At the beginning of his encyclical Redemptoris Mater, Pope John Paul II writes :

(...) The Church has constantly been aware that Mary appeared on the horizon of salvation history before Christ. The fact that she "preceded" the coming of Christ is reflected every year in the liturgy of Advent. Therefore... it becomes fully comprehensible that in this present period we wish to turn in a special way to her, the one who in the "night" of the Advent expectation began to shine like a true "Morning Star" (Stella Matutina). For just as this star, together with the "dawn," precedes the rising of the sun, so Mary from the time of her Immaculate Conception preceded the coming of the Savior, the rising of the "Sun of Justice" in the history of the human race (Redemptoris Mater, 3).

When we look at Mary and love her, we understand better the proper demands of the Holy Spirit upon the Church today, in her struggles, her vulnerability, her divine greatness, and in the fragility of her members. Above all, we have a deeper understanding of our happiness as children of God, chosen and loved by Him. Mary is the one best able to lead us to the joy of being saved. It is thanks to Mary that we will be able to live in a divine manner this great preparation for the third millennium of the Church. Is not Mary always the hidden source of any renewal in the Church? Indeed, preparing for this third millennium demands a great renewal, perhaps the most profound the Church has ever undergone.
Therefore this book is an invitation to look at Mary with living faith, in the light of Jesus, Jesus crucified and glorified. While Mary teaches us to look at Jesus, Jesus and the Holy Spirit teach us to look at Mary and to love her as we should. We will never be able to love her as much as Jesus loved her. Nevertheless, Jesus' love for her is the measure of our love. The more we love Mary, the more we allow her to educate us, that is, we allow her to accomplish in us the proper work of the Holy Spirit.

It is in this light that these texts on the Virgin Mary are being published. The majority are taken from conferences given in the form of meditations ; for the most part the oral style has been retained.

The first part shows us Mary facing the great struggles that the Church is undergoing in the modern world.

The second part helps us to discover various aspects of Mary's pilgrimage of faith, especially from the Cross to the Assumption. Indeed, is not Mary's faith the light that is guiding the Church through the great struggles she has to withstand in her journey toward the Kingdom?

The third part shows us that in Mary we discover the spouse of the Holy Spirit. Mary lives a perfect unity of love with the Holy Spirit, in complete docility to Him. Jesus gives her to us as our Mother, that she may be present in our divine life and teach us this same docility toward the Holy Spirit.
Finally, two articles show how this view of Mary is rooted in Tradition, through St. Maximilian Kolbe and St. Louis de Montfort.

.