Eucharistic people in Mary

	During the 2005 Synod of Bishops, which was devoted to the Holy Eucharist, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio reflected on the Blessed Sacrament and the Blessed Virgin Mary: Our faithful people believe as a Eucharistic people in Mary. They tie together their affection for the Eucharist and their affection for the Virgin, our Lady and Mother (cf. Redemptoris Mater III, 44). In the “school of Mary,” (Rosarium Virginis Mariae, § 1), we can reread contemplatively the passages in which John Paul II sees our Lady as a Eucharistic woman, and sees her not alone but “in the company of” (Acts 1:14) the People of God. We follow here that rule of tradition by which, with different nuances, “what is said of Mary is said of the soul of every Christian and of the whole Church” (Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 57). Our faithful people have the true “Eucharistic attitude” of giving thanks and of praise. Remembering Mary, they are grateful for being remembered by her, and this memorial of love is truly Eucharistic. In this respect I repeat what John Paul II affirmed in Ecclesia de Eucharistia number 58: “The Eucharist has been given to us so that our life, like that of Mary, can become completely a Magnificat.” Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, (Pope Francis) www.catholicculture.org