Messaggio della Consigliera per le Missioni _ ENG

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Rome, 14 April 2021.
On the third day there was a wedding in
Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus
was there. Jesus and his disciples were
also invited to the wedding. When the wine
ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him,
“They have no wine.” Jesus said to her, “Woman,
how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet
come.” His mother said to the servers, “Do whatever he
tells you.” Now there were six stone water jars there for
Jewish ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty
gallons. Jesus told them, “Fill the jars with water.” So
they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Draw
some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So they took
it. (Jn 2: 1-8)
Dearest Sisters,
We have arrived at our new appointment, April
14. I greet you affectionately and I would like our encounter today to be rich in hope, trust, and
great joy.
By now, we are in EASTER TIME. We have just recently celebrated Easter, which is the
heart of our faith. Thus, in spite of all the challenges and difficulties provoked by the pandemic…
in spite of all the restrictions and safety measures that sometimes impede the serene and ‘normal’
carrying out of our mission… in spite of EVERY and ANY reality that we are now living… we
look at Mary, the strong woman, who knew how to face suffering with hope and resiliency.
Mary does not only teach us to do whatever Jesus tells us, but she also teaches us to live the
dynamic of the Resurrection in our daily life. She, who accompanied her Son to Calvary and who,
at the time of suffering, with faith perceives the Resurrection event, helps us to re-awaken our best
resources to put ourselves at the service of life, without calculations, without ‘buts’ or ‘ifs’.
It is in this perspective that I suggest you re-read the passage of John’s Gospel (2: 9-10).
“And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine, without knowing where it came
from (although the servers who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom
and said to him, ‘Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an
inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now’.”
In the journey we are making, it is always the episode of the Wedding at Cana that directs
our reflection. In the past months, I have sought to deepen our relationship with Mary by
contemplating her heart, her gaze, her words. It is in order to live with greater awareness, with
deeper joy, our missionary commitment: to bring to the world of youth, Jesus and His Gospel. “Go
into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature!” (Mk 16: 15)
Today, I would like to invite you to contemplate Mary’s hands, the Mother who accepts the
mystery of her son Jesus, the joys and sufferings of her children, all of humanity. Contemplating
Mary’s hands will increase in us the certainty that she is the Mother who provokes changes because
she knows that the miracle is possible. Today more than ever, our world needs a miracle… rather,
many miracles: the miracle of healing and of health; the miracle of abundant and shared bread; the

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miracle of a home and of work; the miracle of peace and of dialogue between peoples and religions;
the miracle of acceptance and of open borders for many migrants; the miracle of ‘good wine’ that
represents all that makes the life of people more serene, more confident, more livable!
If we commit ourselves to be communities that generate life in the heart of
contemporaneity, it will surely be easier to take charge of the miracles the world needs, and thus
our missionary spirit, our “going out, go and evangelize” will make us more credible. It will make
us truly be the sign and expression of God’s foreseeing love (C 1).
If we look at the hands of Mary invoked by us as ‘Help of Christians’, we will see that one
hand holds the scepter and the other holds the Child. If we think of the various expressions of Mary,
loved by the people and incarnated in many cultures, we see that her hands are sometimes holding
the Child, or are in prayer, or are open to give us grace and light. In many depictions of Mary, we
see her hands indicating ‘something’, Someone… indicating her heart, raised towards Heaven,
holding the Rosary, opened in an attitude of praise or of supplication, blessing and offering
protection. They are hands that gather everyone because all are her children.
Dearest Sisters, let us take up the passages of the Gospels that present Mary and let us seek
to look at her hands and to live her attitudes in the reality of our mission, whatever it is.
Think of the praying hands of Mary at the moment of the Annunciation; of her helpful
hands as she sets out towards Elizabeth: of the hands that know how to praise and exalt God
because He has kept His promises; of the motherly hands that receive and make God’s Son grow,
that very ‘normal’ Child who was entrusted to her; of the hands offering Jesus at the Presentation
in the Temple; of the hands that know how to question: “Son, why have you done this to us?” (Lk
2:48); of the industrious hands that get busy so that wine will not be lacking for the joy of the
feast; of the ever-present hands that go to find Jesus when they say: “He is out of his mind” (Mk
3: 21); of the merciful hands that embrace the bloody, lifeless body of the Son of God; of the
silent hands that support the very disillusioned disciples and in the Cenacle implore the gift of the
Spirit.
My wish is that all of us may bring our hands close to those of Mary so that as Her
daughters, we will know how to make Her our model, and thus leave our life, our consecration, and
our mission in Her hands, as well as the world and the events of humanity.
I would like to end with the words of Pope Francis in the General Audience of 24 March in
which he presented a reflection entitled, Pray in communion with Mary. “She occupies a privileged
place in the lives of Christians, and therefore, in their prayer as well, because she is the Mother of
Jesus. … Her hands, her eyes, her behavior are a living ‘catechism’, always indicating the hinge,
she always points out the center: Jesus. Mary is completely directed toward Him to such an extent
that we can say she is more disciple than Mother. The directions she gave at the wedding at Cana:
Mary says, “do whatever He tells you”. She always refers to Christ. She is the first disciple.”
To all of you, dearest Sisters, a warm embrace and a special remembrance in prayer.
Together, let us leave EVERYTHING in Mary’s hands!
Sr. Alaide Deretti
Councilor for the Missions