"When we encounter the cross, we turn to Mary: Give us the strength, Mary our mother, to accept and embrace the cross". Pope Francis October 11, 2013.

Mary is "Blessed among Women". In her blessedness we are all blessed. "She did not view herself as a fortunate individual in the midst of a barren people, but prophesied for them the sweet joys of a wondrous maternity of God, for "his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation'(Lk 1:47, 50)" Benedict XVI, May 13, 2010   

"The contemplation of Christ has an incomparable model in Mary. In a unique way the face of the Son belongs to Mary. It was in her womb that Christ was formed, receiving from her a human resemblance which points to an even greater spiritual closeness. No one has ever devoted himself to the contemplation of the face of Christ as faithfully as Mary.... When at last she gave birth to him in Bethlehem, her eyes were able to gaze tenderly on the face of her Son, as she wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger (Lk2:7).  Thereafter Mary's gaze, ever filled with adoration and wonder, would never leave him" (Rosarium Virginis Mariae, -John Paul II).

"Mary, although conceived and born without stain of sin, shared in an admirable manner, the sufferings o her Divine Son, to be Corredemptrix of humanity" -John Paul II, Sept 8, 1982.

‘This is my body which is given for you’ (Lk 22:19)
"What must Mary have felt as she heard from the mouth of Peter, John, James and the other Apostles the words spoken at the Last Supper: ‘This is my body which is given for you’ (Lk 22:19? The body given up for us and made present under sacramental signs was the same body which she had conceived in her womb! For Mary, receiving the Eucharist must have somehow meant welcoming once more into her womb that heart which had beat in unison with hers and reliving what she had experienced at the foot of the Cross. ‘Do this in remembrance of me’ (Lk 22:19). In the ‘memorial’ of Calvary all that Christ accomplished by his passion and his death is present. Consequently all that Christ did with regard to his Mother for our sake is also present. To her he gave the beloved disciple and, in him, each of us: ‘Behold, your Son!’ To each of us he also says: ‘Behold your mother!’ (cf. Jn 19: 26-27).  Experiencing the memorial of Christ’s death in the Eucharist also means continually receiving this gift. It means accepting—like John—the one who is given to us anew as our Mother" (Bl. John Paul II, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 56 & 57).

"The Holy Spirit, finding His dear spouse present again in souls, will come down into them with great power.  He will fill them with His gifts, especially wisdom, by which they will produce wonders of grace... That age of Mary, when many souls, chosen by Mary and given her by the Most High God, will hide themselves completely in the depths of her soul, becoming living copies of her, loving and glorifying Jesus.". -De Montfort #217

For John Paul II, it was no coincidence that his life was saved on the feast of Our Lady of Fatima as he was aware that the course of history and that of each person is in her maternal hands. The Holy Father credited Our Lady for re-directing the bullets and saving his life. He would later say: “One hand fired, another guided the bullet.”