Our Lady of the Shadows. Sometimes when I see shadows, especially as a summer day is nearing its end, I think of Mary.
Firstly, to live in the shadow means to live in the shade, and to live in the shade is cool—literally speaking. You are protected from the sun and comforted. Mary gives us consolation and security. “In the shadow of your wings I take refuge till the storms of destruction pass by” (Ps 57:1).
Secondly, a shadow is contingent upon a primary object, and it takes the shape of that object. The sun setting behind the house casts a shadow, and the shadow is of the house, for instance. Mary is a shadow of the Church. Jesus the Light shines upon his Body the Church, and the shadow is his Blessed Mother. She is, after all, the “woman clothed with the sun” (Rev 12:1). The significance of this? Mary makes the Church appealing. Again, it's cooler in the shade—colloquially speaking. “In the shadow of your wings I rejoice” (Ps 63:8).