'Our Lady is not some magical being out there somewhere, like a fairy godmother. She's not the statue in the parlor. She's something inside of you. Do you understand what I'm telling you?'

'Our Lady is inside me,' I repeated, not sure I did.

'You have to find a mother inside yourself. We all do. Even if we already have a mother, we still have to find this part of ourselves inside.'

...

'When you're unsure of yourself,' she said, 'when you start pulling back into doubt and small living, she's the one inside saying, "Get up from there and live like the glorious girl you are." She's the power inside you, you understand?'

'And whatever it is that keeps widening your heart, that's Mary, too, not only the power inside you but the love. And when you get down to it, Lily, that's the only purpose grand enough for a human life. Not just to love - but to persist in love.'

(The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd)