Pages 14-15

I have to admit that my apologetic vent came out in these pages with the pondering Mary’s Place in Our Hearts. It breaks my heart that other good Christians do not recognize Mary’s place in the world, the church and salvation history. In particular, I wanted to bring up the fact that God the Father was the first one to recognize Mary and ask her to participate in our salvation. While I’m sure the Holy Spirit was with me in writing this pondering as always, it appears it does not comfortably follow the meditative tone of the book as my “teacher/preacher” came out.

I know that to be true because a few people have commented that I seemed to have put on a teaching hat in Mary’s defense. That position was affirmed when I petitioned the Bishop’s Office for Nihil Obstat, meaning that this book has nothing that conflicts with the teachings of the Church. (Imprimatur is granted for materials of catechetical teaching and doctrinal subject matter.) While the censors had no objection to the rest of the book, they were concerned about this particular pondering as being too preachy and for having detoured from the more meditative tone of the rest of the book. TRUE!

I’m thankful for their feedback and have rewritten Mary’s Place in Our Hearts using quotes about Mary from different saints throughout time. I like it much better now and will include the new edition in the next printing, whether or not I am granted Nihil Obstat.

While I do understand Protestants’ concerns over Catholics overdoing it with Mary, I do still believe that Mary needs a promo team, but that is for another time and place. Besides, there are many, many exceptional saints and theologians throughout time carrying that banner. One of the best current apologists is Tim Staples, a former Southern Baptist turned Catholic. Tim’s book, Behold Your Mother, gives a wonderful, scripturally based defense of Catholic teachings on Mary.