'She is our Mother...she defends us,' Pope Francis pronounces on the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows memorial Mass

And Mary had such great suffering, but she didn't go away. She didn't deny her Son! He was her flesh.'

Pope Francis delivered a touching message during Mass at the Casa Santa Marta on the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows Thursday morning.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - According to Vatican Radio, the pontiff said in a "world that suffers the crisis of a great orphanhood," we all have a Mother who accompanies and defends us.

He shared the story of Calvary. Each of the disciples scattered but St. John, who remained with a few women at the foot of the Cross, where the Blessed Virgin remained.

People shouted, "That's the mother of this delinquent! That is the mother of this subversive!" the Holy Father shared.

"And Mary heard these things. She suffered terrible humiliation. And she also heard the dignitaries, even some priests, whom she respected, because they were priests, [saying] 'You who are so good, come down! Come down!' With her Son, naked, there [on the Cross].

"And Mary had such great suffering, but she didn't go away. She didn't deny her Son! He was her flesh."

The Pope spoke of Mary's motherly and righteous act then compared her to the women who waited in lines in Buenos Aires to visit prisoners.

"They were moms," he explained. "But they were not ashamed: their flesh was there inside. And these women suffered not only the shame of being there - 'Look at her! What did her son do?' - but they also suffer the ugly humiliation of the searches they had to undergo before entering.

"But they were mothers, and they went to find their own flesh. And so it was with Mary: she was there, with her Son, with that very great suffering."

When Christ died on the Cross, His Holiness not only died for our sins - he also gave us his Mother.

"We Christians have a Mother, Jesus' [Mother]; we have a Father, Jesus' [Father]," Pope Francis explained. "We are not orphans! And she gives birth to us in that moment with such great sorrow: She is truly a martyr. With a pierced heart, she accepts giving birth to all of us in that moment of sorrow.

"And from that moment she becomes our Mother, from that moment she is our Mother, the one who takes care of us and is not ashamed of us: she defends us."

Mother Mary has long been a pillar of strength over the centuries, with even early mystics turning to her for peace and protection.

"The devil can't enter here," the Pope proclaimed then explained Mary will defend like any other mother.

"In a world we could call an orphan," he stated, "in this world that suffers the crisis" of orphaned generations, "perhaps our help lies in saying 'Look to your Mother!"

Our Mother is one "who defends us, teaches us, accompanies us; who is not ashamed of our sins. She is not ashamed, because she is our Mother. May the Holy Spirit, this friend, this companion along the way, this Praclete or advocate Whom the Lord has sent, make us understand this very great mystery of the maternity of Mary."

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