This volume presents a timely contribution to the growing body of scholarship on the apocryphal writings and their reception in the Middle Ages, especially in connection with visual representation. It aims to bridge what often remains disconnected, the visual art and the written text, the early Christian roots and medieval reception, the East and the West, as well as methodologies of various disciplines. The studies in this volume firstly investigate issues related to the Virgin Mary, and through them, also the status, function, and identity of women. Mary and the female element thus represent significant models and/or background figures in fields pertaining to theology, religious studies, textual studies, manuscript studies, and art history in a trans-disciplinary perspective. Secondly, the studies focus on the apostles and the Last Judgment, their visual representations and the use of apocryphal sources. The volume is divided in two parts according to two major topics: Part I dealing with Mary in the Apocrypha, and Part II focusing on the Apostles and the Last Judgment.

The greatness of the future Saints! (“True Devotion to Mary” Series – Book 6)In his “True Devotion to Mary”, St. Louis-Marie de Montfort wrote: “The formation and the education of the great Saints who shall come at the end of the world are reserved for (Mary),” and, “I have said that this would come to pass particularly at the end of the world, and indeed presently, because the Most High with His holy Mother has to form for Himself great Saints, who shall surpass most of the other Saints in sanctity, as much as the cedars of Lebanon outgrow the little shrubs” [#47]. This timely, newly-translated book, the sixth in this series on the Marian spirituality of St. Louis-Marie de Montfort, is the only one of its kind devoted to explaining this teaching of the Saint. Among other things, you will discover:• the list of signs preceding the end of the world and the coming of Christ• the remarkable resemblances between St. John the Evangelist and St. Louis-Marie• how the True Devotion is the weapon of choice in the hands of the children of the Virgin• the tactics of the devil to try to destroy the enmity God has established between the Woman and him• why to follow Mary is to follow Jesus faithfully• why the devil fears priests who live their consecration to MaryBlessed Pope John Paul II said: “It is from Montfort that I have taken my motto: “Totus tuus”. Someday I'll have to tell you Montfortians how I discovered De Montfort's “Treatise on True Devotion to Mary”, and how often I had to reread it to understand it.” Try this book series, the only one available on St. Louis-Marie's Marian spirituality, and save yourself some time.The first five books in this series on the “True Devotion to Mary” are "The Holy Slavery of the Admirable Mother of God", "Consecration to the Blessed Virgin according to St. Louis de Montfort", "Preparation for Consecration to the Most Blessed Virgin", "To Jesus through Mary", and "Preparation for Holy Communion with Mary in the Spirit of Blessed de Montfort".

A New Light on John’s Gospel The Gospel according to John has always been recognized as different from the “synoptic” accounts of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. But what explains the difference? In this new translation and verse-byverse commentary, Michael Pakaluk suggests an answer and unlocks a twothousand-year-old mystery. Mary’s Voice in the Gospel according to John reveals the subtle but powerful influence of the Mother of Jesus on the fourth Gospel. In his dying words, Jesus committed his Mother to the care of John, the beloved disciple, who “from that hour . . . took her into his own home.” Pakaluk draws out the implications of that detail, which have been overlooked for centuries. In Mary’s remaining years on earth, what would she and John have talked about? Surely no subject was as close to their hearts as the words and deeds of Jesus. Mary’s unique perspective and intimate knowledge of her Son must have shaped the account of Jesus’ life that John would eventually compose. With the same scholarship, imagination, and fidelity that he applied to Mark’s Gospel in The Memoirs of St. Peter, Pakaluk brings out the voice of Mary in John’s, from the famous prologue about the Incarnation of the Word to the Evangelist’s closing avowal of the reliability of his account. This remarkably fresh translation and commentary will deepen your understanding of the most sublime book of the New Testament.

Over 3 million copies sold! Essential reading for Catholics of all walks of life. Here it is - the first new Catechism of the Catholic Church in more than 400 years, a complete summary of what Catholics around the world commonly believe. The Catechism draws on the Bible, the Mass, the Sacraments, Church tradition and teaching, and the lives of saints. It comes with a complete index, footnotes and cross-references for a fuller understanding of every subject. The word catechism means "instruction" - this book will serve as the standard for all future catechisms. Using the tradition of explaining what the Church believes (the Creed), what she celebrates (the Sacraments), what she lives (the Commandments), and what she prays (the Lord's Prayer), the Catechism of the Catholic Church offers challenges for believers and answers for all those interested in learning about the mystery of the Catholic faith. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is a positive, coherent and contemporary map for our spiritual journey toward transformation.

Mother of the Lamb tells the remarkable story of a Byzantine image that emerged from the losing side of the Crusades. Called the Virgin of the Passion in the East and Our Lady of Perpetual Help in the West, the icon has expanded beyond its Byzantine origins to become one of the most pervasive images of our time. It boasts multiple major shrines on nearly every continent and is reflected in every epoch of art history since its origin, even making an appearance at the Olympics in 2012. Matthew Milliner first chronicles the story of the icon's creation and emergence in the immediate aftermath of the Third Crusade, whereupon the icon became a surprising emblem of defeat, its own fame expanding in inverse proportion to Christendom's political contraction. Originally born as a Christian response to the Christian violence of the Crusades, it marked the moment when Mary's ministry of suffering love truly began. Having traced the icon's origin and ubiquity, Milliner teases out the painting's theological depth, and continues the story of the icon's evolution and significance from its origins to the present day. As the story of the icon moves well beyond Byzantine art history, both temporally and thematically, it engages religion, politics, contemporary art, and feminist concerns at once. Always, though, the icon exemplifies dignity in suffering, a lesson that--through this image--Byzantium bequeathed to the wider world. Encapsulating eleven centuries of development of the mourning Mary in Byzantium, the Virgin of the Passion emerges as a commendable icon of humility, a perennial watchword signaling the perils of imagined political glory. The Virgin of the Passion, emblemizing political humility, the powerful agency of women, and the value of inter-Christian and extra-Christian concord, is an exemplary Marian image for the fledgling twenty-first century.

In this lively, original book, illustrated with photographs of the recently restored work, Barnes analyzes the Last Judgment and the historical context in which it was created and received. She broadens our view of Michelangelo and his creative process and offers new insight into one of his greatest works.

A classic of medieval studies, The Resurrection of the Body in Western Christianity, 200–1336 traces ideas of death and resurrection in early and medieval Christianity. Caroline Walker Bynum explores problems of the body and identity in devotional and theological literature, suggesting that medieval attitudes toward the body still shape modern notions of the individual. This expanded edition includes her 1995 article “Why All the Fuss About the Body? A Medievalist’s Perspective,” which takes a broader perspective on the book’s themes. It also includes a new introduction that explores the context in which the book and article were written, as well as why the Middle Ages matter for how we think about the body and life after death today.