Mary-Virgin, Mother, and Queen: A Bible Study Guide for Catholics

by Mitch Pacwa

"Pray for us oh Holy mother of God"

Fr. Pacwa brings his devotion to the Blessed Mother alive for every Catholic in the next in his series of wildly popular Bible studies. Mary - Virgin, Mother, and A Bible Study Guide for Catholics looks at Old and New Testament texts that are relevant to the Marian doctrine,

God's promise in Genesis that a woman's offspring would strike the head of the serpentThe Old Testament Ark of the Covenant as a symbol of MaryMary's fiatThe wedding at CanaMary at the crossThe woman and the dragon in RevelationAnd more

Mary - Virgin, Mother, and Queen is perfect for use as a parish Bible study, or for individual learning. Each chapter includes background and study exercises, and questions for reflection and discussion.

Fr. Mitch enlightens, clarifies, and challenges Catholics to a renewed devotion to the Blessed Mother, through whom we are drawn nearer to Christ.

187 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Fr. Mitchell "Mitch" Pacwa , S.J., is a Jesuit priest. He is bi-ritual, meaning that he can celebrate liturgy in both the Roman and Maronite rites. He is President and Founder of Ignatius Productions. He has taught at the University of Dallas and Loyola University and is now the Senior Fellow of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology.

Fr. Pacwa earned his Ph.D. in Old Testament from Vanderbilt University. He also holds a Master of Divinity and S.T.B. from the Jesuit School of Theology at Loyola University. He is an accomplished linguist speaking several ancient languages, including Latin, Koine Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Ugaritic, as well as the modern languages of German, Spanish, Polish, Hebrew, Arabic, French, and Italian.

Father Pacwa is author of Catholics and the New Age: How Good People Are Being Drawn into Jungian Psychology the Enneagram and the Age of Aquarius (1992), Forgive Me Father for I Am Frustrated: Growing in Your Faith Even When It Isn’t Easy Being Catholic (1997), published by Servant Books. Holy Land Prayer Book (2004) published by Ignatius Productions and co-authored with Sean Brown, Go In Peace: Your Guide to the Purpose and Power of Confession (2007) published by Ascension Press, and Saint Paul: A Study Guide for Catholics (2008) published by Our Sunday Visitor, Saint Paul on the Power of the Cross (2008)

Reviews

[Caleb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Father Mitch does provide a really good Catholic overview of the biblical passages it’s failure to convince me of the full scope of Mariology, it is not a shortcoming. I still learned a great deal from this book and I have a greater appreciation for the Catholic view even if I have not been won over by it’s arguments. well done

[Katherine Weaver · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second time reading this book. The first was in a ladies study group at church. It takes each part of the Hail Mary and explains it and the biblical basis for it and so much more. I recommend this book to everyone devoted to Our Blessed Mother.

[Susie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Bible Study of our Blessed Mother

[Amanda Sloan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good information, but nearly none of it was new to me and there were FAR too many sidebar blurbs for my liking - it broke up the flow of the content and was very distracting.

[Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mary: Virgin, Queen, and Mother is one of Fr. Pacwa's thicker Bible study books, sitting at 160 pages. Most of his other studies are approximately 100 pages. Topics touched on in this book include early events in the Gospels like The Annunciation and The Visitation; and later events like Mary during Christ's public ministry and after His public ministry. I realize this is a Bible study, and Fr. Pacwa is sticking to the Canon of Scripture, but I wish he would have touched on Tradition a bit more and talked about Mary's early life.

The most interesting chapter or session to me was Session One: Old Testament Background. Fr. Pacwa limits his Old Testament prophecies to those that tie Mary and Jesus together, i.e., Mary as the New Eve, Mary as the Burning Bush, and Mary as the Ark of Covenant. As someone who has read a lot on Mary before, this Old Testament allusions to Mary are not new to me. However, if you don't know a lot of Old Testament, this is a great chapter that will teach you a lot.

No surprise, but this was an excellent study by Fr. Pacwa. Whether you are looking for an individual study book or one that you can do in a small group setting, this book will not disappoint. It is at a basic enough level that anyone can understand it, and the tools you need for this study (the book and a Bible) are minimal so there is no high start up cost to lead a study if you wanted to. If you are looking for a good starting point to understanding Mary this serves as a good beginner. You could even loan it to a Protestant friend or family member, so they might finally understand Mary better. Five stars.

[Louis Barbier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Bible study guide for Catholics entitled 'Mary Virgin, Mother, and Queen by Father Mitch Pacwa, S.J. is full of questions you may have concerning the Catholic Church and what Catholics believe and why. It also is written in an easy format with immediate references to continue the learning process. The study guide can be studied in a group or individually. Life is a learning process throughout. Our experiences provide us with life's lessons. Do your homework and you will be in a better position to answer those questions, which many get wrong because they don 19t know the answers. As in a road trip a GPS or a good up-to-date map will get you safely from point A to point B. We here on earth when it is all over want to get to heaven to be reunited with friends and family who have gone before us. So I say pray to our blessed Mother for guidance. She is always there to ask her son for a prayer request you may have like she was at the wedding feast at Cana. This book looks at the Old and New Testament texts that are relevant to Marian doctrine. Mary always points the way to her son Jesus. So with a bit more knowledge found in this book you will have quick responses that make sense when non-Catholics ask; so what do you as a Catholic believe in? How will you get to heaven and how can I become a Catholic? Yes, the book will provide a gold mine of answers regardless of your stage in life. Keep in mind that we can always learn something new so I highly recommend this book for study. Good luck! May it provide you with answers to questions you may have now and the wisdom to stand by your convictions on the tough issues that face the world to today!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is set up as a Bible study and doesn't excellent job of connecting who the Virgin Mary is in tradition with various quotations in the Bible. It is very thorough, yet easily read. Would be great for a group study.

[Leanna]

So much fun information this is either missed or over my head in other books.