In ordinary family life, no one is so near to us as our mothers. We emerge from their very bodies. As babies we feed in their arms and feed from their substance. No voice is so familiar to us as Mom’s. If there’s one person we know on this earth, it’s Mom.

Yet many of us — maybe most of us — would be hard pressed to state her basic biographical facts. Quizzed on them, we might fail outright.

We Catholics can be that way with the Blessed Virgin Mary. We’re effusive in our devotion to her, emotive in our prayer, constant in the upkeep of her icons and shrines and backyard statues. Yet sometimes we’re sketchy on the scriptural and historical foundations, the bottom-line doctrines spelled out in the simple and ancient formulas of the Church.

We’re lost, then, when we find ourselves having to explain ourselves, and our rosaries and scapulars, to non-Catholics who dismiss our practices as superstitious or idolatrous.

Author David Mills knows that the best thing to do when lost is to ask directions. That’s why he cast his new book, Discovering Mary: Answers to Questions About the Mother of God (Servant, $12.99) in a helpful question-and-answer format. He anticipates the most commonly asked questions, both curious and hostile, and in response he provides basic answers: just the facts, no embellishment, no speculation, no diversions, no raptures of purple prose or poetic flight. Mills sticks as close as possible to the official documents, from Scripture and the Church Fathers to the Catechism and the popes.

The questions range from “When was Mary born?” and “Did Mary die?” to “Does the Church teach anything about Mary that can’t be found in the Bible?” Sometimes the queries can be dispatched with a single sentence. Sometimes the answers require several pages. I am a cradle Catholic whose non-Catholic wife for years found Marian doctrine to be an insuperable obstacle to conversion. So I am quite familiar with the territory, and I can say with confidence that Mills anticipated all the major and minor objections I faced, faced them squarely, and answered them honestly and persuasively.

Along the way, he also explains the many mysterious titles of Mary as well as her feast days in the Church’s calendar.

Mills begins the book with his own testimony, the story of his personal migration from a nonreligious upbringing to evangelical Christianity, then to Anglicanism, and finally to Roman Catholicism. (Mills lives in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, and was received into full communion at St. James in Sewickley.) For Mills as for many would-be convert, Marian devotions was a major stumbling-block on his road to Rome. Even when it was no longer an intellectual obstacle, he at first dismissed the traditions as “the sort of thing that some people liked and others didn’t but that no one had to practice” – especially not a “preppy” New Englander,” as he calls himself. “Some of it embarrassed me. It seemed a little too … Italian … It just wasn’t me.”

Even after his conversion to Catholicism, he scored himself “a C- in knowledge of Mary and a D- in devotion.”

Then a co-worker’s simple, natural affection for the Blessed Virgin inspired him to go deeper in his study and practice – and that eventually inspired him to write a beautiful book. It’s a useful book, too. It would be a perfect gift for RCIA candidates, new Catholics, middle-aged Catholics who don’t remember their CCD lessons, and Protestants who are puzzled by what the Catholic Church teaches.

God created Mary and called her for a unique place in the history of our salvation. The Scriptures testify to that fact. Mills shows us plainly that she is not, as some would have it, a woman whose “womb was merely the delivery system by which the Father brought His Son into the world.” Mary herself prophesied that “all generations” would call her “blessed” – and would have very good reasons for doing so. We fulfill that prophecy in our generation, by the traditional devotions. It is good, though, that we have David Mills to explain those very good reasons why we do what we do.

It would be good to have him address all life’s questions. His answers are simple and clear, brief when possible, but never cut short. He sticks to the facts and spares us his opinions. Such habits make this book the most valuable resource for discussions of a subject that is far more contentious than it should be. Civil conversations can proceed from these pages. Mother will surely be pleased.

Also check out David’s Discovering the Real Mary, Marian Diversity, and The Greater Blessings.

Speaking of Migne … Were he alive today, maybe he’d be blogging. And if he were blogging, he’d maybe be as productive as Roger Pearse. If you haven’t been keeping up with Roger’s projects, do check in and read through the archives. A patristiblogger could do nothing but follow Roger’s work and still stay very busy.

Reviewed at BMCR … Ramsay MacMullen, The Second Church. Popular Christianity A.D. 200-400

Reviewed at BMCR … Chiara Torre (ed.), Martini Bracarensis De ira: introduzione, testo, traduzione e commento (an edition of Martin of Braga — book in Italian, but the review’s in English)

Once again, I’m helping to lead a pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi. It would be awesome if you could join us. I do think this is our best lineup ever:

Scott and Kimberly Hahn

Steve and Janet Ray

Elizabeth Lev

Rob Corzine and Matt Leonard

and Yours Truly

My hope is that — if you want to join us and you can afford to go — you and I can enjoy a grace-filled week together, celebrating Mass at the tombs of the Apostles and Fathers, visiting the holy sites, and enjoying the visual, cultural, and culinary delights that the Eternal City has to offer.

The pilgrimage takes place May 23 to June 1, 2010, and the days and evenings will be full. The trip will be sponsored by the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology.

We’ll spend time in the Catacombs of St. Callistus; the Basilicas of St. Peter, the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, St. John Lateran, and St. Mary Major; the churches of St. Clement, the Pantheon, Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, St. Augustine, St. Peter in Chains, St. Agnes, and Saints Praxedes and Pudentiana. In these holy places rest the relics of so many of the ancients: Saints Peter and Paul, Saints Simon and Jude, St. Lawrence, St. Gregory the Great, St. Leo, St. Ignatius of Antioch, St. Monica, and many martyrs whose names have been lost to history. (St. Jerome, too, if you accept that much-disputed tradition.)

We’ll tour the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel. We’ll climb the Holy Stairs. We’ll pray the Stations of the Cross in the Colosseum. We’ll wander the Roman Forum, see the Arch of Constantine, the Arch of Titus that depicts the emperor’s return to Rome with the plunder of Jerusalem. We’ll visit the tombs of many Jesuit saints at the Church of St. Ignatius. We’ll stroll through dazzling Piazza Navona, and we’ll even leave a little time for gelato or shopping.

Each day will include brief seminars on aspects of history, archeology, and theology related to Christian Rome. We’ll take meals together, celebrate daily Mass together, pray a daily Rosary together, and walk and talk together.

In Rome you’ll gather memories you’ll treasure for the rest of your life — memories you’ll draw from as you guide children or grandchildren, teach CCD, or otherwise witness to the faith. You’ll gather memories that will feed your prayer and help you to feed the prayer of others.

Please pray about whether you might join me and these good friends of mine.

St. Paul Center pilgrimages tend to fill up, once they’re announced. So, if you’re interested, it’s better to register sooner rather than later.

You’ll find an itinerary and registration details here.

The lineup of speakers is outstanding. I’ve heard them all and would gladly pay to hear them again.

Friday, November 6

Scott Hahn: “Receive the Spirit: Priesthood and Blessing in the Gospel of John,” 7:30 pm

Saturday, November 7

Fr. Pablo Gadenz (Seton Hall University): “The Priest as Spiritual Father”

Dr. Brant Pitre (Notre Dame, New Orleans): “Jesus, Passover and Priesthood”

Dr. Mary Healy (Sacred Heart, Detroit): “Christ’s Priesthood and Christian Priesthood in the Epistle to the Hebrews”

Dr. Dan Keating, (Sacred Heart, Detroit): “Life-Giving Blessing in St. Cyril of Alexandria”

Bishop David Zubik will celebrate Holy Mass and preach.

Fr. Robert Barron of Chicago (and YouTube) will deliver the annual address in memory of Father Ronald Lawler, OFM Cap.

Registration for the conference is $50 per person, only $25 for full-time students. Seminarians attend free of charge.

You can register online at www.SalvationHistory.com or by calling 740-264-9535.

The conference usually fills up, so register soon. And bring your friends. It’s a great time, with lots of opportunities for conversation and book-shopping. The speakers are first-rate and the talks are rich, but aimed at non-scholars.

Please let me know if you plan on attending. It would be great to meet in person.

We discussed Angels of God: The Bible, the Church and the Heavenly Hosts and Fire of God’s Love: 120 Reflections on the Eucharist.

New reviews of Fire of God’s Love appeared in several high places:

Happy Catholic

Blessed Is the Kingdom

Salvation Is an Adventure

Documentary: The Passion of Saint Perpetua: Martyr of the Faith (or rental). I’m the face and voice through this one, but there’s also lots of footage shot on site in North Africa. The camera takes you into all the relevant ruins.

Animated feature: The Story of Saint Perpetua. I posted reviews of this by noted authors Rod Bennett and Carl Sommer. You can check out new reviews by Binks and Happy Catholic.

There’s been interesting news in the archeology of early Christianity:

MercatorNet ran an interesting analysis of the recent Saxon discovery: Let’s Have Done with the Dark Ages.

The New York Times discussed Counting Coins to Count Rome’s Population.

BMCR has been reviewing interesting books:

Gregg Gardner, Kevin L. Osterloh, Antiquity in Antiquity: Jewish and Christian Pasts in the Greco-Roman World. Reviewed here.

Judith Perkins, Roman Imperial Identities in the Early Christian Era. Reviewed here.