Blessed Among Women: Encounters with Mary and Her Message

by G. Scott Sparrow

Book Overview

Written by a Jungian therapist, popular lecturer, and author of spiritual books, Blessed Among Women is the first popular book to collect Marian encounters and discuss their psychological and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0609801759
• ISBN13: 9780609801758
• Release Date: November 1998
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (CA)
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Long over-due

This is a very loving book. I couldn't put it down. How I wish there was more information on this subject. Highly recommended for those who wish to further their spiritual development & who long for a relationship with the Blessed Mother.

Review of book for the magazine, Venture Inward

"One of the most misunderstood and lovely elements of Catholicism, both Roman and Orthodox, is the spirituality which centers around Mary, the mother of Jesus. In my years as a Roman Catholic priest I marveled at the pure, lyrical, and gentle approach to God of many who practiced a devotion to Mary. Yet for those outside the Catholic Church and, frankly, for many Catholics, Marian devotion is a mysterious muddle consisting of Lourdes, charmed objects, and a repetitive prayer mumbled while counting beads on a chain called a rosary. "That was before Scott Sparrow. In a new book with a traditional title, Blessed Among Women , Sparrow has made Mary accessible in a way she has never been before. He also articulates a synthesis of spirituality, psychology, and metaphysics which is rather profound and reminiscent of both Jack Kornfield's A Path with a Heart and William James's The Varieties of Religious Experience. "This book keeps unfolding and deepening, like a loving relationship which is cultivated over time. It is obviously the fruit of the author's earnest and intelligent search for God. "I expected more a work of spiritual journalism in which people's mystical encounters with Mary were related, then put into a helpful perspective by the author - a kind of companion piece to his first book, I Am with You Always, about encounters with Jesus. Yet this book grows out of Sparrow's heart and the spiritual passion of his heart which is devoted to Mary. Thus the book is first the story of his search for and discovery of a spiritual master. And that master is Mary. "As he speaks of his devotion to Mary, he also explicates the character of a feminine spirituality which values silence, intimacy, simplicity, and speaks to immediate problems and concrete concerns. In his own and others' mystical encounters with Mary, he consistently emphasizes the relationship which Mary cultivates with the believer which, in turn, complements and points to the believer's relationship with Jesus. "Miraculous appearances and phenomena, even instances of spontaneous healing, are treated as elements in service of a trusting and loving relationship with Mary and Jesus. Mary's predictions and mysterious prophecies, so often sensationalized in the popular press, are not dwelt upon but are seen in the context of a wider series of encounters with Mary by "everyday mystics." This is one of the great strengths of Sparrow's method of exploring Marian spirituality: He has collected the mystical encounters of ordinary people and pointed out the difference made in the person's life by the encounter rather than concentrating on the encounter itself. "Many of the encounters, while wondrous, are not particularly dramatic; sometimes Mary does not speak and when she does it is often a simple word of encouragement or an expression of love. The effect on the person, however, is dramatic. The point is not the miracle, but the