Customer Reviews

Mary Within: A Contemplation of Her Titles and Powers

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I was given a copy of this book by the author and asked to read it and comment on it. As a former Catholic Priest and psychotherapist, I must agree with Richard Roar" This is how theology and psychology should come together". I found myself captivated by this scholarly,yet understandable masterpiece. This is an inspirational book and should be necessary reading for every seminary and household regardless of your religion.David's expose on archetypes and methaphore reaches to the depths of one's very essence, challenging and clarifying one's beliefs and illustrating to the reader exactly how to pray from your heart and not just with words. It has inspired me to write a book on 150 Psalms, Poems, Letters, Prayers and Meditations for the Millenium. I challenge you to become inspired and search the Mary Within you. If you haven't read Mary Within, you must! You won't be able to put it down. Good reading!

I read this book a while ago and still go back to it occasionally. It is a wonderful exploration of the true power of Mary and is also an inspiring rendering of adult faith that I so yearn for (and find so little of) in the Catholic Church I was raised in and am so familiar with. This book, as well as others of Mr. Richo's, deepens our understanding of religion, giving it the permission to grow that is denied it by fundamentalist and institutionalist forces. He encourages us to move beyond literal belief into a more universal realm that has room for more of creation.

Being fluent in `Catholic,' `Jungian,' and `American,' he enlightens our common experience by revealing that there's a place below all the various kinds of religious thought. Many Buddhists have understood this more universal and more present place, and it is refreshing to see Richo bring these truths through the Christian matrix.

Too often religious ideas, symbols and scriptures are kept frozen by being referenced outside of ordinary people in their ordinary lives. Why are we so afraid to let them come alive? Mary is not only the woman who lived 2000 years ago and was the mother of Jesus; not only the teachings that have come down through the ages; not only whatever we can think about her. She is something real, something present, something beyond explanation that can only be experienced. Richo brings Mary alive by showing how for each of us she is here in the present and indeed resides within.

MY BOOK IS ABOUT: The feminine aspect of God as personified by Mary is built into the design of every human psyche.

This book is about how we have always venerated not the literal Mary but the feminine dimension of the divine that she represents and enriches. Using the titles of the Litany of Loreto-including prayers for each- with depth and reverence, this book opens a dialogue about Mary. We see her as a personification of the virtues and destiny of all of us, including the so far unexplored dark side. The book is written with respect for Catholic tradition and it helps us expand our spirituality and update our view of religion in general. (davericho.com)

"What a brilliant confluence of images and energies! David Richo has made a very useful set of connections between Mary and the deepest archetypes of the human psyche. This is how theology and psychology should come together. Good scholarship that could lead to good prayer." -Fr. Richard Rohr, O.F.M.. Franciscan priest and writer