Keeping Mary Close: Devotion to Our Lady through the Ages Paperback – October 23, 2015

Mike Aquilina and Fr. Gruber take us on a journey into theology, history, and prayer that ends with a deeper understanding of Mary. KEEPING MARY CLOSE will help the reader appreciate both the why and the how of our devotion to the Blessed Mother.This short Marian devotional provides a splendid account of the theological development concerning Mary as the Mother of Jesus particularly through the eyes of the Fathers of the early Church to the present.

Wow!, really captures the essence of my reaction to this very short and very easy reading book. Each chapter gets right to the heart of the matter. When I bought it, I recall thinking, "what can I learn from such a short book on the Blessed Mother when I have read countless volumes?" I was proven wrong in judging a book by its size. Both authors was amazingly dense but in a format that is very easy to read. My hats off to these workmen!

It will give you a solid base to stand on when you are asked to explain our devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary

Extremely interesting. It will foster your devotion to Our Lady.

It is a beautiful book!

“Keeping Mary Close” focuses on Marian devotion from the end of Christ’s earthly ministry until the Council of Ephesus, famous for affirming Mary as "Theotokos" against Nestorius, in 431. Tendencies in the last two hundred years to “minimize or dismiss” early Marian devotion is what the authors intend to counter. They do this well. Starting with Scripture, they survey all appearances and mentions of Mary in the Gospels. References to her in Paul and Revelation are also examined. Next, pseudipigrapha (ancient Christian writings not included in the canon of Scripture –think Gospel of Thomas), oracles, and traditions are reviewed. Short excerpts from these sources show an enduring and increasing interest in Jesus’ mother. A short chapter on the etymology of the name of Mary, including the famous Old Testament figure of that name (“Miriam”) is interesting. Most of the remainder of the book deals with doctrinal issues regarding Mary: her virginity before, during, and after the birth of Jesus (a fascinating pagan document slurring Mary is excerpted here); Mary as “Theotokos” or the “Mother of God” (Nestorius, and Julian the Apostate, certainly did not agree); the Immaculate Conception, i.e., Mary’s being preserved from all stain of sin, developed from the first Christian generation’s understanding of Jesus’ birth; and, the Assumption or Mary being taken to heaven body and soul without corruption (we are shown its roots go back to the Old Testament).In other chapters, Mary as the New Eve, the antitype of the first woman, is shown to be established by the mid-second century. This is a fascinating motif and the parallels and contrasts between our first mother and our heavenly mother should be understood by all Christians. Near the end of the book, Mary, Star of Evangelization, is highlighted in her role in the early Church and throughout the centuries to the present day. The last chapter speaks of the so-called Rabulla Gospels, illustrated in the sixth century, which highlight Mary’s important role in salvation history. A good explanation of the special type of devotion due to Mary is explained here as well. The book closes, in an appendix, with a long excerpt from Blessed John Henry Newman on “The Dignity of Mary.”If there is one criticism I have of this work, it is that it left me wanting more! It is just over 120 pages and can be read in an afternoon. Fortunately, an extensive bibliography allows the interested reader to go in-depth on any of the topics covered in the book, and more. Two additional works that the reader may find helpful are in my personal library; both are edited by Br. Stanley G. Mathews, S.M. and published by Grail, St. Meinrad, Indiana:” The Promised Woman” (1954, on the Immaculate Conception) and “Queen of the Universe” (1957, on Mary’s Assumption and Queenship).This book, in a forceful way, shows that a Christian tradition without Sacred Tradition is an impoverished one. No Catholic doctrine of Mary in any way goes against the Bible. But ancient tradition, faithfully passed down, as shown here, by Jesus’ own disciples and their followers, gives us so much more to love about Mary and additional reasons to honor her in the special way that her own Son honored His mother.For this reason, this book is highly recommended for Catholics whose own Marian understanding and devotion has waned or never really was a significant part of their prayer and worship. It is also a fine apologetical tool – a gentle way to introduce Protestant friends and family to the long, solid, and biblically-based understanding of Mary that was in place in apostolic times and has grown ever since. If nothing else, it will give all but the most hard-hearted a deeper appreciation of the Woman who said “Fiat!” to the angel (Luke 1:38)

Did find at times hard to comprehend even after reading. Enjoyed all the ideas and recognition of Mary, Mother of Christ.

I was christened a Catholic, since my mother was from a Polish Catholic family, and my father, although raised a Presbyterian, had declared himself an agnostic. Throughout most of my life, I have been very open minded and eclectic in my religious and spiritual views, but lately I have been researching Christian history and origins, and Christian beliefs and doctrines. I picked up this handy little volume in a Catholic bookstore here in Albuquerque. I wanted to find out more about how Catholics view and venerate the Virgin Mary, and this book seemed to have some interesting stuff in it, a bit different and offbeat compared to the other books that were recommended to me. I never knew that apocryphal and pagan books, such as the Odes of Solomon and even the Sybilene Oracles, were also sources for the veneration of the Virgin Mary! I was hoping that this book would be a real eye opener, but the rest of the book was rather staid and conventional. It did a good job of explaining the history and origins of Marian doctrines in the Catholic church, and explaining them in a way that was generally accessible and easy to understand, but no real earth shattering revelations were forthcoming. Nevertheless, it did provide some food for thought against which I could probe and weigh my own beliefs about the Virgin Mary and the place she held in Christian doctrine and worship. Neither did convert me into a true blue Catholic and reconvert me to my baptismal roots. I was still left wondering why a belief in Mary's perpetual virginity, as opposed to merely being a virgin for conceiving and giving birth to Jesus as the Son of God, was really necessary. Is Marian belief simply something you can order as you wish from the theological menu, according to your own personal level of fervor and devotion, in options ranging from plain and unadorned all the way to supersized with all the fixings? I'll leave that to you to decide!