by Marge Fenelon
Notre Dame: Ave Maria Press, 2013
What can mothers today learn from a poor Jewish woman who
lived two thousand years ago? If the woman in question is Our Blessed Mother,
the answer is everything. Marge Fenelon explores ten of these lessons in the
new book, Imitating Mary: Ten Marian
Virtues for the Modern Mom. Fenelon writes Mary is “the answer for all moms
. . . with God’s grace and Mary’s example, we can overcome any obstacles to
becoming the loving, wonderful mothers we’re meant to be.”
Fenelon focuses on ten scriptural events from Mary’s life
and explores the virtues Mary exhibited in each of those instances. We can all learn from Mary’s patience as she
waited for Joseph to make a decision about their marriage, her trust as God’s
handmaiden, her obedience in God in all things, her endurance as she gave birth
in a stable, her courage, her hope, her faith, and her joy.
Fenelon writes in a friendly, conversational style. She has
an intimate relationship with Mary and this is evident in her words. As a
mother with grown children, she understands all the stages of mothering. She
shares experiences from her own life and her hard-earned wisdom with all of us
in the trenches. She knows the challenges of modern mothering and how we often
struggle with self-doubt. She wants to encourage mothers in their vocation:
“You’re a better mother than you think you are. Mothers have
an innate tendency toward self-criticism. . . We also like to compare ourselves
to other mothers, and that only makes things worse. You can’t be that other
mom; you can only be you and you are beautiful – inside and out! Take time
every single day to acknowledge something good about yourself.”
Each chapter of “Imitating Mary” features a relevant excerpt
from scripture, Fenelon’s reflections, thoughts to ponder, and questions to
consider. This book would be wonderful to use in a mom’s book group or Bible
study. There is so much each of us can learn from Mary’s example.
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