Original Grace
The Mystery of Mary
Foreword by Margaret A. Farley RSM and Mary Rose Bumpus RSM
Imprint: Cascade Books
O'Neill's Original Grace provides a fresh analysis of biblical texts and explores the rich tradition and development of Marian devotion, liturgical prayer, artwork, and dogma. It invites the reader to discover how our capacity for biblical and theological understanding matures over time, correcting our perception of Mary, the second Eve and the mother of Jesus the Christ, and of the place and role of women in church and society. This exhilarating book reveals the benefit that courageous questioning can bring to the church's self-understanding and to the vital relationships between women and men. In it we gently discover that a wise and good God is our Creator, affirming us in our gendered humanity, still slowly teaching us what went on in Eden, in Nazareth, and on Calvary.
Mary Aquin O’Neill, RSM (1941–2016) taught theology at Loyola University, Maryland, and Notre Dame, and later co-founded, with Diane Caplin, Mount Saint Agnes Theological Center for Women in Baltimore, Maryland.
“A rich and profound theological reflection on Mary through Scripture, ecclesiology, liturgy, the arts, and contemporary feminist scholarship, this is a treasure of a book which combines deep devotion with fearless challenge. It applies a careful anthropological lens to vexed questions with deft ecumenical sensitivity and is undoubtedly a book for our times.”
—Gemma Simmonds, Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology
“Mary Aquin O’Neill reintroduces Mary, the mother of Jesus, to us by showing how the graced Christian imagination reveals a surplus of meaning in traditional Mariology, a meaning which goes beyond historical criticism, accommodation to interfaith dialogues, and contemporary feminist critiques. Scholarship enlivened by a deep faith and a love of Mary brings us this treasure.”
—Doris Gottemoeller, RSM, co-author of Union and Charity: The History of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas
“Original Grace challenges the damaging imbalance in the life and teachings of the Church regarding men and women and argues that this cannot be rectified unless we get our thinking about Mary straightened out. Different themes echo throughout: refashioning the Marian tradition, a theological anthropology that affirms the equal dignity of men and women, and a pastoral sensitivity to contemporary challenges. Eminently readable, this book will appeal to theologians and lay people.”
—John R. Donahue, SJ, St. Mary’s Seminary and University, emeritus
“Original Grace is a holy and imaginative rendering of integrated theology and spirituality that will richly serve women seeking an authentic image of the divine feminine. Mary Aquin O’Neill offers us a personal, devotional, and theological weaving of her own search and scholarship as to the place of Mary in the Christian tradition. Women (and men) seeking their rightful and just place in Church and society will find solace, hope, and inspiration in this book.”
—Patricia McDermott, RSM, president, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas
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