Mary, Woman of Advent

from himself:

...Benedict XVI continued: "Everyone of us, therefore, especially in this season in which we prepare for Christmas, can ask himself: What am I waiting for?

"For what, in this moment of my life, does my heart long?"

He added: "And this same question can be posed at the level of the family, of the community, of the nation.

"What are we waiting for, together? What unifies our aspirations, what do they have in common?"

Pointing to the example of Mary, the Pope acknowledged that "in her heart the longing for the Savior was so great, her faith and hope were so ardent, that he was able to find in her a worthy mother."

He added, "After all, God himself had prepared her before all time."

"There is a mysterious correspondence between the waiting for God and the waiting for Mary," the Pope affirmed, "the creature 'full of grace,' totally transparent to the plan of love of the Most High."

He concluded, "Let us learn from her, the woman of Advent, to live with a new spirit in our daily gestures, with the sentiment of a profound expectation that only the coming of God can fulfill."