Recommended Reading

Dom L from the nearby monastery recommended St. Alphonsus Liguori's "The Glories of Mary" to us recently.  Dom L had previously recommended daily recitation of the rosary to us, and as that had brought numerous blessings I figured his book recommendations were worth a try.  I bought a copy of "The Glories of Mary" from Amazon, and loved it.  I'd never read anything by St. Alphonsus before, and was impressed by the way he combines simplicity and scholarship.  The text is crammed with quotations from scripture, saints, Fathers, doctors and miscellaneous theologians, but any sixth grader can understand it easily.  Having nearly finished "Glories," on Monday I ordered another of St. Alphonsus' spiritual masterpieces, "The Practice of the Love of Jesus Christ" and received it Tuesday (!).

Here is a sample of St. Alphonsus' prose, from the first chapter of "The Glories of Mary," which is devoted to explaining the first line of the "Salve Regina "(Salve Regina, Mater Misericordiae):

Is there any one who does not know the power of Mary's prayers with God? The law of clemency is on her tongue.  Every prayer of hers is as a law established by our Lord, that mercy shall be exercised towards those for whom Mary intercedes. St. Bernard asks, Why does the Church name Mary Queen of Mercy and answers, Because we believe that she opens the depths of the mercy of God, to whom she will, when she will, and as she will; so that not even the vilest sinner is lost, if Mary protects him.