Standing “near” the Cross “demands more than simply passing by or making a quick visit, engaging in a kind of ‘tourism of solidarity’”. Pope Francis said this in his homily at the Mass he celebrated at the Shrine of the Mother of God in Aglona, Latvia, during his last public event on the second day of his apostolic journey to the Baltic countries. Mary “stood there, at the foot of the cross, with unwavering conviction, fearless and immovable”, Pope Francis explained, referring to the “Stabat Mater”. “This is the main way that Mary shows herself – she stands near those who suffer, those from whom the world flees, including those who have been put on trial, condemned by all, deported. Nor is it that they are simply oppressed or exploited; they are completely ‘outside the system’, on the very fringes of society”. “It means that those in painful situations should feel us standing firmly at their side and on their side”, Pope Francis explained: “All those discarded by society can experience the Mother who remains discreetly near them, for in their sufferings she sees the open wounds of her Son Jesus. She learned this at the foot of the cross”. “We too are called to touch the sufferings of others”, Pope Francis told those present. “Let us go out to meet our people, to console them and accompany them. Let us not be afraid to experience the power of tenderness, to get involved and let our lives become complicated for the sake of others. Like Mary, let us remain steadfast, our hearts at peace in God. Let us be ever ready to lift up the fallen, raise up the lowly and to help end all those situations of oppression that make people feel crucified themselves”. But standing “together” is not enough: we must receive one another, like Mary and John. “For we can stand at the side of many people, even sharing the same home, neighbourhood or workplace; we can share the faith, contemplate and experience the same mysteries, but without embracing or actually ‘receiving’ them with love”. “How many married couples – the Pope said – could speak of lives lived next to one another, but not together; how many young people feel pained by the distance separating them from adults; how many elderly people feel tolerated, but not lovingly cared for and accepted”. “Certainly, when we open ourselves to others, we can get badly hurt”, Pope Francis remarked: “In political life, too, past conflicts between peoples can painfully come to the fore”. Mary, however, “shows herself to be a woman open to forgiveness, to setting aside resentment and suspicion; she does not dwell on ‘what might have been’, had her Son’s friends, or the priests of his people and their rulers, acted differently. She does not give in to frustration or helplessness. Mary trusts Jesus and receives his disciple, for the relationships that heal us and free us are those that open us to encounter and fraternity with others, in whom we find God himself”.