Monday 18 December 2006

Apparitions of Mary: Their Meaning in History by: Donal Anthony Foley

Apparitions of Mary: Their Meaning in History
Donal Anthony Foley
Catholic Truth Society
ISBN 1860820824 

 This booklet is a shorter version of the book Marian Apparitions, the Bible, and the Modern World by Donal Anthony Foley ISBN 0852443137. The booklet version is great and I cannot wait to lay my hands on the full book version of this work. Foley explores a number of approved Apparitions of Mary and links them to historical events that followed the appearances. He looks at the following situations: 

1. Guadalupe, The Reformation and Secularization 
2. The Enlightenment, French Revolution and Catholic Revival 
3. Lourdes and Darwin's theory of Evolution 
4. Pontmain and Knock Apparitions 
5. Fatima and the Russian Revolution 
6. Bearaing, Banneux and the rise of Nazism 

 Some of these appearances I was aware of, and some were completely new to me. Knock has always been close to my heart because of my Irish heritage. Foley's main thesis is that Mary always appears for a specific purpose, to draw people back to God, back to faith and back to true devotion to God as Father, Spirit and Son. In the cases studied in this booklet, all are also to prepare people either locally or globally for critical events about to take place. 

This booklet is a great little read, and I highly recommend it, especially if you lack a knowledge or understanding of the appearances of Mary throughout time and around the world. The book may not convince you of the validity of the appearances, but it will definitely make you think.



Books by Donal Anthony Foley:
Christian Living: The Spirituality of the Foyers of Charity
Understanding Medjugorje: Heavenly Visions or Religious Illusion?
Marian Apparitions, the Bible, and the Modern World
Medjugorje Revisited: 30 Years of Visions or Religious Fraud?

Fiction:

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