The Glories of Mary

This all-time Marian classic testifies to Saint Alphonsus De Liguori's profound love for and devotion to Mary, the Mother of God, as well as his keen awareness of the essential role played by the Blessed Virgin in the sanctification of souls. His goal, in this text, is to bring his readers to the awareness of the absolute necessity of cultivating a deep devotion to the Mother of the Redeemer, who is additionally our Spiritual Mother. Saint Alphonsus points out that Mary, being our Mother in the order of grace, has been entrusted by the Most Holy Trinity with the Maternal duty of co-operating with her divine Spouse, the Holy Spirit of God, in giving birth to the Image of Christ in our souls and, subsequently, nourishing our souls with the milk of divine grace. Herein is contained a veritable treasury of deeply moving and devotion-inspiring stories and theological truths concerning the most loving, most powerful, most merciful and most provident of all Mothers, to whom all of the great saints possessed a deep devotion, and without whom souls run the grave risk of falling victim to the wiles of the Adversary. Aware of the countless subtle and insidious heresies and false ideologies that even the most learned of theologians and the most advanced in virtue have succumbed to, precisely because they chose to dispense with holy Mother Mary, St. Alphonsus presents her as the sure protection against, and antidote for, all such attacks on behalf of the Evil One. This work is divided into two parts: in the first of these, our Saint provides a phrase-by-phrase, textual analysis of that ancient classic, the "Salve Regina;" in the second part, the Saint provides the reader with numerous meditations and reflections on myriad Marian themes - including her major feasts, her seven sorrows, her virtues, and practices of popular piety and devotion in her honour. This book will serve as a marvelous introduction to devotion to the Blessed Mother, especially for those Christians who have difficulty understanding why Catholics possess such love, respect and admiration for the Blessed Virgin, as well as the reason why Catholic Christians would choose to be escorted into the presence of Christ the King by His Most Holy and Immaculate Mother Mary.