The pope blessed 6,000 rosaries before giving them away to Syrians.

Pope Francis is gave 6,000 rosaries he personally blessed to Syrian Catholics as a symbolic gesture of closeness in his Angelus message on August 15. The rosaries were given on the Feast of Assumption Day. The pope said the Syrian families ravaged by war are close to his heart. Catholic charity organization, Aid to the Church in Need, made the rosaries.

August 15 was the Major Marian Feast Day; the day commemorating the end of Mary’s earthly life and ascension to Heaven. Pope Francis referred to this in his speech when he said that we should all be looking at Mary and “see the goal.” An ordinary creature who rose to parallel the glory of Jesus himself.

The pope further said every time a person prays with the rosary in their hands, they “take a step towards the great goal of life.” He underlined the prayer is made with faith and said people should continue to pray for peace in the Middle East and the rest of the world.

In his address, the pope borrowed words from the Gospel of Luke. He said, “We rejoice when something so beautiful happens that it is not enough to rejoice inside, in the soul, but we want to express happiness with the whole body. Mary rejoices because of God…she teaches us to rejoice in God, because He does ‘great things.'”

Pope Francis encouraged the Church using Mary as a metaphor for the Gate of Heaven. He hailed Mary for being able to see the greatness in little things and to be able to recognize her purpose. The pope believes we too should be able to do the same. He prayed that the Blessed Mary would guide believers into being able to identify “the place where our true home lies” and not pay heed to the “petty things in life.”

Watch "Pope Francis blesses 6,000 rosaries for Christian families in Syria" on YouTube https://t.co/deVKDerHD7 — Kelly J Small (@Kelly_J_Small) August 16, 2019

He remarked that the Feast of Assumption is a day to alleviate doubts and sadness. One should remember that Heaven isn’t very far if they get disheartened along life’s way. God loves each of us genuinely and equally, and Mother Mary awaits us at the gates of Heaven. Pope Francis said that we should all take the rosary into our hands and pray to her to guide us on our path in life.

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