Ebook
Since the Second Vatican Council the place of Mary in theology and generally in the life of the Church has been at times muted. This is perhaps understandable given the debates concerning Mary's "place" in the documents of Vatican II. In an ecumenical age, it was argued, the church needed a less triumphalist Mariology and piety with a greater focus on Mary as model disciple. In certain respects this has led to a dichotomy between the continued Marian piety of many faithful (and, truth be told, the piety of the post-conciliar popes) and a theological timidity concerning Mary. This collection of chapters seeks to address the current situation of Mariology. Taken as a whole these chapters represent a welcome call for renewal and reawakening in Mariology. The collection is also delightfully eclectic, both in terms of topics covered and in terms of the denominational and academic backgrounds of the authors.
"This work begins with Professor Isabell Naumann's magisterial
synthesis of the contemporary themes and official Church teachings
in Mariology, followed by essays that integrate Mariology with
topics in spirituality, Scripture, theological anthropology,
aesthetics, ecclesiology, and historical theology. A number of the
authors came of age during the pontificates of John Paul II and
Benedict XVI, and their contributions showcase themes in the
theology of these pontificates. This is the most engaging
collection of essays on Mariology currently available in the
Anglophone market."
--Tracey Rowland, St. John Paul II Chair of Theology, Professor,
University of Notre Dame (Australia)
"The reader of Mariology cannot but acknowledge
the complexity of the topic. These contributions illustrate the
richness of Marian traditions throughout Christendom, their
connections with a range of doctrinal, missional, and devotional
aspects, diachronically and in contemporaneity. They show likewise
how these other dimensions feed back into Mariology, adding
dynamism to the topic. Whilst this is a book about tradition, its
message is not about the past; it is a message for our own
time."
--Doru Costache, Senior Lecturer in Patristic Studies, Sydney
College of Divinity, Australia
"Here is a resource that every theologian interested in the study
of Mary will find useful. The chapters, written by a variety of
scholars, contain a wealth of bibliographic references that in
themselves make the book useful. It provides a thorough
presentation of Catholic Mariology to date, with pointers of what
is to come for the future study of Christ's mother, including the
coming interest in biblical anthropology and the value of
ecumenical discussion."
--Virginia M. Kimball, M.A., S.T.L., S.T.D., Adjunct Professor of
Theology, Assumption College, Worcester, MA; former president, The
Mariological Society of America and the Ecumenical Society of the
Blessed Virgin Mary, USA; co-editor, Mary, God-Bearer to a
World in Need
"This book is a scholarly work. The essays published in it are
up-to-date and wide-ranging. The contributors focus our attention
on various dimensions of Marian theology, such as the Holy
Scriptures, patristics, dogmatics, spirituality, liturgy, etc. They
show the importance of the role that Mary plays in God's plan of
salvation and in the life of the Church. Our faith journey with
Mary is best depicted as 'existential, experiential, and
typological.' It enlightens the readers in the best way to look at
Mary as perfect model of the 'sequela Christi.' Every Christian
should read this book because the more we know Mary, the more we
will come to know her son."
--Denis S. Kulandaisamy, Professor of Sacred Scripture and
Mariology, Marianum Pontifical Faculty of Theology, Rome
Kevin Wagner is a lecturer in Theology at the University of
Notre Dame, Australia, specializing in patristics.
Isabell Naumann is a member of the Secular Institute of the
Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary. She is also a member of the Pontifical
International Marian Academy and the Pontifical Council for
Culture.
Peter John McGregor is a lecturer in Theology at the Catholic
Institute of Sydney, and the author of Heart to Heart: The
Spiritual Christology of Joseph Ratzinger.
Paul Morrissey is the President of Campion College, Australia's
first higher education institution devoted to the study of the
Liberal Arts.