To ask Mary earnestly for a smile, for her affection, is not a manifestation of pious childishness. The psalmist says: “The most affluent of the people seek your favor” (Ps 45:13), which in the dimension of faith means people rich in faith, those who have attained great spiritual maturity, thoroughly aware of their weakness and poverty in the eyes of God. In the simple expression of tenderness that is a smile, we realize that our only wealth is the love that God brings us and that flows to us from the heart of our Mother.
(Benedict XVI, homily at Lourdes, September 15, 2008)
