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A Year with Mary: Daily Meditations on the Mother of God
“Of Mary, there is never enough!”Books about the Blessed Virgin abound, yet the words of St. Bernard of Clairvaux still ring “Of Mary, there is never enough!” She is a mystery that faithful Christians seek to understand more fully, an ocean “full of grace” still awaiting deeper exploration.In A Year with Daily Meditations on the Mother of God, best-selling Catholic author Paul Thigpen sets sail on that ocean, using as his map the profound insights of saints and other spiritual writers. These 365 reflections, drawn from their writings, reveal Mary’s role in God’s plan, the virtues she so perfectly models, and the rich benefits of Marian devotion.
746 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 5, 2015
130 people are currently reading
140 people want to read
About the author
Paul Thigpen
62 books71 followersPaul Thigpen, Ph.D., is the editor of TAN Books. An award-winning journalist and best-selling author, he has published forty-two books. His work has been translated into twelve languages and circulated worldwide.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 5, 2023
Finally finished! It’s supposed to be A Year With Mary. In my case, it was a bit longer than a year. I could still stretch it out more, but other books beckon.
The text was drawn primarily from St. Alphonsus Liguori’s The Glories of Mary, St. Louis de Monforte’s True Devotion to Mary and John Henry Newman’s Meditations and Devotions. There were also selections from the Church Fathers, theologians, poets and authors across the centuries. National Geographic Magazine recently dubbed Mary ‘the most powerful woman who has ever lived’. Perhaps ‘best known’ might be more accurate. Neither would please her, however, unless they drew souls to Her Son.
Although I love the Mother of God and everything in this book, I was a bit disappointed Thigpen relied so heavily on his primary resources. Would have liked to have seen more authors represented; I know they are out there. Even so it is a sublime tribute to Our Lady and Her Son! Pick it up, open it up to any page and you will not be disappointed.
For myself I plan to reread the last section next year during Lent. It covers the Passion from Mary’s perspective. THAT was more sorrowful than any other vantage I have ever encountered.
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July 27, 2016: The last few days reflections were first about the power of the rosary and then more recently about praying (with Mary) for a happy death. Reflection: 'Talk about death is strenuously avoided in our culture, but the reality of death remains. Am I willing to risk having an uncomfortable conversation by encouraging my loved ones to pray for a happy death?'
May 26, 2016: For the last few days I've been reading from the first and second homilies of St. John of Damascus (or Damascene) on the Dormition of Mary which I found on downloadable audio here. St. John preached/wrote these in the 700s.
April 17, 2016: So many good things I could quote from this book. Each page is truly a deep meditation on the closeness between Jesus and His lady mother and how her actually leads us toward Jesus. Recently my daughter married and so now in my old age I finally have a son. Of course to the rest of the world he is only my son-in-law, but he calls me ‘Mom’ and to me he is ‘Son’. Thinking about him moves my heart in a way I never expected, imagined and cannot describe. Taking nothing away from my daughters, who I love beyond words, there is a very special relationship between mothers and sons. This is what Mary is all about. She has much to teach us about how to love Jesus.
-‘The afflicted mother saw her Jesus suffering on every side. She desired to comfort him, but could not. And what grieved her the most was to see that she herself, by her presence and sorrow, increased the sufferings of her Son.’ ~St. Alphonsus Liguori
-‘The grief that filled Mary’s heart like a torrent flowed into and grieved the heart of Jesus. So much so, that Jesus on the Cross suffered more from compassion for his mother than from his own torrents.’ ~St. Bernard of Clairvaux
August 6, 2015: An elderly gentleman from our parish, one of the regulars, gave me this book after mass on the Feast of the Transfiguration. What a princely gift! When I asked him if he knew how much I love Our Lady, he just smiled! It contains 365 daily meditations and is designed take the reader through a calendar year reading a short (one page) reflection about Mary, the Mother of God. Entries are written by Church Fathers, Doctors, saints, Popes, and noted theologians etc. Although I suppose I could save it until 2016, it doesn't look like that's happening...
The first meditation comes from True Devotion to Mary by Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, an all-time favorite.
The text was drawn primarily from St. Alphonsus Liguori’s The Glories of Mary, St. Louis de Monforte’s True Devotion to Mary and John Henry Newman’s Meditations and Devotions. There were also selections from the Church Fathers, theologians, poets and authors across the centuries. National Geographic Magazine recently dubbed Mary ‘the most powerful woman who has ever lived’. Perhaps ‘best known’ might be more accurate. Neither would please her, however, unless they drew souls to Her Son.
Although I love the Mother of God and everything in this book, I was a bit disappointed Thigpen relied so heavily on his primary resources. Would have liked to have seen more authors represented; I know they are out there. Even so it is a sublime tribute to Our Lady and Her Son! Pick it up, open it up to any page and you will not be disappointed.
For myself I plan to reread the last section next year during Lent. It covers the Passion from Mary’s perspective. THAT was more sorrowful than any other vantage I have ever encountered.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
July 27, 2016: The last few days reflections were first about the power of the rosary and then more recently about praying (with Mary) for a happy death. Reflection: 'Talk about death is strenuously avoided in our culture, but the reality of death remains. Am I willing to risk having an uncomfortable conversation by encouraging my loved ones to pray for a happy death?'
May 26, 2016: For the last few days I've been reading from the first and second homilies of St. John of Damascus (or Damascene) on the Dormition of Mary which I found on downloadable audio here. St. John preached/wrote these in the 700s.
April 17, 2016: So many good things I could quote from this book. Each page is truly a deep meditation on the closeness between Jesus and His lady mother and how her actually leads us toward Jesus. Recently my daughter married and so now in my old age I finally have a son. Of course to the rest of the world he is only my son-in-law, but he calls me ‘Mom’ and to me he is ‘Son’. Thinking about him moves my heart in a way I never expected, imagined and cannot describe. Taking nothing away from my daughters, who I love beyond words, there is a very special relationship between mothers and sons. This is what Mary is all about. She has much to teach us about how to love Jesus.
-‘The afflicted mother saw her Jesus suffering on every side. She desired to comfort him, but could not. And what grieved her the most was to see that she herself, by her presence and sorrow, increased the sufferings of her Son.’ ~St. Alphonsus Liguori
-‘The grief that filled Mary’s heart like a torrent flowed into and grieved the heart of Jesus. So much so, that Jesus on the Cross suffered more from compassion for his mother than from his own torrents.’ ~St. Bernard of Clairvaux
August 6, 2015: An elderly gentleman from our parish, one of the regulars, gave me this book after mass on the Feast of the Transfiguration. What a princely gift! When I asked him if he knew how much I love Our Lady, he just smiled! It contains 365 daily meditations and is designed take the reader through a calendar year reading a short (one page) reflection about Mary, the Mother of God. Entries are written by Church Fathers, Doctors, saints, Popes, and noted theologians etc. Although I suppose I could save it until 2016, it doesn't look like that's happening...
The first meditation comes from True Devotion to Mary by Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, an all-time favorite.
June 8, 2015
A Year with Mary: Daily Meditations on the Mother of God is the fifth and latest daily devotional available from Saint Benedict Press. The other four are A Year with the Bible, A Year with the Saints, A Year with the Angels, and A Year with the Church Fathers. Like the other volumes in this series, this book has gilded pages and is Premium UltraSoft leather, making it perfect for presentation or gifting. The book itself is blue, which is fitting as that is the color we most associate with Mary. Despite the impressiveness of this book, I was a little skeptical to review this book. I personally am not a fan of the daily devotional, which is strange even to me seeing that I came from a Protestant background. However, I decided to give it a shot.
The first thing that I noticed about this book is the numbering of the devotions. Most daily devotionals give you a specific date, i.e., January 1. This book instead labels the devotions as Day 1, Day 2, etc. This means that you don't have to wait until January 1 to start this book, which is the fatal flaw of daily devotionals. Also, in case you are wondering, there is a ribbon bookmark, so you won't have to remember which day you are on. The next thing I noticed about this book was that St. Louis de Montfort and St. Alphonsus Liguori were the bulk of the readings. Now, there is nothing inherently wrong with this. They wrote two of the best books on Mary with de Montfort pinning "True Devotion to Mary," and Liguori "The Glories of Mary." I was just expecting a little more variety in reading selections. The last thing that I noticed was the brief section at the end of every day entitled, "In God's Presence Consider." This makes the devotional more than just something to do everyday, but something which you need to ponder, study, and mediate on. Each day then ends with a closing prayer.
Overall, this is an impressive book in both presentation and content. The devotions are each one page long, making them just short enough that you don't feel overwhelmed and just long enough that it requires you to put forth a bit of effort in your journey with and toward God. It didn't turn me into a devotional fan, but it did provide me with some sources and texts on Mary to read that I had not heard of before. For example, St. John of Eudes' work "The Admirable Heart of Mary" is a work that I now want to read after the excerpt I read in this book. So whether you are a Mary novice or an expert on Mary, there is enough wisdom in this book that will enrich your life every time you read it.
The first thing that I noticed about this book is the numbering of the devotions. Most daily devotionals give you a specific date, i.e., January 1. This book instead labels the devotions as Day 1, Day 2, etc. This means that you don't have to wait until January 1 to start this book, which is the fatal flaw of daily devotionals. Also, in case you are wondering, there is a ribbon bookmark, so you won't have to remember which day you are on. The next thing I noticed about this book was that St. Louis de Montfort and St. Alphonsus Liguori were the bulk of the readings. Now, there is nothing inherently wrong with this. They wrote two of the best books on Mary with de Montfort pinning "True Devotion to Mary," and Liguori "The Glories of Mary." I was just expecting a little more variety in reading selections. The last thing that I noticed was the brief section at the end of every day entitled, "In God's Presence Consider." This makes the devotional more than just something to do everyday, but something which you need to ponder, study, and mediate on. Each day then ends with a closing prayer.
Overall, this is an impressive book in both presentation and content. The devotions are each one page long, making them just short enough that you don't feel overwhelmed and just long enough that it requires you to put forth a bit of effort in your journey with and toward God. It didn't turn me into a devotional fan, but it did provide me with some sources and texts on Mary to read that I had not heard of before. For example, St. John of Eudes' work "The Admirable Heart of Mary" is a work that I now want to read after the excerpt I read in this book. So whether you are a Mary novice or an expert on Mary, there is enough wisdom in this book that will enrich your life every time you read it.
August 13, 2021
Never before did I think our Lady, Mary is so important an person in our belief in our Creator. Mary, so divine, never tainted with sin, taken body & soul heavenward. Mary, so decadent, and virtuous, ever extolled, ever regarded as our savior's most merciful mother. Excitement runs through my veins, as I contemplate our heavenly mother forgiving me and leading me to higher plains towards her Excellent Son, Jesus.
January 8, 2021
Mary really did help me out a lot through this book, she guided me physically and emotionally.
December 30, 2024
Disappointing selection vis a vis Mystics.
z-dnf
July 16, 2025DNF @ Day 164 - Would rather just read the works that are quoted
January 4, 2017
Awesome devotional to our Blessed Mother.
December 25, 2017
On the whole, I found it spiritually edifying, though I must admit the conversations imagined by St. Thomas Aquinas left me feeling wanting. And for him to say Mary loved Jesus so deeply because He was her only child, for example, was particularly troubling. It showed a lack of understanding of motherhood, but also of Mary. But I'm still glad I read it and it's fair to say it deepened my love and appreciation for Mary.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews