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                                  VIS-Press releases   
      
   MARY'S MESSAGE: OPENNESS TO THE ACTION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT   
      
   VATICAN CITY, 8 DEC 2010 (VIS) - At 4.15 p.m. Benedict XVI went to place the   
   traditional floral wreath at the foot of the statue of Mary, in celebration of   
   today's Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. The statue stands on a column   
   in Rome's Piazza di Spagna, directly in front of the Spanish embassy to the   
   Holy See.   
      
   Before arriving in the square, the Holy Father stopped briefly at the Church of   
   the Most Holy Trinity to greet the Dominican Friars and the members of the Via   
   Condotti Storeowners Association. Once in the square, in the presence of   
   thousands of faithful, he blessed a basket of roses which was placed at the   
   foot of the column bearing Mary's statue.   
      
   "We are gathered here around this historic monument, which today is surrounded   
   by flowers as a sign of the people of Rome's love and devotion for the Mother   
   of Jesus", the Pope remarked. "And the most beautiful gift, ... we can offer   
   her is our prayer, the prayer we carry in our hearts and entrust to her   
   intercession".   
      
   "Yet when we come here, and especially on this 8 December, what we receive from   
   Mary is much more important than what we can offer to her. She gives us a   
   message, addressed to each one of us, to the city of Rome and to the entire   
   world. I too, as the bishop of this city, come here to listen, not just for   
   myself but for everyone. And what does Mary say? She speaks with God's word,   
   which became flesh in her womb. God's 'message', in none other than Jesus. ...   
   Mary tells us that we are all called to open ourselves to the action of the   
   Holy Spirit in order to achieve, as our ultimate destiny, the immaculate state,   
   fully and definitively free from evil".   
      
   "This is the message that Mary gives us", the Holy Father went on. "And it   
   strikes me particularly when I come here on this day because I feel it is   
   addressed to the entire city, to all the men and women who live in Rome,   
   including ... those who do not even remember that today is the Feast of the   
   Immaculate Conception, and those who feel alone and abandoned. The gaze of Mary   
   is as the gaze of God upon each one of us. She looks at us with the same love   
   as the Father, and she blesses us".   
      
   "The Mother looks upon us as God looked upon her, the humble girl of Nazareth   
   insignificant before the eyes of the world but chosen and precious before God.   
   In each of us she recognises a likeness to her Son Jesus, even though we are so   
   different! But who better than she knows the power of divine Grace? Who better   
   than she knows that nothing is impossible for God, Who is even capable of   
   drawing good from evil?"   
      
   "This", the Pope concluded, "is the message we receive here at the feet of Mary   
   Immaculate. It is a message of hope for everyone in this city and in the entire   
   world".   
   BXVI-HOMAGE/VIS 20101209 (530)   
      
   SUMMARY   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS =Meridian, MS= bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)