Our Merciful Mother Mary

There are "seven swords that pierce the Heart of Our Lady in Myanmar," Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, Archbishop of Yangon (formerly Rangoon, the largest city in Myanmar, former Burma) said in a homily at the Marian National Shrine of Nyaung Lay Bin, dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes.

Addressing a crowd of some 100,000 pilgrims, the cardinal said: “The seven swords of Our Lady of Sorrows in Myanmar are: crony capitalism, so few families have everything; the refusal to resolve conflicts through dialogue, but with the use of violence; unjust laws that continue to deprive the poor of their lands; the criminal economy of drugs and human trafficking; discrimination of ethnic minorities; the destruction and looting of natural resources; the lack of opportunities for education and employment for the poor.”…

"Faced with these difficulties," the report sent to Fides Agency continues, "the people ask the help of our merciful Mother. We, as human beings, live with limitations and disabilities. The Blessed Virgin Mary is the one we can trust because she is our loving mother who looks after her children with compassion.”

The Cardinal also recalled that “Christianity cannot be selfish… In this time of Lent, we are called to look after each other. Just as our Mother Mary takes care of humanity."

Adapted and translated from Fides Agency