The final section of Pope Benedict XVI’s Spe Salvi is a tribute to Mary. The Blessed Mother is the Star of Hope. Ave Maris Stella expresses such sentiments in this recording:

It’s amazing the things that come to my recall memory as I jot down this blog. When I think of the image of Mary, Star of Hope, I think of a little parish that my grandmother took me to regularly as a young teenager. It is a parish located in the heart of Geary Boulevard which was a straight shot to the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption in San Francisco.

At the time, Star of the Sea Parish, seemed like an abandon community. Our presence injected life inside its walls as my grandmother took me there to pray the rosary on Wednesdays and offer prayers to Our Lady of Perpetual Help. My grandmother also played the piano for the few gathered to celebrate Mass.

The parish has since transformed and now is a center for the celebration of the Extraordinary Form of the Mass.

Hovering over us was this beautiful blue sky image of Mary, Star of the Sea. Even as a young teenager it captivated my attention and spoke to the depths of my heart.

The panel walls above the sanctuary were filled with images of the mysteries of the Rosary. These were the same images from a little pamphlet my grandmother gave me when she was teaching me how to pray the rosary. In that sense, it felt like I was inside the walls of all too familiar place.

Christ is the true light that we need on this voyage of earthly pilgrimage. Yet, we need those closest to us to radiate this eternal light for us so that we can find him. Who else is closer to us than the Virgin Mary?

The Holy Father reminds us that she embraced the hope of all Israel. Through her consent and obedience to the Holy Spirit, she gave the Word a body. She pondered the will of God in her heart from the darkness of Bethlehem’s cave, to the shadow of her Son’s Cross. The hope deep within her allowed her to trust in the Father’s plan as she stood in the midst of the Christian community as its Mother in Faith. The pope poetically stated that Mary’s faith

even in the darkness of Holy Saturday bore the certitude of hope, you made your way towards Easter morning. The joy of the Resurrection touched your heart and united you in a new way to the disciples, destined to become the family of Jesus through faith. In this way you were in the midst of the community of believers, who in the days following the Ascension prayed with one voice for the gift of the Holy Spirit (50).

She is the Star that leads us to the Eternal Hope we all long to find. Stars do not lead us through the easiest routes in life’s voyage. She is our spiritual compass that pulls our hearts to Christ. I can hear my grandmother’s voice as I think of that hymn Mother of Christ. She sang it often during our prayer times together. The concluding words of this hymn are fitting: When the voyage is o’er oh stand on the shore and show him at last to me.

Lead us, O Mother, to find your Son in the midst of our earthly pilgrimage. Be our guiding hope!