Walking with Mary


Book Description

Mary appears only a few times in the Bible, but those few passages come at crucial moments. Catholics believe that Mary is the ever-virgin Mother of God, the Queen of Heaven and Earth. But she also was a human being--a woman who made a journey of faith through various trials and uncertainties and endured her share of suffering. Even with her unique graces and vocation, Mary remains a woman we can relate to and from whom we have much to learn. In Walking with Mary, Edward Sri looks at the crucial passages in the Bible concerning Mary and offers insight about the Blessed Mother's faith and devotion that we can apply in our daily lives. We follow her step-by-step through the New Testament account of her life, reflecting on what the Scriptures tell us about how she responded to the dramatic events unfolding around her. “This book is the fruit of my personal journey of studying Mary through the Scriptures, from her initial calling in Nazareth to her painful experience at the cross,” writes Edward Sri “It is intended to be a highly readable, accessible work that draws on wisdom from the Catholic tradition, recent popes, and biblical scholars of a variety of perspectives and traditions. With the riches of these insights, we will ponder what her journey of faith may have been like in order to draw out spiritual lessons for our own walk with God.” He add, “It is my hope, therefore, that whether you are of a Catholic, Protestant, or other faith background, this book may help you to know, understand, and love Mary more, and that it may inspire you to walk in her footsteps as a faithful disciple of the Lord in your own pilgrimage of faith.”




Mother of God


Book Description

A sweeping, ambitious study of the Virgin Mary’s emergence and role throughout Western historyHow did the Virgin Mary, about whom very little is said in the Gospels, become one of the most powerful and complex religious figures in the world? To arrive at the answers to this far-reaching question, one of our foremost medieval historians, Miri Rubin, investigates the ideas, practices, and images that have developed around the figure of Mary from the earliest decades of Christianity to around the year 1600. Drawing on an extraordinarily wide range of sources—including music, poetry, theology, art, scripture, and miracle tales—Rubin reveals how Mary became so embedded in our culture that it is impossible to conceive of Western history without her.In her rise to global prominence, Mary was continually remade and reimagined by wave after wave of devotees. Rubin shows how early Christians endowed Mary with a fine ancestry; why in early medieval Europe her roles as mother, bride, and companion came to the fore; and how the focus later shifted to her humanity and unparalleled purity. She also explores how indigenous people in Central America, Africa, and Asia remade Mary and so fit her into their own cultures.Beautifully written and finely illustrated, this book is a triumph of sympathy and intelligence. It demonstrates Mary’s endless capacity to inspire and her profound presence in Christian cultures and beyond.




The Reed of God


Book Description

The Reed of God is an inspirational classic written by a British Roman Catholic ecclesiastical artist, Caryll Houselander. This book contains a beautiful meditation on Mary, Mother of God and so much more. Reading this book will bring you closer to Our Blessed Mother, and hence, to Christ Himself. Filled with lyrical prose and touching analogies, the author shows how Mary was the "Reed of God" and that we are all vessels waiting to do God's work, and carrying Christ within us.




Mary's Journey


Book Description

Mary's Journey is a meditation on Mary in the life of the Bible, in the teachings of the Church, and in our life of worship and devotion. It outlines the journey of faith by the most beloved female figure in the Catholic faith tradition. It reflects the best of contemporary scholarship and theological insight. A collection of well-known Marian prayers appear at the back of the book. Father Cameli writes: "I invite you to share in this meditation. Together we will certainly recognize the unique and privileged place of Mary in the story of salvation and in the Church. We will also see her setting a pattern for our journey and accompanying us along the way. My hope is that you, the reader, will return to your own image of Mary, the Mother of God, and find her more alive and present to you than ever before."




Rejoice! Advent Meditations with Mary, Journal


Book Description

You don’t change your life for an idea. You change your life for a person. This Advent, don’t get caught up in the busyness. Don’t get lost in the anxiety of preparing for a day. Joyfully anticipate the coming of the person of Jesus through an encounter with his Most Blessed Mother. Imagine having an Advent that is more peaceful, more joyful, and more meaningful than ever before. The Rejoice! Advent Meditations with Mary Journal not only lets you walk beside Mary during the first Advent, but also lets you get to know her in a way you haven’t before. Rejoice! offers more than insights and information about Mary’s life—it offers an opportunity for you to encounter Mary in the quiet of your heart. Each day, in a few short pages, Fr. Toups provides you with aids to help guide your prayer: A word - Focus on a single word each day to draw out the details, the specifics of who Our Lady is. A reflection - Learn more about Mary, the culture in which she was raised, and the world in which she lived. A Psalm - Each day, you’re given a Psalm to pray (just as Mary herself would have prayed) to help you enter into prayer. A reading - In reading Scripture, you find the Word of God, bringing you closer to Mary, who carried the Word in her body. A prompt - Space is provided each day to journal. Record how the Lord is speaking to you







Godly Play


Book Description

Meaningful, lasting learning comes from childlike curiosity and play. The approach of this book is to make relgious instruction fun, spontaneous and deeply spiritual. Godly Play is a practical yet innovative approach to religious education--becoming childlike in order to teach children.




Rethinking Mary in the New Testament


Book Description

Scholars often have questioned how much the New Testament can tell us about the Mother of Jesus. After all, Mary appears only in a few accounts and speaks on limited occasions. Can Scripture really support the many Marian beliefs developed in the Church over time? In Rethinking Mary in the New Testament, Dr. Edward Sri shows that the Bible reveals more about Mary than is commonly appreciated. For when the Mother of Jesus does appear in Scripture, it's often in passages of great importance, steeped in the Jewish Scriptures, and packed with theological significance. This comprehensive work examines every key New Testament reference to Mary, addressing common questions along the way, such as: What was Mary's life like before the Annunciation? Is there biblical support for Mary's Immaculate Conception and Perpetual Virginity? Does Scripture reveal Mary as our spiritual mother? What does it mean for Mary to be "full of grace"? How is Mary the "New Eve," "Ark of the Covenant," and "Queen Mother"? Can Mary be identified with the "woman" in Revelation 12? Rethinking Mary in the New Testament offers a fresh, in-depth look at the Mother of Jesus in Scripture—one that helps us know Mary better and her role in God's plan.




The Case for Jesus


Book Description

“This book will prove to be a most effective weapon… against the debunking and skeptical attitudes toward the Gospels that are so prevalent, not only in academe, but also on the street, among young people who, sadly, are leaving the Churches in droves.” – Robert Barron, author of Catholicism For well over a hundred years now, many scholars have questioned the historical truth of the Gospels, claiming that they were originally anonymous. Others have even argued that Jesus of Nazareth did not think he was God and never claimed to be divine. In The Case for Jesus, Dr. Brant Pitre, the bestselling author of Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist, goes back to the sources—the biblical and historical evidence for Christ—in order to answer several key questions, including: • Were the four Gospels really anonymous? • Are the Gospels folklore? Or are they biographies? • Were the four Gospels written too late to be reliable? • What about the so-called “Lost Gospels,” such as “Q” and the Gospel of Thomas? • Did Jesus claim to be God? • Is Jesus divine in all four Gospels? Or only in John? • Did Jesus fulfill the Jewish prophecies of the Messiah? • Why was Jesus crucified? • What is the evidence for the Resurrection? As The Case for Jesus will show, recent discoveries in New Testament scholarship, as well as neglected evidence from ancient manuscripts and the early church fathers, together have the potential to pull the rug out from under a century of skepticism toward the traditional Gospels. Above all, Pitre shows how the divine claims of Jesus of Nazareth can only be understood by putting them in their ancient Jewish context.




Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary


Book Description

“Brant Pitre is one of the most compelling theological writers on the scene today.” –Bishop Robert Barron Bestselling author of Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist casts new light on the Virgin Mary, illuminating her role in the Old and New Testaments. Are Catholic teachings on Mary really biblical? Or are they the "traditions of men"? Should she be called the "Mother of God," or just the mother of Jesus? Did she actually remain a virgin her whole life or do the "brothers of Jesus" refer to her other children? By praying to Mary, are Catholics worshipping her? And what does Mary have to do with the quest to understand Jesus? In Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary, Dr. Pitre takes readers step-by-step from the Garden of Eden to the Book of Revelation to reveal how deeply biblical Catholic beliefs about Mary really are. Dr. Pitre uses the Old Testament and Ancient Judaism to unlock how the Bible itself teaches that Mary is in fact the new Eve, the Mother of God, the Queen of Heaven and Earth, and the new Ark of the Covenant.