Pope Francis: Mary teaches us to pray with a heart open to God's will

Pope Francis pointed to the Blessed Virgin Mary as a model of prayer that turns restlessness into openness to God's will in his streamed general audience address Wednesday.

“Mary accompanied the whole life of Jesus in prayer, until his death and resurrection; and in the end it continued and accompanied the first steps of the nascent Church, ”Pope Francis said on November 18.

“Everything that happens around her ends up reflecting itself in the depths of her heart… The Mother keeps everything and brings it to her dialogue with God,” he said.

Pope Francis said that the Virgin Mary's prayer at the Annunciation, in particular, exemplifies prayer "with a heart open to the will of God".

“When the world still knew nothing about her, when she was a simple girl engaged to a man of the house of David, Mary prayed. We can imagine the young girl from Nazareth wrapped in silence, in a continuous dialogue with God who will soon entrust her with a mission ”, the Pope said.

“Mary was praying when the Archangel Gabriel came to bring her his message to Nazareth. His small but immense 'Here I am', which makes all creation leap for joy at that moment, was preceded in the history of salvation by many other 'Here I am', by many trusting obediences, by many who were open to God's will. "

The pope said there was no better way to pray than with an attitude of openness and humility. He recommended the prayer "Lord, what do you want, when you want and how you want".

“A simple prayer, but in which we place ourselves in the hands of the Lord to guide us. We can all pray this way, almost without words, ”he said.

“Mary did not lead her life autonomously: she waits for God to take the reins of her path and guide her where He wants. He is docile and with his availability prepares the great events in which God takes part in the world “.

At the Annunciation, the Virgin Mary rejected fear with a prayerful "yes," although she probably felt that this would bring her tremendously difficult trials, the pope said.

Pope Francis urged those attending the general audience via live streaming to pray in moments of unrest.

“Prayer knows how to calm restlessness, it knows how to transform it into availability… prayer opens my heart and makes me open to God's will,” he said.

“If in prayer we understand that every day given by God is a call, then our hearts will expand and we will accept everything. We will learn to say: 'What you want, Lord. Just promise me you'll be there every step of my way. '"

"This is important: asking the Lord to be present at every step of our journey: that he does not leave us alone, that he does not abandon us in temptation, that he does not abandon us in bad times," the pope said.

Pope Francis explained that Mary was open to the voice of God and that this guided her steps where her presence was needed.

“Mary's presence is prayer, and her presence among the disciples in the Upper Room, awaiting the Holy Spirit, is in prayer. Thus Mary gives birth to the Church, she is the Mother of the Church ”, he said.

“Someone compared Mary's heart to a pearl of incomparable splendor, formed and polished by the patient acceptance of God's will through the mysteries of Jesus meditated in prayer. How beautiful it would be if we too could be a little bit like our Mother! "