Face of the Heavenly Mother

The Face of the Heavenly Mother by Josef Cardinal Mindszenty, 146 pages

 

This is a sequel to, and an extension of, an earlier work Cardinal Mindszenty wrote on mothers.  Here, he expands his meditation on motherhood to encompass great icons of motherhood,  such as St Monica and the Church herself.  The heart of the book, informing everything else, is a consideration of the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  For the author, the importance and glory of motherhood is revealed most clearly in that the greatest of all created beings is a mother.  Indeed, for Mindszenty, mothers are especially close to God because they participate in such a direct way in the work of God, bringing forth life.  A good mother is a font of virtue, embodying - and depending on - faith, hope, and love.

 

Although the theme of the book is straightforward enough, Mindszenty's digressions into related areas, most notably a chapter-length apologetical defense of Marian veneration, mar its unity and thus blunt its impact.  Some of what is presented here has been better said elsewhere, as in St John Paul II's apostolic letter Mulieris Dignitatem, but the author can hardly be faulted for that, especially as his work served as one of the inspirations of that document.