still deeply human. There are saints like Cardinal Federico Borromeo, lukewarm ones like the parish priest Don Abundio or evil ones, with a glimmer of repentance, like the knight Sin Nombre. Good triumphs in Los novios because it is a good that acts, not a fearful resignation. There is a clear message: that of overcoming our own limits without ceasing to trust in Providence.

Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi

The third work presented, a famous story for children. As the liberal thinker Benedetto Croce said, Pinocchio is made with the wood of humanity. Its author professed the liberal and anticlerical ideology, typical of the time of Italian unification in the 19th century, although the substratum of his work is still Christian. As Croce said in an article in 1942, in a context of concern about the horrors of Nazism, "we cannot not be Christians". Despite his intentions, Pinocchio is not a paragon of virtue.

He understands freedom exclusively as freedom of choice, and is continually deceived by characters such as the Cat and the Fox. He makes the mistake of dialoguing with temptation, but the love of his father, Gepetto, and that of the Fairy will redeem him.

Two Italian cardinals, Albino Luciani, the future John Paul I, and Giacomo Biffi were able, with different nuances, to seek a theological dimension in this work, and the latter left this paradox written: "The man who only wants to be a man becomes less of a man.".

Heart, by Edmondod'Amicis

Perhaps the fourth work studied, it is the one that has withstood the passage of time the worst. Many consider it corny and syrupy, as well as impregnated with excessive nationalist rhetoric. I remember that years ago an Italian Catholic journalist was looking for the imprint of Freemasonry in it.

However, Mariano Fazio finds human values in this work that immediately refer back to Christian values: charity, charity, charity and concern for the poorThis coincidence of values can lead believers and non-believers to do things together, instead of engaging in sterile debates.

Giovanni Guareschi

The last chapter of Fazio's book refers to the Don Camillo series of novels by Giovanni Guareschi, a priest of a small town in northern Italy at odds with the communist mayor Pepone. This priest, popularized by the cinema, was remembered in a speech given by Pope Francis in Florence. The pontiff praised his method: closeness to the people and the prayer.

. However, don Camillo is too temperamental a man and the crucified Christ of his church, before whom he often prays, will have to remind him of the attitude of a Christian. Therein lies the whole philosophy of Guareschi, which caused him misunderstandings on both sides: respect for those who think differently from usThe overcoming of differences through love; the understanding of the circumstances of friends, the rejection of the absolutization of politics, of humiliations, of joy in the face of the evil of others?

Five Italian literary classics

A book by Mariano Fazio, recommended in all aspects.. It is not only an invitation to read. It is also an invitation to be better people and to dialogue with God and with others. But dialogue does not consist in intertwining conflicting opinions. Authentic dialogue is an invitation to friendship.

Antonio R. Rubio PloDegree in History and Law. Writer and international analyst @blogculturayfe / @arubioplo

Formation of seminarians: what do they study?

The formation of seminarians is an essential issue! While the universities open their doors, the seminarians also begin a new year of formation, a process that involves not only academic studies, but also a profound integral preparation that forges the future priest.

What does a seminarian study?

With the beginning of the new school and university year, students return to the classroom full of expectations and challenges. For seminarians, this moment not only marks the beginning of a new academic year, but also a crucial stage in their preparation to become priests.

The vocation of the priest is a gift and a gratuitous call to serve God and the Church, a life commitment that requires a rigorous and very broad formation. But how is the formation of seminarians and what does a seminarian actually study during his preparation? How are future diocesan priests, and many religious men and women, formed to face the challenges of today's society and to guide the faithful in their spiritual journey?

The formation of seminarians or of a priest has a high cost for the diocese, which makes support for the formation of seminarians a strategic mission in the Church. Thanks to its benefactors, the CARF Foundation makes it possible for many of them to have access to an integral education that not only encompasses theological and philosophical knowledge, but also their human, spiritual and personal development.

The vocational journey and the formation of seminarians

Before we go into the specific studies that a seminarian undertakes, it is essential to understand that the priestly vocation is a call that many young people feel in their hearts: it is an invitation to dedicate their lives to the service of God and others, following the example of Jesus Christ.

Saint John Paul II, a fervent defender of priestly vocations, said that the vocation to the priesthood is a special grace that God grants to some, calling them to be his ministers and witnesses in the world. This call is answered with a generous yes, which marks the beginning of a long journey of formation and discernment.

juan pablo II formación de seminaristas qué estudia un seminarista
St. John Paul II was concerned with the formation of seminarians and what they study.

What is the academic path of a seminarian?

Philosophical education: the basis for critical thinking

The road to the priesthood begins with philosophical formation, which usually lasts about three years. During this time, seminarians study disciplines that enable them to develop critical thinking and a deep understanding of reality. Some of the subjects addressed include:

St. John Paul II explained that philosophy is one of the keys to understanding the human vocation and the mission of the Church. It is not only an intellectual preparation, but also lays the foundation for a profound reflection on the meaning of life and the vocation to the priesthood.

Theological formation: deep knowledge of the faith

After completing his philosophical studies, the seminarian enters the stage of theological formation, which generally lasts another two or three years. This is where he deepens his knowledge of the Christian faith and Catholic doctrine. The main areas of study include:

Theology is the heart of priestly formation. It is here that seminarians learn to communicate the faith and respond to the challenges of modernity.

formación de seminaristas qué estudia un seminarista

Spiritual formation: the cultivation of the interior life

In addition to the academic formation of seminarians, the spiritual life is a fundamental pillar of their preparation. Spiritual formation is aimed at cultivating an intimate relationship with God. To this end, seminarians must delve into a deep life of prayer and communion with God. This emphasis on prayer and spiritual life is what distinguishes the priesthood from other professions.

Human formation: preparation for ministry

Human formation helps them to develop their pastoral ministry, which is the practical component that allows seminarians to apply what they have learned in a real context. Throughout their formation, they participate in a multitude of pastoral activities. St. John Paul II expressed this idea by explaining that the priest is a man of charity and his ministry must be marked by compassion and closeness to the sufferings of others.

How is this mission of seminarian formation financed?

The formation of seminarians is a strategic and significant investment for the future of the Church. The costs of education, housing, food and materials are high. This is where the CARF Foundationwhich is dedicated to ensuring that no seminarian with a vocation is left without the possibility of formation due to economic reasons.

The complete formation of a seminarian or diocesan priest costs 18,000 euros a year in the University of Navarra and in the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross. This amount includes not only the direct costs of education, but also other associated expenses such as room and board.

The donations to the CARF Foundation not only help cover these costs, but also ensure that seminarians receive the highest quality training (Bologna degrees), so that they can effectively serve the Church and society.

Supporting the formation of seminarians is not only a work of charity, but an investment in the future of the Church. With your donation, you improve the lives of these young men, and their 131 countries, who have decided to respond to God's call.

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

To love: to be good Christian

It does not imply being a person obsessed with many commandments to be fulfilled, before which one can feel overwhelmed, but being a person in love who does everything with the joy of love.

Each of us knows well what it means to love ourselves and what we would like others to do for us. By adding these words, "as yourself," Jesus has placed before us a mirror before which we cannot lie; he has given us an infallible measure to discover whether or not we love our neighbor.

How to love your neighbor

Therefore, whatever you would have men do to you, do also to them (Mt 7:12). It does not say, if you please: What the other does to you, do also to him. This would still be the law of retaliation: An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth (Dt 19:21). It says, rather: what you would like the other person to do to you, do to him/her.and that is quite different.

How many things would change in society if we would put into practice these words of Jesus! It is not so difficult to do so. It is enough to ask ourselves in every situation: if I were in his place and he were in mine, how would I want him to behave towards me?

The words and, above all, the example of Jesus in the Gospel invite us to think, to talk with him in our prayer and to draw consequences. Perhaps when we think of love of neighbor, the first thing we think of is to dedicate some of our spare time to an action of solidarity: accompanying an elderly person for a walk, comforting a sick personGiving alms, distributing food to those who have none, participating in a solidarity party... All this is good, but it is only a small beginning. It can even be an excuse to feel good with a good conscience.

The words of Jesus do not speak of external works of charity but of interior dispositions, essential in our relationships with others. To love, the first thing is to truly love people, to be interested in them, to build bridges of friendship, to share the best we have to offer: our joyful and operative faith, which manifests itself in deeds.

In short, do everything out of love: if you keep silent, keep silent out of love; if you speak, speak out of love; if you correct, correct out of love. Think first of others with true love and then concretize those good feelings in the way that can be most useful to each person.

God's glance

It is about looking differently at the situations and people we encounter in order to live. How? With the gaze with which we would like God to look at usof excuse, of benevolence, of understanding, of forgiveness...!

Christians who in loving give off "the good odor of Christ".

Mr. Francisco Varo PinedaDirector of Research at the University of Navarra.
Faculty of Theology, professor of Sacred Scripture.

What is celebrated today, the 15th day of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary?

Assumption Day: "The stupendous reality of Mary's Assumption manifests and confirms the unity of the human person and reminds us that we are called to serve and glorify God with our whole being, soul and body," Pope Francis.

Importance of the Mystery of the day of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary

The Virgin Mary is full of grace. The intensity and nature of her graces are different throughout her life; one is the grace at her Conception, another at the Encarnacionanother in the Assumption of Mary into heaven. In the latter, the Virgin Mary receives the fullness of holiness.

día de la asunción de la virgen maría
Assumption of the Virgin Jacopo Negretti.

History of the Feast of the Assumption of Mary

The celebration of the Feast of the Assumption of Mary is an ancient feast celebrated in Jerusalem since the 6th century in honor of the Mother of God, probably recalling the consecration of a church in her honor.

This feast, a century later, spread throughout the East under the name of the Dormition of St. Mary and celebrates her passing from this world and Mary's assumption into heaven.

The dogma of the Assumption 

Pope Pius XII, in 1950, declared the Assumption of Mary a dogma of faith. The Virgin Mary, by a special privilege of Almighty God, did not experience corruption: her body, glorified by the Holy Trinity, was united to the soul, and Mary was assumed into heaven, where she reigns alive and glorious, together with Jesus, to glorify God and intercede for us.

In the Apocalypse we can read the passages that relate the Assumption of the Virgin Mary into heaven: "A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, the moon at her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars (Rev 12:1).

And we, prompted by the liturgy at the vigil Mass of this feast, acclaim Our Lady with these words: Gloriosa dicta sunt de te, Maria, quæ hodie exaltata es super choros angelorum.Blessed are you, Mary, for today you have been raised above the choirs of angels and, together with Christ, you have attained eternal triumph.

The day of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Christian life

The Church looks to Mary to contemplate in her what the Church is in her mystery, in her "pilgrimage of faith," and what she will be at the end of her journey, where she awaits, "for the glory of the Most Holy and indivisible Trinity," "in communion with all the saints" she whom she venerates as the Mother of her Lord and as her own Mother.

The Assumption of Mary, Our Lady proposes to us the reality of this joyful hope. We are still pilgrims, but Our Mother has preceded us and is already pointing out to us the end of the path: she repeats to us that it is possible to arrive and that, if we are faithful, we will arrive. Because the Blessed Virgin is not only our example: she is the help of Christians. And at our request -Monstra te esse Matrem-She does not know how, nor does she want to refuse to care for her children with maternal solicitude. It is Christ who passes, 177.

Mary fulfilled in an exemplary way the will of God in her life and that is what led her to reach the glory of God. The Assumption of the Virgin is an example for all Christians.

On Earth we all want to reach God. This is our hope. The Virgin Mary has already achieved this. What she has achieved encourages us. Mary had enormous trust in God and her heart was full of God.

With the collaboration of:

Opusdei.org