My dear children: may Jesus watch over my daughters and sons for me!

Tomorrow we will celebrate the Assumption of our Lady, a great feast in our family—in our family that is the Church—which raises our thoughts and hopes to the glory of heaven.

Let us remember that the Virgin Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, is never far from us; on the contrary, in God and through God, she is close to the countless brothers and sisters of her Son, Jesus, and thus intercedes for each and every one of us before God. She is truly spes nostra, our hope.

How often do those words from Saint Paul, spe gaudentes (Rom 12:12), resonate in our souls! Hope and joy that, grounded in faith, make it possible to live, as Saint Josemaría said, "in heaven and on earth at the same time": with our minds deeply immersed in God—being contemplative souls—and our feet firmly planted on the ground (in our family, work, and all noble human endeavors).

What unites heaven and earth within us is, above all, charity, love; a love that is most pleasing to God when it is manifested in service to others.

Please continue to accompany me with your prayers on this American journey, now well underway. The final stage, which was planned for Venezuela, will be rescheduled for a later date. For this reason, I wish to send a special blessing to your brothers and sisters in that nation and ask you to continue praying for all Venezuelans.

Your Father blesses you with all his affection.

Bogotá, August 14, 2024