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Truly Our Sister: A Theology of Mary in the Communion of Saints

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In a previous book, ("She who is"), Elizabeth Johnson helped us gain some insight into the mystery of God seen from a feminist standpoint. She tried to emphasize the feminine in God. She focused on God as "Wisdom Spirit" which is perhaps the most abstract of our concepts of the Divine.
In the present book, so to speak, she comes back down to earth by focusing on Mary, who was intimately linked to the Spirit and yet remains far more accessible to us humans. Mary can be named, and quite naturally be represented as a woman. She is a definitely more attractive, familiar and reassuring image than that of a spirit.
The author goes, maybe with too much detail, into the historical and cultural contexts in which Mary spent her time on earth. She does that in order to show that Mary was a real woman, a real sister to the other women of this world. She rejects the usual image of Mary as the perfect icon because she finds it counterproductive. All the out-of-this-world privileges which are bestowed on her in the classical view, actually put her out of reach from other women. In the end, she has nothing left in common with the real women of this world.
Elizabeth Johnson wants to convince that despite all that has been said, Mary remains within reach of her twenty first century sisters. That Mary was a very active, autonomous and responsible woman who can be and should be a real model for all the women of this world, because she actually was one of them. She lived and strived in a difficult male-oriented patriarchal society. She lived and acted in her own right, and not as someone who received her identity through a man from whom she should necessarily depend.
This also holds true regarding the unique relationship that Mary enjoyed with the Divine. Elizabeth Johnson wants to demonstrate that Mary was not just a passive obedient tool in the hands of God, but an active, willing and determined participant in the history of God's self communication to humanity. When she was visited by the angel, she decided on her own to agree and to go along with God's project. And then, during all her life she remained consistent with this positive and responsible attitude.
A lot of other interesting considerations are to be found all along this stimulating book, if the reader takes his or her time on the way.

"Truly Our Sister," by Dr. Elizabeth Johnson received the Jerome Award form the Catholic Library association, the John Courtney Murray Award from the Catholic Theological Association, and the 2004 Book Award from the College Theology Society in 2004. Dr. Johnson was the first woman to receive tenure form Catholic University of America, and is currently Distinguished Professor of theology at Fordham University, and a sister of Saint Joseph. With such commendations, it appears that the consensus is the book is theologically sound, though it may challenge some preconceived notions.

Dr. Johnson's book in no way denigrates the character of Mary the mother of Jesus, but instead seeks to articulate all of the virtues of Mary that we (and women in particular) can find in Mary as a role model. The "Our Sister" in the title is not intended as some claim to deny the fact that Mary was the mother of God and a role model for maternity, but refers to the fact that as Mary is also God's daughter, and through that aspect she is also our sister through religion. The title's use originates from quote by Pope Paul VI, and as such should not be considered "unorthodox."

The book analyses the virtues that Mary demonstrated in her life, which offer hope and reassurance to particularly women (thought they should not be precluded from men) during daily struggles. Dr. Johnson pays special attention to the plight of oppressed women. In scripture, when the angel appeared to Mary, and asked her to do God's will, Mary said yes. When doing so, she did so without hesitation, and did not first seek the opinion of her male guardian, who during the time period would have had the ultimate legal custody of Mary's future, nor did she consult a rabbi. The implications of accepting God's will were that she may possible be bearing a child out of wedlock, which would have socially stigmatize her, and made her an outcast of society, but she had faith that God would provide. Mary's obedience to the will of God as a priority over concerns about the law of men was courageous and loyal. Her trust in God to protect her during her potential time of difficulty demonstrated exemplary faith, trust, and hope. This is the image of Mary that provides the most help and reassurance to the women interviewed by Dr. Johnson, during their times of ordeal, and hope during times that no physical assistance seems in sight for them.

However, the image of Mary presented by Christianity focused on her obedience, meekness, and virginity. It did not stress that Mary's obedience was to God rather than to patriarchal institutions, and that her humility to God's will. Although it was a miracle for a virgin to give birth and that aspect of the story helps to demonstrate that Jesus was the Christ promised, virginity was not an uncommon characteristic of a young unmarried woman in Jesus' society.

The image that a church dominated by men constructed of Mary as a role model, extols values that make it easy to subjugate women and render their voices invisible. It is an image, ironically, that received no input from women, but to which all women were commanded to use as a role model; basically saying theses are the virtues that you should find inspirational. It is also an incomplete image and does not convey the fullness of virtues demonstrated by Mary, which can help women today: Mary's courage to say yes to God's will, and to follow Jesus to the foot of the cross; Mary's priority of obedience to what is truly good as opposed to what society tells her is the norm; her humility towards God, but her leadership in the realm of men that was demonstrated by her catapulting Jesus' public ministry by asking him to change the water into wine at the marriage of Cana; and an acknowledgement that Mary did suffer when God's will was being fulfilled through the crucifixion.

An image of Mary that neglects these components of her life is not only terrible because it is incomplete and does injustice to the role that Mary played in religious history, but it dangerous to women. Dr. Johnson notes a study by psychologists among women of Hispanic culture, in which women who remain in abusive situations do so because they believe it is their role in life to suffer with humility any injustice that life gives them, as if it is God's will, similar to the interpretation that Mary was always obedient and meek and inactive, as mariansmo, a set of behavioral patterns that women tend to display when living in cultures dominated machismo. People need to be reminded that Mary is not a women who accpeted suffering for the sole sake of suffeirng as a virtue, nor did she accept suffering so that the false laws of men that perputuate injustice would be promoted in society. Mary accepted suffering when it was necessary to do so in order to fulfill God's plan and to contribute to creating his kingdom on earth.

Dr. Johnson's book explores all of Mary's virtues. The end result is an image that pays full honor to the entire scope of Mary's life, rather than propagating an incomplete image of Mary resulting from piecing together only certain aspects of Mary's virtues, which cause predominantly women to recourse to a model that tells them to always suffer injustice quietly as a virtue - the consequence of Christianity's portrayal of Mary for the majority of its existence. Dr. Johnson's image of Mary honors her in all her glory, rather than only highlighting the aspects which can be used against women by cultural and religious institutions. The end result is a role model in which all people (not only women) can find inspiration and better guidance for discerning God's plan for their lives, and a deeper respect for the role that Mary played in her time, which increases the reasons and motivation to honor her.

As an RICA teacher I had been searching for the historical and cultural Miriam of Nazareth, Mary the mother of Jesus. In TRULY OUR SISTER, we learn about Miriam's probable village life in historical context. This book also describes how Miriam was mythologized over the centuries and was taken away from women as an unobtainable ideal. Solid Marian theology.

Elizabeth Johnson is a theolgian much respected by her peers. She does not write theologically incorrect books. Her approach to Mary resonates with all women in a very positive way. In order to understand Mary one needs to understand not only the scriptural references but also the time and culture in which she lived. Each new presentation of her life enriches my understanding of her place in the history of the church. This books does all of this.

I am, for better or worse, a Protestant. After praying the rosary for the first time with an ecumenically minded group of friends, I had a great opportunity to discuss with a Catholic friend the notion of praying to Mary and the communion of saints in general. She loaned me this book which, in all honesty, I've read about half of (I just don't have the time to finish it all). Elizabeth Johnson made Mary more accessible to me. That may be precisely the problem for more conservative Roman Catholics. Johnson uses biblical criticism and feminist theory to sift through Mary's portrayal in Scripture as well as in subsequent tradition. If you aren't open to the insights of feminist theory or biblical criticism then this probably isn't the best place to start your engagement with a Catholic Mary. If, however, you want to find a place for Mary in your own life and thought and are ready for some serious thought, read this book.

I'm a (non-Catholic) Christian trying to find some common ground between my (Roman Catholic) husband's understanding of Mary and my tradition's relative shunning of her. Johnson works to liberate Mary from patriarchal expectations and to place Mary within the body of historical disciples of Christ. She bluntly addresses the criticisms leveled against traditional Mariology before moving into the meat of her book. This approach took the edge off of my suspicion about the book's subject. For the dubious reader concerned about idolatry, the chapter "The Feminine Face of God" is enlightening.

This is a superb work of catholic scholarship and reflection. Catholic religious communities are living traditions, not museums, and the way they experience and understand women now is not what it was 500 or 1,000 years ago. Dr. Johnson repeatedly demonstrates that devotion does not require religious people to be blind to change, development, or maturation. Nor does it mean that they should cling to fantasy instead of reality.

The glory of Catholic theological reflection in the past has been its belief (which I share) that if something is not real, it can't be sacred. This book pursues the reality of what it must have meant to be Mary, and what Mary means now, with reverence and grace.

It is silly to imagine that true catholic, orthodox, or christian reverence regarding Mary's unique place in the communion of saints requires us to pretend that nothing of any note has happened in human history over the past 500 years. That does not seem to be the sort of thing that Mary herself would recommend or countenance.

This is a serious scholarly book and one that has angered some conservatives.
For me, the careful and patient tone makes Johnson's painstaking thought easy to follow. The big surprise is how powerfully moving Johnson can be. For example, she closes her comments on Mary's words at Canna "They have no wine" with a call to the richest nations ..."They have no wine, no food, no clean drinking water": you need to act. This is a strong woman!

She uses a brilliant narrative device to liven a detailed study of the dozen places where Mary appears in the gospels.
She treats each as an element in a mosaic gently teasing out the color and texture of each to form a composite that is both recognizable and fresh. Truly Our Sister.

Being an old white male I also appreciated her firm but gentle introduction to the feminist perspective. It's a gift to be able to see familiar things from a fresh perspective.

I think Johnson is pointing to something quite transformative.
Many could no longer relate to the plaster saint we used to crown with lilacs each May.
Mary is more attractive when she is real.
Truly Our Sister!

This is the best book about Mary that I have ever read. This book shows us a real women who loved her son and gave him the support and love needed to carry out his ministry.

Sr Johnson does something which I believe to be valuable if not indispensable in understanding and truly appreciating Mary or Miriam of Nazareth, which is to take much of the historical dust she has acquired and reveal the incredible yet humble peasant she was. It truly inspires us as it shows us that despite our mundane life truly God is in our midsts, and if like Mary we open ourselves to God's love and respond with the openness that she did God can truly do wonders through us too. One often ignored part of Mary is her Magnificat when she proclaims God's goodness and challenges the men and women of all generations to proclaim God's love to all, which includes often challenging the injustice found in so many of our structures. It is easier to remain with the Mary found in our homes, made of wood, plaster or whatever else. These though they can serve as reminders of the real Mary, can never substitute for the real 1st century Jewish peasant woman who said Yes to God and lived that Yes throughout her life.