Friday, June 26, 2009

What the Bible really says about Mary

Peasant Mary

She's the simple peasant girl
they call Queen of Heaven.

Strong Mary statue

She's the Lord's humble servant,
yet an icon of womanly strength.

Mary, Mother of All

She's ever-virgin
and the mother of all.

Mary full of grace

She's lowly and exalted;
filled with grace
and font of grace.

Sinners fly to her . . .

Annunciation

but an angel bowed.

Madonna and Child

She's Mary, the mother of Jesus:
the most recognized
woman in history.


And the most
misunderstood.

Goddess
Swirls
Mary of the garden
Non-Christians paint her as an earth goddess.
Skeptics say she's a projection of male psychological needs.
And others regard her as a ordinary, sinful woman.

With all the noise about
our Blessed Mother these days

Magazines featuring stories about Mary.

it's hard to hear the Church's
sure, strong voice speaking
quietly about her.

Now comes
Dr. Mark Miravalle,

Author Mark Miravalle with the Pope.

intent on helping the Church
dispel the fog of popular nonsense
that obscures Mary today.

Dr. Miravalle describes himself as
"a card-carrying, Rosary-praying Catholic,"
b
ut he's also a veteran professor of theology
at Franciscan University of Steubenville,
and a Mariologist: "one who studies Mary."

To provide sure and ready answers
to the countless questions surrounding Mary
today, Dr. Miravalle has just finished
a slim volume about her:

Meet Mary
Getting to Know
the Mother of God.



Meet Mary (book cover)

Meet Mary leaves behind rumor
and speculation, giving you instead
a clear and straightforward
presentation of what the Church
actually teaches about Mary.

For believing Catholics, it's a
welcome refresher course.

For inquiring non-Catholics and even
non-believers, it's an excellent introduction
to the woman revered by hundreds of millions.

Coronation of Mary

In Meet Mary, you'll encounter:

      • Everything the Bible says about her

      • What the early Christians believed, and why

      • Every one of the key teachings the Church
        has ever proclaimed about her.

More importantly (for Mary herself desires
to be known intimately, not academically)
you'll learn how to enter into a personal
relationship with Mary.

You'll soon come to regard Mary as Jesus did:
not as a distant and unapproachable figure
in the heavens, but as a good friend
and a tender, loving mother.

Madonna and Child

Best of all, Meet Mary will help you
become a better disciple of Jesus.

For the Son commands
us to imitate Him in all
things, and that includes
perfect love of his mother.

Meet Mary (book cover)

Meet Mary
Dr. Mark Miravalle
$12.95 list 144 pgs ppbk
1-800-888-9344

www.sophiainstitute.com

"It's time for you to know more
about the Mother of the Lord,
and this book will do
precisely that for you."

Dr. Scott Hahn

Table of Contents

Chapter 1
Mary in the Bible and the early Church
Mary in the New Testament
Mary in the Old Testament
Mary in the early Church

Chapter 2
The Four Marian dogmas
Dogma versus doctrines
Mother of God
Mary's perpetual virginity
The Immaculate Conception
The Assumption

Chapter 3
Mary's spiritual motherhood
The meaning of motherhood
Giving life
Nourishing life
Sustaining life
Living communion

Chapter 4
Marian devotion
Higher than the Angels
The Rosary
History of the Rosary
Christian meditation and the Rosary
The heart of the Rosary
The Brown Scapular
Marian consecration
What about those statues?

Chapter 5
Mary in private revelation
Theology of private revelation
Now forms of private revelation
The Church and Marian apparitions
Degrees of Church approval
Mary's message to the modern world
The Miraculous Medal revelation
Lourdes, Fatima
Contemporary reported apparitions

Conclusion
A faithful mother

Appendix
The Rosary
and other Marian prayers

The structure of the Rosary
The 20 mysteries of the Rosary
How to pray the Rosary
Other Marian prayers


_____

Meet Mary
Dr. Mark Miravalle
$12.95 list 144 ppbk
1-800-888-9344

www.sophiainstitute.com

Please forward this email to others
who may be interested.


Other Books on Mary
that might interest you:

Saint Worship and the Worship of Mary (cover)
Holy Mary (cover)

Why all Christians
are obliged to venerate
Mary and the saints

Protestants call it idolatry and modernists see it as quaint superstition, but in these lucid pages written over a century ago, Catholic author Orestes Brownson demonstrates that veneration of Mary and the saints is not merely permissible; it's essential for every Christian who yearns to worship God in spirit and in truth.

Worship comes from the Anglo-Saxon word weorthscipe, which means "worthy of honor." And Mary and the saints are worthy of honor more than all other created beings.

As Christians praise God in the majesty of the heavens and of the earth, so they praise Him by venerating Him in His saints, who are also the work of His hands and whose good deeds are possible only by His grace.

Such praise is not idolatrous because idolatry is the act of rendering to created things the worship that is due to God alone.

Catholics do pray to Mary and to the saints, but they don't invoke them as God; they call on them as humans --- humans whose nearness to God in Heaven enables them to assist us here on earth. Catholics simply ask of Mary and the saints what they ask of each other while they live in the flesh: prayers.

Brownson explains that veneration of Mary and the saints arises from two central mysteries of our Faith --- the creation and the Incarnation.

And he shows that saint worship is not just a pious devotion that Christians can take or leave as they choose. Rather, it must be part of the faith of every Christian, for it serves as a critical safeguard against atheism, pantheism, and idolatry.

Saint Worship and the Worship of Mary challenges every Christian --- Catholic and Protestant alike --- to take a fresh look at veneration of Mary and the saints, and to discover in these wise and worthy devotions sure means to keep alive in their souls the great mysteries of our Christian Faith.

Mary, the very
first Christian
. . . and the best!

She was the first Christian, the first person called to know Jesus personally, and to love and serve Him.

Because Mary knew Jesus better than anyone has ever known Him --- and served him more perfectly --- her life is a model for all of us Christians.

Unfortunately, our knowledge of Mary is quite limited. Scripture affords us glimpses of only a handful of incidents from her life. But, as Fr. John Kane shows in these pages, the good news is that the details of those incidents are spiritually rich beyond measure.

Each one is worthy of contemplation; each contains a lesson for sinners like you and me; each is a lesson direct from the Blessed Mother herself!

With spiritual deftness, Fr. Kane here draws from Mary's words and deeds (and even from her silence) the many holy lessons she has for us, so that in our lives we can rely on the wisdom that formed hers.

Mary shows us how to grow attentive to God's presence within us, to walk by the light of faith, to remain serene when doubts afflict us, and even --- when we're angry, hurt, or misunderstood --- to bear ourselves toward others as she did.

Mary teaches us how to let God direct our steps, how to remain humble in commanding and obeying, and how to seek holiness through our daily work. She shows us how to pray with humility and perseverance, to advance in perfection, and, by doing all these things, to conform ourselves to the holy will of God.

Holy Mary, Mother of God is a comprehensive spiritual introduction to Mary, the Mother of God, the greatest saint the Church has ever known, the woman God's own angel declared "blessed among women."

Mary --- the first and the best Christian --- is the woman we each should emulate. These crisp, readable chapters show us how to do so.

Holy Mary,
Mother of God

272 pages $14.95


View other great
Catholic books at our:

$2 PER BOOK
INTERNET CLEARANCE SALE

Thursday, June 11, 2009

The Devil & the Duck

There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm.


He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods.

He practiced in the woods; but he could never hit the target.

Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner.

As he was walking back he saw Grandma's pet duck.



Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head and killed it. He was shocked and grieved!

In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile; only to see his Sister watching! Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.




After lunch the next day Grandma said, 'Sally, let's wash the dishes'

But Sally said, 'Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen.'

Then she whispered to him, "Remember the duck?'

So Johnny did the dishes.

Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing and Grandma said, 'I'm sorry but I need Sally to help make supper...'

Sally just smiled and said, 'well that's all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help?

She whispered again, 'Remember the duck?' So Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed to help..

After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally's; he finally couldn't stand it any longer.

He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck.

Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug and said, 'Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing, but because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.'



Thought for the day and every day thereafter:


Whatever is in your past, whatever you have done... And the devil keeps throwing it up in your face (lying, cheating, debt, fear, bad habits, hatred, anger, bitterness, etc.)...whatever it is...You need to know that:
God was standing at the window and He saw the whole thing.



He has seen your whole life..... He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven. He's just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave of you.

The great thing about God is that when you ask for forgiveness; He not only forgives you, but He forgets.



It is by God's grace and mercy that we are saved.

Go ahead and make the difference in someone's life today.

Share this with a friend and always remember:

God is at the window!


When Jesus died on the cross; he was thinking of you!