Customer Reviews

Discovering Mary: Answers to Questions About the Mother of God

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The author, an Episcopalian who joined the Catholic Church in 2001, opens his latest book with an introduction called "How I Came to Love Our Lady." He lists the more prevalent Protestant views of Mary, revealing that he had "intuited that she who bore the Word in her body had to be special somehow." With so much doctrine to absorb as a new Catholic, Mills didn't begin to appreciate Mary's significance for several years. This book, he writes, is the product of his growing to love Our Lady and his desire to overcome his own "gross ignorance" about her life and work. The remaining chapters, all in question and answer format, deal with the life, titles, and feasts of Mary; Mary in the Bible and Catholic doctrine; and Marian devotions, prayers, and apparitions.

Mills provides facts on Mary generally accepted by the faithful and found in magisterial documents and the work of recognized experts. He explains that the facts are "a way to find the spirit of the thing--which when found helps us see more deeply into the facts."

In an appendix for further reading the author suggests a long-weekend reading plan that offers a "surprisingly complete" introduction to Catholic belief about the Mother of God." He includes guidelines for the three-day plan with sources from Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. He also gives web sites for almost all of the sources. The plan is a great follow-up to the Q&A chapters. It could also be adapted for a retreat or study group

Five Stars

David Mills' Discovering Mary is an ideal book for those looking to meet the Blessed Virgin for the first time and also for those who already possess a deep devotion to our Lady. Mills' prose is excellent and he grabs your attention from the beginning with an account of his early Catholic days as a lackluster devotee of the Blessed Mother ("I was getting at best a C- in knowledge of Mary and a D- in devotion to her"). He shows how a richer understanding of Christ's incarnation led him to embrace Mother of Christ and the Catholic Church. Mills reminds us that Mary does not lead us away from Christ, but leads us to know Him more intimately.

This book is destined to be a classic manual in Marian apologetics. Mills includes a thorough treatment of the life of Mary (including Joseph!), and examines Scriptural accounts of Mary in detail. I appreciated the lucid explanation of the Marian dogmas from Scripture and the Church Fathers, and I also appreciated the book's description of contexts in which Pope Pius IX and Pope Pius XII declared the Immaculate Conception and Assumption of Mary. I was impressed with how Mills delicately handles such issues as Marian apparitions. Related to this is his sober presentation Marian devotions and prayers commonly recited and memorized by the Catholic faithful. I honestly cannot think of a question or topic omitted by Mills. It's all there. Discovering Mary is the ideal go-to apologetics resource for your personal library.

I highly recommend this book - especially as a gift to friends who have yet "discovered Mary."

I am taking a Theology Class and an assignment was to write a paper on Mary and to contrast the Catholic with the Protestant beliefs. Using Scott Hahn as a primary reference, I came across David Mills book and really enjoyed it. He has a question and answer format and gives a great explanation of the Protestant views and how to defend the Catholic doctrine. This book was a great resource and I feel that I understand the role of Mary in our faith much more thoroughly and recommend this book to others especially those who want to understand not only Catholic beliefs but the views of other Christian denominations.