Customer Reviews

Our Lady and the Church

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Father Hugo Rahner, S.J.--brother, I believe, to the popular and controversial theologian, Karl--has put together a compact and worthy summary of Catholic patristic teaching on Mary, her relationship to the Church, and to members within the Church.

Fr. Rahner takes the major marian doctrines of, for example, her Immaculate Conception, Perpetual Virginity, Divine Maternity, etc., and with parallels from the Church fathers shows how the Church is prefigured in Mary, and how Our Lady is the model and fullfilment of the Church's members. The short book is well organized and chock-full of apt quotes from the great (Greek and Latin) fathers (e.g., Ambrose, Augustine, Ephrem the Syrian, etc.).

This book is a great summary and companion text to accompany one's other, more involved and specific quests in Mariology. I read it inbetween two wonderful books by Fr. Luigi Gambero: (1) Mary and the Fathers of the Church, and (2) Mary in the Middle Ages--also published by Ignatius Press.

I can't tell you how much these books, and other like them, have helped stir, legitimately direct and increase my devotion to Our Lady ("Domina"). And, since where Mary is, the Lord is also, these books have helped me grow in love and adoration of our Savior; Mary's vocation was, is and ever shall be to "magnify the Lord," in a way in which only she--by the graces and election of Almighty God--is capable.

Deo gratias!

This small book is packed with images of Mary that are fertile for prayer and meditation. For example, you will never think of the sacrament of Baptism in the same way again when you focus on the baptismal font as representative of the womb of Mary so that Mary is indeed our Mother as she was the Mother of Christ. You will also see the Marian character of evangelization in which we as Christians become "other Marys" as we give birth to new Christians. All of these insights come from the early Church Fathers as they prayed over the Scriptures and communicated their deep faith to their listeners. Fr. Hugo Rahner (not to be confused with his controversial brother Karl Rahner) originally published this small book in 1961, just before Vatican II. The book reflects the movement for ressourcement or a "return to the sources" that was at the heart of Vatican II. In this book, Hugo Rahner returns to the Scriptures as seen through the eyes of the early Church Fathers who were very Marian.

For anyone (Catholic, Protestant, or Jewish) trying to understand the high place accorded to Mary and her veneration in the Catholic(and Orthodox) Churches, this book is a good place to start. Written by Hugo Rahner, S.J., brother of better known "modernist" theologian, Carl Rahner, S.J., this book lays out, with numerous quotes from the Eastern and Western Fathers, medieval and modern theologians up to the brink of Vatican II, the perennial teaching of the Church that the Virgin Mary the immaculate Mother of Jesus is type and for-runner of the Church,a new creation as "Spotless Bride of Christ." - "What He bestowed on Mary in the Flesh, He has destowed on the Church in the Spirit:Mary gave birth to the One, and the Church gives birth to the Many, who through the One become one." - St,Augustine.

Thus the "Woman Clothed in the Sun giving birth to the man child" of Revelations 12:1,2,5 stands for Mary as iniciator of Salvation in Christ and the Church groaning in fulfillment until the end of time. In this dual yet single role can be seen the mediation of graces of Mary and the Church

It is also in this light, according to Fr. Rahner, that the the Catholic dogmas regarding Mary, especially that of the Assumption takes on meaning. "Our Lady's Assumption, the final history of the body of the woman who gave birth to God, is therefore not so much an exception to the rule, but much more a fulfilling in advance of what is promised to the whole Mystical Body of Christ." This is a must read book on Mariology.

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This book was written nearly fifty years ago, and so it may have a dated feel at times, especially since the Church has put forth encyclicals (Marialis Cultus) and other writings on proper devotion to Mary. However what this book does do beautifully is to draw on scripture and tradition to illustrate the connections between Mary, The Church and salvation history. It helps the believer understand their place in all of this. It's a short and enriching read. I particularly enjoyed reading what the Church has been saying through the centuries about Mary.

I stumbled upon this a few years ago, not expecting much... and discovered an amazing book. I'm fairly well-versed in Catholic theology, and didn't think I had much to learn on the subject of Mary - but I was wrong. This book is filled with a wealth of profound insights I had never previously encountered or considered. Although not an apologetic for the Catholic Church's Marian doctrines, in its presentation of the early Church Fathers' teachings on Mary, this book is one of the most profound and persuasive apologetics on the subject I have ever read.

No less an authority than Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict, called this book "One of the most important theological rediscoveries of the twentieth century."

Short but powerful, this is one of the rare books where deep theological teaching rises to the level of an inspiring sermon: one's heart is moved in its depths, while the mind is flooded with light.

Our beautiful Lady and our beautiful Church are constantly mirroring each other immaculately throughout the pages of this book. Her exalted role in the world is most needed for all of us to look up to as a light while we walk through the valley of the shadow of death. I had an even deeper appreciation for the Roman Catholic Church after reading this book.

Hugo is Karl's brother and a fascinating and very insightful servant of the Lord. His words on our Lady and the Church really take the ancient tradition of Catholic teaching and bring it to the modern day reader in a delightful way.