Missing Mary: The Queen of Heaven and Her Re-Emergence in the Modern Church (Hardcover)

+

+

Price For All Three: $53.63

Show availability and shipping details

• This item: Missing Mary: The Queen of Heaven and Her Re-Emergence in the Modern Church by Charlene Spretnak

  In Stock.
  Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
  Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
  

• In Search of Mary: The Woman and the Symbol by Sally Cunneen

  In Stock.
  Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
  Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
  

• Mary Through the Centuries: Her Place in the History of Culture by Professor Jaroslav Pelikan

  In Stock.
  Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
  Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
  

The Resurgence of the Real by Charlene Spretnak 4.4 out of 5 stars (5)  $28.95

Black Madonnas: Feminism, Religion & Politics in Italy by Lucia Birnbaum $19.95

States of Grace: The Recovery of Meaning in the Postmodern Age by Charlene Spretnak 5.0 out of 5 stars (3)

Motherline by Naomi R. Lowinsky

Alone of All Her Sex: The Myth and the Cult of the Virgin Mary by Marina Warner 4.0 out of 5 stars (10)  $15.60

› Explore similar items

From Publishers Weekly
Spretnak, a feminist Catholic and religion professor, argues forcefully that while the "progressive" (rational, modern) wing of Catholicism that initiated reforms in Vatican II made some very good changes, it was utterly wrong to "disappear" Mary. Spretnak purposely uses this verb in the same manner as with unexplained kidnappings and murder by a Latin American junta: the Catholic Church, she says, took the Salve Regina out of the mass and removed her statues from the churches. But just as the families of los desaparecidos keep their loved ones' images alive through private memories and tributes, so too have millions of Catholics kept Mary in her former place as Queen of Heaven. Spretnak is not convinced that it is a more feminist position to reduce Mary to her biblical role as a simple woman from Nazareth; she claims instead that it would be much more empowering to women to return Mary to her cosmological office as a mediatrix and co-redeemer. The book is a nice blend of theological argument and reportage of popular piety, outlining a fissure within the Catholic Church between those who miss the old Mary and those who support her more limited status. Spretnak highlights the resurgence of Marian devotions and veneration, which have been privatized to the home (home shrines, the revival of the rosary) and even the garden (the resurgence of medieval Mary Gardens). Spretnak's writing is engaging but occasionally overly strident, as when she follows a factual statement with the gratuitous italicized comment, "I'm not making this up."
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
"If you have prayed for a closer walk with Mary, then this book is an answer to your prayer. Charlene Spretnak serves not just Mary, but all of us, in returning her to her proper place in the cosmos and in our hearts."
---Marianne Williamson, author of Everyday Grace

"For anyone who has ever loved Our Lady, or desires to, Charlene Spretnak offers a clear vision of Blessed Mother's true and enormous shape - one that some, over time, have tried to reduce to dust. But The Mother of the Immaculate Heart is a wild one. She refuses to be made small. As in the oldest 'call and response' songs, Spretnak has called on Blessed Mother's magnitude. And the Holy One has responded with her immaculate love; this is evident on every page. This book and its author are to be treasured as truly enacting the deepest spirit of ¡Viva La Virgin!" -- Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Ph.D., author of Women Who Run With The Wolves and The Faithful Gardener: A Wise Tale About That Which Can Never Die

"Missing Mary is a classic! Charlene Spretnak offers authentic insight into the mystery that is Mary. The book is elegant, playful, and real. It's history and theology. It's mythic, scientific, and above all, it's cosmological. Her critique of the Marian decisions at Vatican II is wonderful, and her vision is urgently needed now. She has set a great course into the future."
-- Thomas Berry, author of The Great Work

"Missing Mary is a joy to read - luscious language, brilliant ideas, and a many-layered wisdom that continually astonishes. Charlene Spretnak has given birth to a work that, if fully apprehended, will change the course of history. Certainly the debate between science and spirituality is now permanently changed. Spretnak offers direct access to a deep spirituality that has the power to tear open modernity's materialist ideology, allow a fountain of grace to flow into the human heart, and save us from plummeting finally into chaos. The impact on a reader of this daring and beautiful book is profound."
-- Brian Swimme, Ph.D., author of The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos

"In Missing Mary, Charlene Spretnak has returned Mary to our midst where she belongs. Spretnak explores the numerous facets of Marian devotion and doctrine with gusto, including Mary's mystical presence. Spretnak's incisive arguments, her careful research into the shifting perception of Mary since Vatican II, and her clear-headed thinking about the variety of responses to this enigmatic figure are indeed welcome. A profound grassroots devotion to Mary has persisted throughout the centuries. This book brings the wisdom of that ancient belief in the 'Mother Who Contains the Uncontainable' into our world today."
-- China Galland, M.A., Professor-in-Residence, C.A.R.E., Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA; author of The Bond Between Women: A Journey to Fierce Compassion and Longing for Darkness: Tara and the Black Madonna.

"Charlene Spretnak skillfully sheds light on the remarkable reawakening of devotion to the feminine in a modern context. Her careful historical analysis and her clear insights into the cosmological implications of Mary make this book fascinating and indispensable reading. With this path breaking work the bridges can now be made to the enormous energy of devotion to the feminine in many parts of the world that reflect our new historical moment."
--Mary Evelyn Tucker, Department of Religion, Bucknell University

"Passionate and courageous, Missing Mary is a rousing call to recover and reclaim the mystical dimensions of the cosmic 'Queen of Heaven.' Spretnak rescues Mary from social conservatives and actually makes it 'safe' for progressives to reclaim the mysteries of Marian spirituality. In a narrative filled with suspense and surprises, Spretnak traces the fate of Mary in the Catholic Church in recent decades and charts a path for revitalizing her spiritual presence in the world today. For all those who have hungered for the power of the Blessed Mother in their lives, Spretnak's book is a banquet."
-- Professor Sarah McFarland Taylor, Department of Religion, Northwestern University

"Spretnak crosses the bridge between the left and right within the churchto champion the recovery of the full spiritual presence of Mary...Whatever your position on Mary, this book will provide deep insight on Mary in this modern age."
--Network for Women's Spirituality
-- Review

See all Editorial Reviews

First Sentence:
In 1898 Henry Adams, a professor of history at Harvard University, as well as the grandson and great-grandson of two American presidents, encountered the Virgin Mary in Chartres Cathedral. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Blessed Virgin, Blessed Mother, Queen of Heaven, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of God, Great Mother, Juan Diego, Vox Populi, Holy Spirit, Council Fathers, United States, Hebrew Scripture, Seat of Wisdom, World War, Middle Ages, Virgin of Guadalupe, Chartres Cathedral, Pope John Paul, Pope Pius, Early Church Fathers, Hail Mary, Immaculate Conception, Mother of the Church, Joyful Mysteries, Mexico City New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Search Inside This Book:

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

6 Reviews 5 star:  (6) 4 star:    (0) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 5.0 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   33 of 37 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Restoring Mary for Progressive Women & Men, December 22, 2003 By  Marguerite Rigoglioso (California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This book should be right up there with Elaine Pagels' work on the Gnostic Gospels and Margaret Starbird's work on Mary Magdalene. In her characteristically sophisticated and trenchant style, Spretnak interprets and advances the case for the current grassroots resurgence of Marian spirituality, restoring her as a mystical female embodiment of power, compassion, and grace. In doing so, she gives Mary -- BIG Mary, in all her fullness -- BACK to progressives inside the Catholic Church, as well as those who have left the Church, particularly on feminist grounds. She also introduces her to Christians and others who may never have had the benefit of learning about this powerful manifestation of the Sacred Feminine in the West. What's more, by movingly sharing her own love and spiritual connection with Mary, Spretnak invites the rest of us intellectuals who have been cut off from spirit in this post-modern world to open our hearts to new mystical possibilities. As someone who grew up Catholic but has since become disenchanted with the Church and all of its male hierarchy, I was ecstatic reading this book about the Great Mother who has been in my backyard all along. Comment Comments (4) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   4 of 4 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful, October 8, 2007 By  Ann Bronte (Portland OR) - See all my reviews This review is from: Missing Mary: The Queen of Heaven and Her Re-Emergence in the Modern Church (Paperback) Spretnak provides an interdisciplinary scholarly work on Mary. Her sources are solid and her interpretation impeccable. I am familiar with many of her sources, and I am thankful for her groundwork. Spretnak blends psychology, theology, quantum physics, as well as art to illustrate her complex and multifaceted take on why the church has in some ways submerged Mary. I never got that she said Mary was a goddess and so some reviews are perplexing to me. Spretnak never says Vatican II was bad, only that in the attempt at ecumenism with protestants Mary was minimized. I am sure she as well as many realize the benefits of Vatican II. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   5 of 6 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Mary for the new millenium, July 24, 2007 By  D. Kovacs (San Antonio, TX) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This review is from: Missing Mary: The Queen of Heaven and Her Re-Emergence in the Modern Church (Paperback) In this extraordinary book, which is a perfect blend of scholarship and personal experience, science and art, history and hopes for the present and future...Charlene Spretnak, a prosacramental progressive CATHOLIC, makes it clear that Mary is not the Goddess or a goddess but instead, "with her fully human embodiment and experiences, carries forth the lineage of the symbolic sacred female into the Christian era but does so in a new, material dimension". She also includes a whole chapter entitled "Where Mary Still Reigns", which covers current Catholic practice which does NOT minimize Mary. Her scholarship regarding the decisions regarding Mary during Vatican II is faultless and makes fascinating reading. If you enjoyed this book and "got it", you will also want to read her article on the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission and their joint statement entitled "Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ". Her article is called "Anglicans Make Room For Mary" and is also available from Amazon. May the Blessed Mother love us all. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 6 customer reviews...		Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars Eat, Drink & Be Mary! I found Mary through the Goddess. I accepted her as the face of the Goddess & always have. It was interesting to read the de-mystification & stripping of her Goddess attributes by... Read more Published on August 8, 2005 by Kelly Fleming 5.0 out of 5 stars Who's afraid of Mary? I have always had such mixed feelings about Mary. Of course she is the Goddess, and a Goddess of compassion, like Kuan Yin -- but she seems so co-opted and diminished it was just... Read more Published on February 11, 2004 by Ariadne Pythia 5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book for all!! MISSING MARY isn't only for Catholic readers. Spretnak's writing reveals the necessity for "Big Mary", a Divine Feminine archetype in human lives, in human understanding... Read more Published on January 20, 2004 by alexa m lemley Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews › See all 6 customer reviews...

• Books > New & Used Textbooks > Humanities > Religious Studies > Christianity
• Books > New & Used Textbooks > Social Sciences > Gender Studies
• Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Gender Studies
• Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Catholicism > Mariology
• Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Catholicism > Roman Catholicism
• Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Catholicism > Saints
• Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Theology > Christology