Whether through suspicion or ignorance, serious consideration of what Mary can teach us has been lacking in large swathes of the church for some time. Drawing on careful biblical exegesis, church history and ecumenical thinking, this book suggests how a serious understanding of Mary might influence our ethical thought, and considers some of the key theological tensions at the heart of the church’s engagement with Mary.

Three preeminent historians provide an ecumenicalportrait of Mary by exploring the varied ways in whichthe mother of Jesus is perceived. For Pelikan, Mary is thefocal point for spirited theological discussion and dogma. ForFlusser, Mary is a symbol for myriad Jewish mothers whosuffer and endure — the mater dolorosa in a world of totalinhumanity. For Lang, Mary is the wife and mother throughwhom flows the love and devotion of centuries of faithfulRoman Catholics. Their engaging text, for the first time available in paperbackand with a new Preface, is enhanced by forty-eight pages offull-color illustrations, accompanied by excerpts from earlyChristian sources and from the Mary legend traditions. Illustrations include photographs of actual sites as well asmagnificent reproductions of art inspired by Mary.

Dakota Cross-Bearer is the story of a remarkable man, Harold S. Jones, a Dakota Indian who rose through the ranks of the Episcopal Church to become the first Native American bishop of a Christian church. Born in 1909 and raised on the Santee Reservation in Nebraska, Jones lost his parents at an early age and was adopted by his grandparents, who brought him up as a Christian. Each year his family attended the Niobrara Convocation, a large gathering of Episcopalians drawn from all of the Siouan communities. Jones attended Seabury-Western Seminary in Illinois. After graduating he was assigned to a variety of Native American missions across the northern plains, including those at Wounded Knee, Oglala, and the Cheyenne River Reservation as well as the Navajoland mission in the southwest. Despite encountering discrimination from within the Episcopal Church throughout his career, in 1971 he was elected suffragan bishop of the diocese of South Dakota. Jones's biography sheds light on the importance of Christianity for the Dakotas and other Native American peoples during the twentieth century. His story yields interesting insights into the history of twentieth-century missionary activity among Native Americans and illuminates instances of conflict and discrimination within the Episcopal Church, the processes of clerical training and testing, and the demands of constant relocation.

How do you walk with your children during times of struggle and crisis? Do you feel as if nothing you do will be enough? In Mary's Way, a heartfelt book for moms who struggle to guide children through the various stages of their lives, Catholic speaker and teacher Judy Landrieu Klein shows how her own crisis of faith helped her release her children to the care of the Blessed Mother. In doing so, Klein shows you how to find the love, joy, and peace of Our Lord as you surrender your will to him. Judy Landrieu Klein struggled with her faith as she lived through her son’s near-fatal addiction to drugs and her daughter’s painful anxiety. She discovered she couldn’t handle the relentless pressure of life not measuring up to her expectations and it was eating away at her family. Klein considered Mary’s reaction to the events in the life of Jesus. She meditated on Mary’s fiat and her prayer of total surrender to God’s will and saw how this act of obedience carried on throughout Mary’s life as she witnessed the life of her son. As Klein focused on her devotion to the Blessed Mother, her life and faith were transformed. In Mary’s Way, Klein reflects on the Annunciation and describes her own to struggle to embrace the will of God by surrendering control of her family planning. She meditates on Mary’s powerlessness during the Crucifixion, finding a place of calming surrender during her own son’s escalating battle with addiction. Klein shows how you can become a more powerful intercessor for yourself and your children. When you finish reading this book, you’ll find yourself turning to Mary and surrendering yourself and your children more fully to God.

Now an ebook! With over 200,000 books in print, 33 Days to Morning Glory by Fr. Michael Gaitley, MIC is now available as an ebook through Marian Press. Embark on an extraordinary journey to Marian consecration on your e-reader. From Fr. Michael E. Gaitley, MIC, author of the popular book "Consoling the Heart of Jesus," comes an extraordinary 33-day journey to Marian consecration with four giants of Marian spirituality: St. Louis de Montfort, St. Maximilian Kolbe, Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, and Blessed Pope John Paul II. Father Michael masterfully summarizes their teaching, making it easy to grasp, and simple enough to put into practice. More specifically, he weaves their thought into a user-friendly, do-it-yourself retreat that will bless even the busiest of people. So, if you've been thinking about entrusting yourself to Mary for the first time or if you're simply looking to deepen and renew your devotion to her, "33 Days to Morning Glory" is the right book to read and the perfect retreat to make.

For Christians, apologetics, or giving a reasoned explanation or defense of the faith, is a necessity and duty. Yet the cultural moment in which we find ourselves today demands, possibly more than any other time in history, a New Apologetics-a potent and spirited renewal of apologetics that reaches new audiences, takes new approaches, looks to new models, and tackles new issues. This groundbreaking collection is a bold first step toward making this renewal a reality. Featuring over forty essays from many of today's leading Catholic apologists, theologians, and philosophers, The New Apologetics charts a new course for the future of apologetics: a smart, joyful, and beautiful defense of the faith, one that appeals to both the head and the heart. Though it contains many arguments within its pages, it offers something more fundamental: a prelude to systematic argumentation. Arguments are no good if they are not heard, and The New Apologetics is a kind of intellectual and tactical map for the apologist who wants to be heard in today's world. During his apostolic journey to the United States in 2008, Pope Benedict XVI insisted that "the Church needs to promote at every level of her teaching-in catechesis, preaching, and seminary and university instruction-an-apologetics aimed at affirming the truth of Christian revelation, the harmony of faith and reason, and a sound understanding of freedom." There is an urgent need for the whole Church to respond to this papal summons-and The New Apologetics is just the place to start. Book jacket.

The author offers an interpretation of Mary that is theologically sound, spiritually empowering, ethically challenging, socially liberating, and ecumenically fruitful. She construes the image of Mary so as to be a source of blessing rather than blight for women's lives in both religious and political terms.