Said to be "next to Christ, yet closest to us," the Virgin Mary has been and remains a major figure in world religion. Mary, who carried the Word of God in her very body, is a potent symbol for Christians: by conforming their souls to her likeness, they invite Christ to live within them spiritually. As such, Mary's spirit has pervaded, and partly constituted, the spirit of Christianity itself.   Contextualizing a selection of writings that illustrate Mary's role in the Christian tradition, Sarah Jane Boss--a leading authority on Mary--shows how the Marian cult, doctrines, and devotion have developed over the centuries, from widely differing cultural backgrounds and from both Eastern and Western churches. Together with Boss's enlightening and incisive introductions to the texts, this book is a colorful and engaging introduction to the meaning of Mary.