Mary is the perfect confidante, and she is so much more

To be honest, in my childhood and teenage years, I never had a great, concrete devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In my family, Marian devotion was always a women's affair; the men, perhaps out of shyness, kept to themselves and were more focused on God the Father.

When I went to Paris for college, maybe because I was lonely, I often visited a side chapel of the Virgin, at the back of a church in the 5th arrondissement. I confided many things to her magnificent statue, in the semi-darkness of the church: my joys, my sorrows, my needs for encouragement, and my gratitude. She was the perfect confidante.

But there is more. Later, when I began to write on apologetics, I realized something amazing: every time I have to write about a Marian dogma, I start the work reluctantly, thinking that there is too much mysticism or too many miracles surrounding it. I start out feeling overwhelmed but the chapter comes to me easily. The arguments seem to flow, and everything just fits together beautifully.

And it's really not on account of my intelligence! I don't feel like I write things that I understand, but rather that I understand as I write. It’s a very strange experience. For example, I have to write something soon about whether or not Mary can be called "coredemptrix," which is a very tricky subject. Frankly, from a purely rational, philosophical, and theological point of view, I am not off to a great start. But, educated by experience, I am nevertheless hopeful: everything will untangle itself. The knots will come undone!

Frédéric Guillaud, former student of the École Normale Supérieure, professor of philosophy and author of Dieu existe (God Exists)