In Mary’s Bodily Assumption, Matthew Levering presents a contemporary explanation and defense of the Catholic doctrine of Mary’s bodily Assumption. He asks: How does the Church justify a doctrine that does not have explicit biblical or first-century historical evidence to support it? With the goal of exploring this question more deeply, he divides his discussion into two sections, one historical and the other systematic. Levering’s historical section aims to retrieve the rich Mariological doctrine of the mid-twentieth century. He introduces the development of Mariology in Catholic Magisterial documents, focusing on Pope Pius XII’s encyclical Munificentissimus Deus of 1950, in which the bodily Assumption of Mary was dogmatically defined, and two later Magisterial documents, Vatican II’s Lumen Gentium and Pope John Paul II’s Redemptoris Mater. Levering addresses the work of the neo-scholastic theologians Joseph Duhr, Aloïs Janssens, and Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange before turning to the great theologians of the nouvelle théologie—Karl Rahner, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Louis Bouyer, Joseph Ratzinger—and their emphasis on biblical typology. Using John Henry Newman as a guide, Levering organizes his systematic section by the three pillars of the doctrine on which Mary’s Assumption rests: biblical typology, the Church as authoritative interpreter of divine revelation under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and the fittingness of Mary’s Assumption in relation to the other mysteries of faith. Levering’s ecumenical contribution is a significant engagement with Protestant biblical scholars and theologians; it is also a reclamation of Mariology as a central topic in Catholic theology.

The Introduction to Mary, offers us the opportunity to experience the truth about the person of Mary, our Spiritual Mother, through learning about Marian doctrine and devotion. Also offers answers to ten of the more common objections to Mary. Written by a Professor of Theology and Mariology at Franciscan University at Steubenville. Imprimatur.

Sr. Kathleen searches for and develops a Marian theology very much in tune with today's issues and attitudes. She reflects on Marian symbols and traditional images hoping the Church can reclaim Mary as a woman of faith, a model disciple, proclaiming a song of liberation for the poor and oppressed of our world today.

In his book Mary and the Fathers of the Church, Fr. Luigi Gambero presented a comprehensive survey of Marian doctrine and devotion during the first eight Christian centuries. Mary in the Middle Ages continues this journey up to the end of the fifteenth century, surveying the growth of Marian doctrine and devotion during one of the most important eras of Christian history: the Middle Ages. Fr. Gambero presents the thoughts, words, and prayers of great theologians, bishops, monks, and mystics who witnessed to and promoted the dedication of the Christian people to the Mother of God. Each chapter concludes with readings from the works of these important authors. Many of these texts have never before been translated into English. More than thirty great figures each receive an entire chapter, including such giants as the St. Anselm, St. Bernard, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Bonaventure, St. Albert the Great, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Brigid of Sweden, and Raymond Lull. "A fascinating picture of one of the foundational elements of modern Catholic theology, namely, devotion. All in all, a worthwhile and informative study of devotion to the Blessed Virgin." -Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R. "This book is indispensable for current students of Mariology." -Kenneth Baker, S.J.

Maríu saga, the Old Norse-Icelandic life of the Virgin Mary, survives in nineteen manuscripts. While the 1871 edition of the saga provides two versions based on multiple manuscripts and prints significant variants in the notes, it does not preserve the literary and social contexts of those manuscripts. In the extant manuscripts Maríu saga rarely exists in the codex by itself. This study restores the saga to its manuscript contexts in order to better understand the meaning of the text within its manuscript matrix, why it was copied in the specific manuscripts it was, and how it was read and used by the different communities that preserved the manuscripts.

Through an insightful examination of popular sermons by some of the most famous preachers of the day, Donna Spivey Ellington discusses the importance of Marian devotion to the religious understanding of European Christians in the late medieval and early modern periods. She charts a dramatic shift of emphasis in the public portrayal of the Virgin Mary from the 15th through 17th centuries. As Europe experienced the impact of printing and increased literacy, the Protestant Reformation, the growing development of individualism and a private sense of self, and changing attitudes to women, Marian devotion was also transformed. The Church's portrait of the Virgin gradually became focused less on her body and more on her soul.

Throughout her adult life, the twelfth-century Benedictine nun Elisabeth of Schönau claimed to receive divine revelation through a series of ecstatic visionary experiences. Her reflections on these experiences were recorded and provide both a rich source of understanding of the religious life of a medieval woman and an important perspective on the religious and political ferment of mid-twelfth-century Germany. Anne L. Clark has written the first comprehensive study of Elisabeth of Schönau. In it, she points out that Elisabeth did not transcribe her own revelations, but rather dictated them to the other nuns of the convent and to her brother Ekbert. Clark takes on the problem of Elisabeth's literacy and examines the nature and extent of Elisabeth and Ekbert's collaboration. In addition, Clark offers a new interpretation of Elisabeth's relationship with Hildegard of Bingen, her celebrated—and more studied—contemporary. Clark contends that Elisabeth was not a timid emulator of a brilliant mentor; instead, she had her own spiritual perspective and her own means of expressing it. In this way, Clark firmly establishes the originality of Elisabeth's visionary accounts. In the course of the book, Clark highlights the social dynamics revealed in these religious meditations, particularly Elisabeth's place in a world in which women were subordinated to male authority and lay people were subordinated to the religious authority of the clergy. Elisabeth of Schönau is an informative and groundbreaking work. It will be of particular interest to scholars and students of medieval religion and mysticism, as well as women's studies.

To understand the cult of the Virgin Mary is to understand the Christian relgion. The Virgin Mary is a ubiquitous but enigmatic presence in Christian history and culture. The tradition about Mary forms a vast and multi-layered aspect of Western history, culture and spirituality. It is not just in the Catholic tradition that Mary has become a particular focus of study and interest. Mary has also become a crucial interest for Christians outside this tradition (Protestant, Anglican) as a path to ecumenical understanding. This book is intended as a reference book for the student or scholar seeking knowledge of the history and contemporary practice of the cult of the Virgin Mary. It provides new essays which give overviews of particular areas of study - both historical and thematic - together with texts from primary sources and important scholarly articles, some of which appear in English for the first time. The volume is designed to be suitable for use as a course book at undergraduate and Masters levels. The result is astonishing and will open up whole new avenues for theological and spiritual enquiry. Mary: The Complete Resource will be essential for anyone who has a strong theological or devotional interest in Mary. But it will open the eyes of those who do not.

Adam of Dryburgh (d. 1212), a Scottish Canon of Prémontré, Monk of the Charterhouse of Witham, theologian, reformer, abbot, and hermit, is considered one of the earliest and most important witnesses to the nature of the canonical order in the twelfth century. Adam's theological works and sermons show a familiarity with the theological masters and schools of his day and indicate a profound familiarity with the Sacred Scripture, the liturgy of the Church, as well as, ancient classical and Christian literature. His theological writings are important for Marian theology because they present one of the earliest theological reflections on the status of the Blessed Virgin Mary for the reforming Canonical movement of the twelfth century. Adam's Marian theology maintains a formal Scriptural and Liturgical character; Mary is the daughter of the Father, Mother of the Son, and resting chamber of the Holy Spirit. She is the watered garden, the ark, the queen of heaven, and at the same time, Adam makes her approachable, humble, compassionate, familiar, close, a spiritual model for vowed religious; and, the Mother of the Canonical Order.