It's very neat to be here. I've heard a lot about this Shrine, about Rue du Bac ever since I was little, and it's neat to be in the place where Our Lady first appeared, where Marian apparitions first started occurring, in a century of the renewal of Marian apparitions. She appeared to Catherine Laboure, and she asked for the Medal to be struck in her image on the front, showing the graces that she was pouring out upon all of Humanity.

The meaning of the rays of the Miraculous Medal is that the rays are the graces that Mary is pouring out on the world, the graces that she receives as the Mother of God and that she as a Mediatrix, as a person who pours those rays, those graces upon humanity. The rays from her hand symbolize that graces that she pours upon humanity.

I would describe grace as being in God's presence, as the spiritual energy or the spiritual help that we need as Christians to live a good life in faith. The special spiritual grace that I need particularly is fortitude, the strength to stand up in an area of the country that isn't incredibly Catholic, the strength to talk about my faith when the opportunity arises, the grace to go to Mass more than I have and the grace to frequent the sacraments. When I first came to know Mary, her role in the Church, I asked for her specific grace to draw closer to her Son. I went in a pilgrimage and found that Mary drew me closer to the heart of her Son, drew me to knowing Him, drew me to loving Him more. And that is consistent with the role she displayed in my life. She has always not drawn attention to herself, but rather, she has been a person who draws you closer to her Son, draws you closer to God our Father.