Dear brothers and sisters,

Dear young people, members of the Legion of Mary, and those devoted to Mama Muxima, the Mother of the Heart, I am pleased to share this moment of Marian prayer with you.

Together we have recited the holy Rosary, an ancient and simple devotion that originated in the Church as a form of prayer for everyone.  Saint John Paul II described it as the prayer of a Christianity that has preserved the “freshness of its beginnings and feels drawn by the Spirit of God to ‘set out into the deep’... to proclaim, and even cry out, before the world that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior” (Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, 1).

As I look upon all of you and share in this intense and fervent moment with the living and young Church of Angola, it seems to me that the words of my saintly predecessor are particularly fitting for this great community, where one can truly feel the freshness of faith and the power of the Spirit.

We are in a sanctuary where, for centuries, many men and women have prayed in times of joy and also in moments of sorrow and great suffering in the history of this country.  For a long time now, Mama Muxima has quietly worked to keep the heart of the Church alive and beating.  Her heart contains a multitude of hearts: yours, and those of many people who love, pray, celebrate, weep, and sometimes — even when unable to come in person — entrust their requests and petitions to letters and postal messages, as His Excellency has mentioned.  Mama Muxima welcomes everyone, listens to everyone and prays for everyone.

We have meditated on the Glorious Mysteries of Jesus’ life, contemplating our destiny in his exaltation and our mission in his love.  At Easter, Christ conquered death, showing us the way back to the Father.  And so that we too may walk this luminous and demanding path, sharing its beauty with the whole world, he has given us his Spirit, who animates and sustains us on our journey and in our mission.  Like Mary, we too are made for heaven.  As we journey toward heaven with joy, we look to her as our good Mother and model of holiness.  Following her example, we bring the light of the risen One to the brothers and sisters we meet.  We expressed this symbolically at the beginning of each decade of the Rosary, represented by people of every vocation and age.

As Bishop Sumbelelo pointed out, this shrine, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, has been spontaneously “renamed” by the faithful Shrine of the “Mother of the Heart.”  It is a beautiful title, which makes us reflect on the heart of Mary: a pure and wise heart, capable of treasuring and pondering the extraordinary events in the life of the Son of God (cf. Lk 2:19, 51).  Praying together, we have done the same, allowing ourselves to be guided by Mary in meditating on Jesus.  We retraced with her the various moments in the life of her Son, to nurture within us a love as universal as hers (cf. Rosarium Virginis Mariae, 11).

Praying the Rosary, then, commits us to loving every person with a mother’s heart — concretely and generously — and to dedicating ourselves to the good of one another, especially the poorest.  A mother loves all her children in the same way and with her whole heart, even though each one is different.  In the presence of the Mother of the Heart, we too want to promise to do likewise.  We strive without measure so that no one may lack love.  We also seek to provide the necessities for living with dignity and happiness: that the hungry may have enough to eat, that the sick may receive the necessary care, that children may be guaranteed a proper education, and that the elderly may live their later years in peace.  A mother thinks of all these things.  Indeed, Mary thinks of all these things, and she also invites us to share in her maternal concern. 

Dear young people, members of the Legion of Mary, brothers and sisters, Our Lady asks us to let ourselves be moved by the sentiments of her heart, so that like her, we may be workers for justice and bearers of peace.  Here, a great project is underway: the construction of a new shrine, able to welcome all who come on pilgrimage.  Everyone — especially you young people — should take this as a sign.  For the Mother of Heaven entrusts a great project to you as well: to build a better, welcoming world, where there is no more war, injustice, poverty or dishonesty, and where the principles of the Gospel increasingly inspire and shape hearts, structures and programs, for the good of all.

It is love that must triumph, not war!  This is what the heart of Mary — the heart of the Mother of all — teaches us.  Let us set out, then, from this shrine as “messenger angels” of life, bringing Mary’s tender embrace and God’s blessing to everyone.

Mama Muxima, tueza kokué, Mama Muxima, tutambululé: “Mother of the Heart, we come to you to offer you everything.” So says the hymn to Mama Muxima, and it continues: “We come to ask for your blessing.”

Dearest friends, let us offer everything to Mary, giving ourselves entirely to our brothers and sisters, and let us joyfully receive, through her intercession, the Lord’s blessing, so that we may bring it to everyone we meet. Amen