The Little Book of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Model of Christians, Cause of Our Joy

by Raoul Plus

Watching Jesus grow daily in wisdom and grace, the Blessed Virgin Mary pondered in her heart the secrets of her divine Son, creating, thereby, the most valuable manual of Christian perfection that can be her own heart. When from the Cross Jesus said, "Behold your mother," He invited us to read that manual the book of the heart of Mary wherein are found the secrets of the King. Unfortunately, few of Mary's words have come down to us, so we must read her heart as she read the heart of Jesus, pondering not only her words, but also the events of her life, her attitudes, her actions, and even her silence, so that by imitating her, our lives like hers may also come to be full of grace. In these pages, the renowned French theologian Fr. Raoul Plus helps us do just that, opening for us the book of the heart of Mary in the simplest yet most vivid ways. In pages filled with great devotion and penetrating wisdom, he moves us past modern misunderstandings and cliches about Mary into an encounter with the woman who was so remarkable that God Himself made her His spouse! The Little Book of the Blessed Virgin Mary will awaken in you the thoughts and emotions that lead to deeper union with Mary and with her beloved son, Jesus.

128 pages, Paperback

First published May 10, 2012

About the author

Fr. Raoul Plus, S.J., was a Jesuit spiritual writer; b. Boulogne-sur-Mer, Jan. 22, 1882; d. Lille, Oct. 23, 1958. Plus entered the Society of Jesus at Saint-Acheul in 1899 and made his studies abroad because of the 1901 laws against religious orders in France. During his philosophical studies, his spiritual father was Germain Foch, SJ, who expounded the doctrine of incorporation into Christ that later became the core of Plus's spiritual writings. As a French army chaplain during World War I, he gave the soldiers talks that were to serve as the material for his first two books, Dieu en nous (Eng. tr., God within Us, New York, 1924), and L'Idée reparatrice (Eng. tr., Ideal of Reparation, New York, 1922). These were well received because of their style, as well as their doctrine, and were translated into other languages, as were many of his later works. For his wartime services Plus was decorated with the croix de guerre.

Between the wars Plus served as professor of religion and spiritual director at the Université Catholique at Lille, except during the years 1935 to 1939 when he taught at the Institut Catholique of Paris. This was the period of his greatest literary activity, from which eventually came more than 40 books and innumerable articles. In addition to his other work, he preached and gave retreats. After spending World War II at a retreat house, Plus returned to Lille as spiritual father for the Jesuit community and remained there until his death.

In his writings Plus popularized the principal chapters of the spiritual life, constantly reemphasizing the doctrine of the Mystical Body of Christ. A synthetic résumé of his teaching is found in his Marie dans notre histoire divine (Toulouse 1932; Eng. tr., Mary in Our Soul-Life, Cincinnati, 1940).