Reviewer: A reader
This book attempts to analyze Catholic Marian devotion using Freudian psychology, and many of its strange conclusions arise from this approach. For instance, the author argues that Mary appeals to Catholic men because they have an "oedipal" need for a mother, while she appears to Catholic women because she fulfills their (alleged) "subconscious desire" to have a child by their fathers (since Catholics believe that Mary bore the Son of God the Father). While his conclusion about men may have some validity (we all need a spiritual Mother) his conclusion about women is absurd (Freud was never right about women anyway). I am a Catholic mother, and I have spoken to many Catholic mothers like myself, and the reason why we love Mary - besides the fact that she is our Mother in heaven - is because we can relate to her as a mother and feel that she knows what we are going through, since she too had a family. This guy just doesn't have a clue!
His analysis of Marian apparitions is similarly awful; the author simply ignores any historical details of the apparitions which do not fit his pat theories. The treatment of Guadalupe is perhaps the worst; he claims that the apparitions to Juan Diego are a myth, and that they were never recorded until long after the event! The fact is, there *are* contemporaneous documents which mention the apparition; a little research would have confirmed that. And Juan Diego *is* a historical personage; in fact he was recently beatified by the Catholic Church. The pope does not beatify mythological characters!
*Is this the sort of recomendation you wih to be associated with?
Did YOU read the book?
What psychological defense mechanism might be at work here? Maybe an inability to control one's own lust? Maybe difficulty in maintaining Chastity?
I wonder why it is Advent results in such attacks upon Mary, the Theotokos, if it does not, at least in part, suggest some disorder in the lives of those wishing to dethrone Mary and drag her down into the dirt. And why attack her pepetual Virginity? Might it suggest a thorn in the flesh of those unable to control their own passions?
In any event, it seems an odd practice for a Christian to engage in these activities as a way to celebrate Advent - which is a time of penance and preparation, not attacks upon the Mother of Our Lord and Saviour.
Prepare the Way of the Lord - attack His Mother.