Our Lady's smile, reproduced in so much Marian iconography, expresses a fulness of grace and peace that seeks to be shared. This expression of her serenity of spirit effectively contributes to giving the Church a joyful face.

Welcoming, in the Annunciation, the angel's invitation to 'rejoice' (khaire = "rejoice": Lk 1:28), Mary was the first to share in the messianic joy foretold by the Prophets for the 'daughter of Sion' (cf Is 12:6; Zep 3:14-15; Zech 9:9), and she passes it on to humanity in every age.

Invoking her as 'causa nostrae laetitiae', The Christian people find in her the capacity to communicate the joy that is born of hope, even in the midst of life's trials, and to guide those who commend themselves to her to the joy that knows no end.

(John Paul II, 29 Nov 1995)