There's Something About Mary

I confess---I am woefully ignorant of my faith in many ways.  And being ignorant about anything really bothers me.  As someone who grew into my faith very slowly, I have been overwhelmed by the amount of Catholic stuff there is to learn.  In a fit of desperation one year, I even went to Barnes and Noble and bought that book "Catholicism for Dummies" because I felt like I needed a crash course.  (Go on, you can laugh now.)

As part of my new year's resolutions, I decided that I would dedicate 2012 to learning about a very important piece of the Catholic faith--Mary.  I don't just want to learn about her in an intellectual way, I want to really grow closer to her in prayer and in my spiritual life.  There have been many little signs along the way over the years that she is really watching out for me, and interceding for me, and I guess I've just been too lazy to really take a closer peek at her role in my life and in the life of the Church.

I'm also hoping to spend more time praying the rosary--a prayer that has always provided me with such peace, the most insight, and the best answers when I needed them the most.  I didn't know how to pray it for so long, and it seemed so daunting, but there are tons of resources out there for beginners, including the awesome iRosary App (okay, you can laugh again here...), that there's no excuse for not knowing how to pray it.

Finally, I'd like to grow in the virtues of charity, poverty, humility and patience, virtues which I think Mary really lived and lived perfectly.  She is such a model for us in so many ways, and I chose these four virtues as areas I am hoping to improve on myself!

I figured I had to start somewhere.  And I figured that, as with any man, if you want to get on Jesus' good side, you should probably win over his mother first.  :-)  If you care to join me along the way, here's just a quick list I came up with as a starting point for the "intellectual" piece of the puzzle.   I'd love to hear your ideas if you have any.

Resources:

Intellectual and Informative Reading 


(For my local friends--the "L" means the resource is available through the regular library, and "ILL" means the resource is available through interlibrary loan.  If there's nothing, it means you have to buy or borrow it!  Speaking of borrowing, if any local friends have any of these or other good Mary books, movies or resources, feel free to send them my way if you can bear to part with them for a bit!)

True Devotion to Mary

The first book on my journey, and one of the best books I've read in a long time.  Louis de Montfort really lays out and explains why Mary deserves the respect and love of those who wish to grow closer to her Son, and I couldn't put it down.  In it, he also lays out a 33 day Consecration to Mary, which I will begin in February.  

The Glories of Mary (eBook)
Update: I stumbled upon this book after writing my original post and had to add it to the list.  It is basically a compilation, done by St. Alphonsus de Liguori, of quotes, thoughts, and teachings on Mary throughout the history of the Church.  He quotes a lot of other saints and Popes, and also references Scripture, so this is a pretty heavy book, literally and figuratively.  I have really enjoyed taking it slowly, reading a little bit each morning.  At my current pace, it's going to take a LONG time to finish.  I'm glad I don't have it as an eBook, because on the iPhone it would probably be six million pages long!

The Mysteries of Mary (eBook)

Hail Holy Queen: The Mother of God in the Word of God (ILL Book, L Audiobook)

The World's First Love: Mary, Mother of God (ILL)

Mary: The Church at the Source

The Rosary Handbook: A Guide for Newcomers, Old-Timers, and Those In Between

The Rosary: Prayer Comes Round  (L)

Praying the Rosary (L)

Fatima in Lucia's Own Words (ILL)

Historical Fiction

I loved the book "The Red Tent" and was hoping that there was something similar out there with Mary as the protagonist.  I found these two on Amazon, but am not sure if they are "way out there" or not.  I will preview them and probably review them in another post.

Two Women of Galilee (L)
Update: This book was meh.  Not great, but a super easy, somewhat interesting read.  It was a little annoying, especially as someone who doesn't think Jesus had brothers and sisters.  That said, I couldn't really expect it to compare to the Red Tent, although I was hoping.  Certainly don't buy it, just get it out of the library when you need a book for a road trip.  

Two From Galilee: The Story of Mary and Joseph (L)

Movies

The 13th Day
Really great movie about the Fatima apparitions.  Kinda scary, and I'm REALLY glad I previewed it before I showed it to my scaredy-cat children.

Mary: The Mother of God (Footprints of God series)
Would love to borrow this from someone if you have it!