Jubilee of Marian Spirituality
The spirituality of Marian devotions is widespread in the Church and this retreat provides the opportunity to reflect with those gathered in Rome for the Jubilee of Marian Spirituality.
A Jewish proverb states: ‘God could not be everywhere, so He made mothers'. In this Jubilee of Marian Spirituality we celebrate God's gift to us, echoed down the centuries from the very moment of Christ's words from the cross: “Behold, your mother” (John 19:26).
This Jubilee is not some celebration of an abstract devotion of popular piety. Mary, as Pope Benedict XVI once said,
“was the first person to take the ‘way' to enter the Kingdom of God that Christ opened, a way which is accessible to the humble, to all who trust in the word of God and endeavour to put it into practice”.
And so we are called to follow Mary, our Mother, along the pilgrim road to salvation.
The Scriptures provide us with moving accounts of key moments of Mary's life: travelling in haste to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, and that wonderful prayer of praise, the Magnificat; the Mother to whom Simeon addressed the words “and a sword will pierce your soul, too” (Luke 2:35); and, of course, the Mother at the foot of the cross.
“Mary is able to recognize the traces of God's Spirit in events great and small. She constantly contemplates the mystery of God in our world, in human history and in our daily lives. She is the woman of prayer and work in Nazareth, and she is also Our Lady of Help, who sets out from her town “with haste” (Lk 1:39) to be of service to others. This interplay of justice and tenderness, of contemplation and concern for others, is what makes the ecclesial community look to Mary as a model of evangelization. We implore her maternal intercession that the Church may become a home for many peoples, a mother for all peoples, and that the way may be opened to the birth of a new world” (Evangelii Gaudium. n. 288).
Mary, our Mother, is the model for saying ‘Yes' to God and then witnessing to that faith in daily life. May the Jubilee of Marian Spirituality be an opportunity for us, with Mary's help, to renew our faith in God.
The Programme
In preparation for and to coincide with the Jubilee event in Rome, some reflections will be posted 10 - 13 October 2025 to help us participate with the pilgrims of hope gathered in Rome.