Refuting the Attack on Mary: A Defense of Marian Doctrines

This is an awesome little book. I read it in a few days (though its short enough for a few hours) and profitted greatly from it. It was a great idea to write the book as a response to a CRI attack on Mary as it helps to break down Marian theology into fundamental building blocks, and more importantly, the inclusion of the CRI attacks helps make the reader more familiar with the "anti-marian" playbook of our Protestant brothers and sisters. Father Mateo is a very good writer and his language is easily understood by the layperson and is supplemented with plenty of scripture (so be sure to have a Bible handy). I highly recommend this book.

Father Mateo presents a good deal of information in this small book, discussing many separate matters related to the Virgin Mary. For instance, Father Mateo addresses the issue of Mary's perpetual virginity when he discusses the "brothers of Jesus". He points out that the Greek word adelphos does not have to mean brother. Nor, for that matter, does it have to mean cousin. Adelphos can simply mean relative. Of course, it is possible that Joseph had children from a previous marriage, in which case Jesus would have had physical brothers without impairing Mary's perpetual virginity. The latter was the position held by some of the early Church fathers. Father Mateo spends some time defending the Immaculate Conception of Mary. He claims that the Greek verb form, with the stem that is used, requires Luke 1:28 to state that Mary was "completely, perfectly, enduringly endowed with grace". This necessarily requires Mary to have been shielded from sin from the moment of her conception. One of the many other Scriptural issues which Father Mateo addresses is the matter of our Lord seemingly scolding his mother (Luke 11:27-28). This apparent scolding is an artifact of the translation. A more accurate translation would have our Lord saying that Mary is blessed not just because she happens to be His mother, but also because she hears the Word of God, and keeps it.

The is the best book on Mary I have seen to date and should be thought of as required reading by all ( cathoilc / protestant / non-christian alike ) . It is a joy to read and answers some of the age old lies about Mary worship in the Catholic church . There is a world between prasie and worship . When a boos or friend or parents say " well done " or "good job: that is prasie the same praise that Catolic people use to honor the Virgin Mothe. Worship is saved for the Father, Son and Holy Spirit ONLY. This one one of many points this wonderful little book points out . If you have not read this one ..shame on you . It is just that good !

Father Mateo succeeds in answering the Protestant's charges against the Marian doctrines, but not in a lot of detail. He does, however, point you in the right direction.If you are looking for a general explanation for these doctrines, or if you just want to have some good answer to give a Protestant who is grilling you, then this book is for you. If you prefer a textbook analysis of Mariology, see "All Generations Shall Call Me Blessed" by Stefano M. Manelli.

Father Mateo was the pen name of a Catholic Priest who hosted the "Ask Father" forum on the Catholic Information Network until his death in 1996. This book was written as a direct rebuttal to a two-part article entitled "The Mary of Roman Catholicism" printed up in the Christian Research Institute Journal in 1990. Father Mateo hits many of the theological points of Marian doctrine in this book, though it would be nice to have a copy of the two CRI articles mentioned in this book. If you are not familiar with Marian doctrine, this book does not give you time to catch the basics, and it can get quite heady at time. If you have been "down this road before" though, this book will be fast paced. Though it is a direct rebuttal to a duo of CRI articles, this book can be used by Catholic apologists when discussing Marian doctrine, as the book is quite comprehensive. However, if you are looking for a slower paced, easier to read Catholic Apologetics book based on Marian Doctrine, I would recommend "The Catholic Answer Book of Mary" by Peter Stravinskas instead.