The Shepherds found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger. St Augustine said: "You could not find God if God had not first found you." The shepherds could only find the Holy Family in Bethlehem because God had sent angels to them to proclaim the Good News of the Saviour's birth. Similarly we will never really find Mary, never really understand the mystery of Mary, Mother of God, if God does not enlighten our hearts and guide us to contemplate her. If we look at Mary merely with human eyes and in isolation from the history of salvation, we shall have a mistaken image of her - either one that denies the mystery by dismissing her importance, or one that misses the mystery by exaggeration and, in the worst scenario, trying to understand her apart from the mystery of her son, Jesus.

Compared to many exaggerated ideas that some people have about Mary, the official doctrine of the Church is always expressed in very simple and beautiful terms. When our hearts are guided by the teaching of the Church, we will be liberated from all prejudice and God will draw us to find the real Mary, Mother of God.