The life of Mary

30 November, 1999

In this little book for children edited by Inos Biffi and illustrated by Franco Vignazia the stories of Mary’s life are told in pictures. They are like the stained glass windows in a Church that hold our gaze, requiring us to stop and contemplate each one.

29 pp. Published by Gracewing and Liturgy Training Publications. To purchase this book online, go to www.gracewing.co.uk

CONTENTS

1. God sends an angel to Mary (The Annunciation)
2. Mary goes to help her cousin Elizabeth, who is expecting a baby (The Visitation)
3. Jesus is born: Joseph is with Mary,and the shepherds come to them (The Nativity)
4. Mary and Joseph, as is the custom, go to the Temple and present their son to God (The Presentation in the Temple)
5. Mary and Joseph rescue Jesus from the fury of Herod (The Flight into Egypt)
6. Jesus, in Jerusalem, gets separated from his parents, who only find him after three days (The Loss and Finding of Jesus in the Temple)
7. Mary comes to the help of friends in trouble (The Wedding at Cana)
8. Mary, with John the Apostle, at the foot of the cross (The Crucifixion)
9. The Risen Jesus, having spent forty days on earth, ascends into heaven (The Ascension)
10. Mary and the Apostles receive the Holy Spirit (Pentecost)
11. Mary leaves this world (The Assumption or Dormition)

References and Acknowledgements

INTRODUCTION

In this little book the life of Mary (Our Lady) is told in pictures. The pictures resemble the stained glass windows in a Church. They hold our gaze, requiring us to stop a while and contemplate each one. The images fill our soul with surprise and wonder, with compassion and joy: deeply significant, what they represent cannot be dismissed as trivial or shallow.

Here are portrayed the events that the Gospels relate about Our Lady. Admittedly they are few – only those which her discretion and her reticence have allowed.

Jesus draws from Mary in his humanity, owing it all to her, yet she keeps nothing for herself. She gives everything to her Son, with whom she shares her existence, her mission, her love and her hope, her sorrows and her glory.
We shall learn – as we stop and contemplate each event as told to us by sacred scripture, and meditate on these moments that have inspired the prayer and liturgy of the Church – mysteries both in the life of Jesus and of his Blessed Mother.

Our meditations will be helped by texts from the liturgy as well as from scripture.

This is a book for children and for adults. It is for all those who want to learn and bring into their lives the joy that our Lord had in having Mary for his Mother.

Tags: Books, Childhood, Youth