"MARY, PILGRIM IN THE FAITH, STAR OF THE THIRD MILLENNIUM"

VATICAN CITY, MAR 21, 2001 (VIS) - The theme of John Paul II's catechesis during today's general audience, held this morning in St. Peter's Square, was: "Mary, Pilgrim in the Faith, Star of the Third Millennium."

The Pope affirmed that "the annunciation is 'the point of departure for Mary's whole journey towards God'," a journey which passes "through the winding paths of exile in Egypt and inner darkness, when Mary 'did not understand' the behavior of the twelve-year old Jesus in the Temple, and yet 'kept all these things in her heart'."

"The hidden life of Jesus also passes in the half-light. ... Certainly, shafts of light are not lacking in Mary's life, such as at the wedding of Cana, where - though in seeming detachment - Christ welcomes the prayer of His Mother and fulfills the first sign of revelation, stirring up the faith of the disciples."

The Holy Father emphasized that "the summit of this earthly pilgrimage in faith is at Golgotha, where Mary intimately lives the Paschal Mystery of her Son: she dies in a certain sense as mother in the death of her Son and opens herself to the 'resurrection' with a new maternity in relation to the Church."

"We turn to her," the Holy Father continued, "that she may continue to guide us towards Christ and the Father, even in the dark night of evil, and in moments of doubt, crisis, silence, and suffering."

The Pope recalled that Mary's visit to Elizabeth "is marked by the canticle of the 'Magnificat', a hymn which spans all Christian centuries as perpetual melody: a hymn which unites the souls of Christ's disciples beyond historical barriers, which we are committed to overcoming in view of a full communion."

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