Book Description

Mark P. Shea's groundbreaking trilogy Mary, Mother of the Son introduces a modern audience to the Blessed Virgin Mary in a new, exciting, compulsively readable, and comprehensive way. Shea takes the reader on a tour de force of the Marian dimension of Catholic thought, life, prayer, and practice. Along the way, you will discover how various misunderstandings of Mary have arisen and how to cure these misunderstandings. You will gain a clear understanding of the ancient biblical and apostolic fountains from which authentic Marian teaching and devotion springs and grows. You will learn the origin and meaning of the four great Marian teachings of the Church, as well as encounter Mary in the mystical and prayer life of the Church. In Part I: Modern Myths and Ancient Truth, you discover the fascinating way in which Mary emerges with profundity, beauty, and love from the pages of Scripture in the light of apostolic teaching. You probe how the gospel of Christ crowns and perfects, not only the Old Testament, but the deepest insights of the great non- Christian philosophies, religions, and myths. You learn how to read the Bible as the earliest Christians did and find out how Mary safeguards the deepest truths about Christ and his Church.In Part II: First Guardian of the Faith, you will learn about the biblical and apostolic roots of Mary's title as Theotokos; as well as her Perpetual Virginity, Immaculate Conception, and Assumption into heaven. In addition, you will discover the astonishing relevance each of these teachings has, not only for the Christian believer, but for the twenty-first century as it comes to grips with such questions as the dignity, origin, and destiny of the human person. In Part III: Miracles, Devotion, and Motherhood, you will explore the devotional life of the Church: a life which includes not only the worship of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but the communion of saints, the Holy Rosary, the mysteries of private revelation and Mary's God-given role as mother of all who are chosen in Christ.