Pope Francis told priests that Mary is a model of how to be close to people, since “‘she walks at our side, she shares our struggles and she constantly surrounds us with God’s love,’ in such a way that no one feels left out.”

If priests are to say, as Mary does to the servants at the wedding in Cana, “Do whatever he tells you,” they must first be like her – present where things are “brewing,” like at the wedding feast, he said. “Only through this kind of closeness can we discern which is the wine that is missing, and what is the best wine that the Lord wants to provide.”

A priest’s closeness, he said, is needed in a special way at three times, times when the words, “Do everything Jesus tells you,” need to be heard: during moments of spiritual dialogue, during confession and when preaching the homily.