Hail, Holy Queen (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "MOTHERS ARE THE most difficult people to study..." (more)
Key Phrases: Jesus Christ, Virgin Mary, New Testament (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Hail, Holy Queen: The Mother of God in the Word of God is theologian Scott Hahn's follow-up to his bestselling The Lamb's Supper. Like the previous book, Hail, Holy Queen melds autobiographical reflections, scriptural interpretation, and historical anecdotes in an accessible style to clarify some sophisticated points of Catholic theology. From the book's first sentence ("For all my newfound piety, I was still fifteen years old, and all too conscious of 'cool'"), the author's assured voice will capture the reader's interest. Readers outside Catholicism who are mystified by the centrality of Mary in Catholic devotion, and Catholics who wish to become more knowledgeable and reflective about a central aspect of their faith, will be especially drawn to Hail, Holy Queen. Among the book's most interesting claims is Hahn's contention that Marian devotion has shaped common ideas about motherhood. Hahn's teenage consciousness of cool made him ashamed of his mother. That kind of shame, he argues, helps to shape many Christians' ideas about Mary. And yet, citing John's Gospel, Hahn writes, "As He hung dying on the cross, in His last will and testament, Jesus left us a mother." Hail, Holy Queen charts a course from shame to respect and love. --Michael Joseph Gross

From Publishers Weekly

Roman Catholics have long had a reputation for their devotion to the woman known as the Blessed Virgin Mary, and Hahn, a convert to Catholicism, is uniquely qualified to both explain and justify the practice. A former Protestant minister who once condemned Marian piety as idolatrous, Hahn's theological writings (Rome Sweet Home; The Lamb's Supper) now illuminate his adopted faith for many a cradle Catholic. His treatment of the woman many consider the mother of God is accessible theology, written in the style of one who is skilled in making lofty ideas understandable and interesting. Using the Bible and scholarly sources, Hahn asserts that Mary was given by Christ to be the mother of all Christians, and that those who do not accept her as part of their family are woefully bereft. He goes on to trace the Church's high regard for Mary to the early days of Christianity, when, he writes, Mary was regarded as the "new Eve" and was identified with the "ark of the new covenant." Hahn also deals carefully with the Catholic Church's teaching on Mary's immaculate conception and assumption into heaven, and answers the objections of those who, as he once did, regard devotion to Mary as akin to goddess worship. Although he writes mainly to enlighten fellow Catholics about the basis for the Church's great reverence for Mary, Hahn's well-researched work will be instructive to anyone interested in the history of the Church's teaching on this subject. (Apr.)Forecast: Hahn's most recent book, The Lamb's Supper, has sold more than 60,000 copies for Doubleday. Given the widespread interest in Mary among Catholics, this title should do even better.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; 1st edition (April 17, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385501684
• ISBN-13: 978-0385501682
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (106 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #60,359 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #13 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Catholicism > Mariology
  #57 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Catholicism > Saints
  #59 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Reference > Criticism & Interpretation > New Testament

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No wonder all generations call her blessed, and now I do too, May 9, 2001

By	Juan (Newark, NJ) - See all my reviews

I didn't want to read this book. I became a born-again believer fifteen years ago, and left the catholic church to join a local independent Reformed Baptist Fellowship. I found Jesus and the Bible. My wife did too. And then she started "backsliding," as Pastor White put it.

It started when our catholic neighbors got us to listen to some of Scott Hahn's tapes. They called themselves bible-believing catholics! That didn't make sense to us. So we made a deal. We would listen to Hahn if they agreed to listen to our pastor's sermons on tape. I thought they would see the light for sure.

Then a funny thing happened on the way to Cape Cod last summer. That's when we listened to Hahn's "Answering Common Objections", five tapes all the way through. The next morning I found her on the beach reading the Hahn's book, "Rome Sweet Home". I also found a copy of Hahn's other book, "The Lamb's Supper" in her beach bag. It turns out that our catholic neighbors were more generous than I thought, not just with tapes but books too. She finished them both in less than four days. Some vacation.

That's when I tried to call a halt to all the catholic nonsense. By then it was too late. My wife enrolled in RCIA in the fall and joined the catholic church last month at Easter... but not before she agreed to one more deal, this time with me.

I gave her my well-worn copy of Dave Hunt's book, "A Woman Rides the Beast", which tries to prove that the catholic church is the "Whore of Babylon" in Revelation. In exchange, I agreed to read Hahn's new book, "Hail, Holy Queen", as soon as it came out.

A slam dunk, right? Wrong.

For one thing, she had no trouble ripping Hunt's case to shreds, with the help of Karl Keating and Catholic Answers. On the other hand, I had no trouble seeing how the catholic church's teaching about Mary comes straight from the Bible, the WHOLE Bible, not just the New Testament, but the Old. As Baptists, we had always used the New Testament alone. Hahn shows convincingly that the only way to really understand what Jesus says and does in the New Testament, is by rooting it in the Old Testament. Then he applies it to Mary, to show why the early church fathers all saw her as the New Eve, the Ark of the new covenant, and the Queen Mother of the son of David. The bottom line, Mary really is Christ's masterpiece. Mary takes nothing away from her Son and Savior, since all her glory is His gift. It makes so much sense, and it is both true and beautiful.

The story has a happy ending. After much prayer and study, I've decided to join my wife by rejoining the catholic church next month at pentecost. Thank you Lord, and Dr Hahn too.

51 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hail Mary Full of Grace..., August 13, 2004

By	Dennis Phillips "The Book Friar" (Bulls Gap, Tennessee USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

There is no issue that tends to divide Catholics and Protestants more than the veneration of Our Blessed Mother Mary. Protestants just can't understand this devotion to Mary, while Catholics can't understand it's absence. Scott Hahn, one of the leading defenders of the Catholic faith has taken on the subject in this book and has tried to explain in simple terms why Catholics venerate the Virgin Mary.

Hahn comes at this subject in a different way than most Catholic authors because he is a former Presbyterian minister. As such, he is able to grasp Protestant objections to Marian devotions and is able to present his information in a way that counters all possible objections. Furthermore, even though Hahn is a seminary graduate, he presents his information in a manner that will allow anyone to grasp what he is saying.

This book will be especially valuable to new Catholics, those thinking about conversion, or any non-Catholic who wants to know more about the Catholic Church. It will also be valuable however to the so-called cradle Catholics who will find much information about Mary that they may have never been exposed to and any Catholic will be moved toward a greater devotion to Mary after reading this book.

Anyone who is not familiar with the dogma of the Catholic Church will find one problem however. Hahn defends the Assumption of Mary in a very understandable way but it is never explained. Those unfamiliar with the Faith will come away convinced that the Assumption happened but still will not know the story of this event. The author does suggest a book on the subject in sort of an afterthought, but the book he suggests is by his own admission, out of print.

This oversight, while important, still does not detract from the overall effectiveness of this book. The evidence is presented in a clear and well-written manner and will not be over most people's head. It will however, be best understood if the reader keeps a Bible handy to further investigate the author's references. For Catholic readers, this book is imprinted with a Nihil Obstat and an Imprimatur and therefore does not express any opinion contrary to Church doctrine. This book, although short, is bursting at the seams with information and should be on the reading list of all Catholics, possible converts, and any serious student of theology.

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eminently readable and insightfully structured, April 17, 2001

By	Edward Cardinal Egan (The New York Archdiocese) - See all my reviews

In simple and straightforward prose, Dr. Scott Hahn's "Hail, Holy Queen" explains the place of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Christian piety. Eminently readable and insightfully structured, "Hail, Holy Queen" examines and analyzes the biblical and theological foundations of Marian devotion with insight and deep faith.