Behold Your Mother | 
| Author: Heidi Hess-saxton
Publisher: Bezalel Books
Category: Book
Buy New: $9.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 309532
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 80
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 4.8 x 0.4
ISBN: 0980048303
Dewey Decimal Number: 291
EAN: 9780980048308
ASIN: 0980048303
Publication Date: February 20, 2008
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Product Description
When she converted to the Catholic tradition in 1994, Saxton says she initially found it difficult to "get close to Mary." This difficulty resolved itself over time . but she never completely understood her own initial reluctance until she became a foster parent in 2002, and experienced the children's initial resistance to her parenting efforts. Behold Your Mother contains three short stories from the author's life that illustrate Mary's "spiritual motherhood"; then a series of forty-eight short reflections, based on Scripture, on the life of Jesus' mother. This is a second, expanded edition of Saxton's book With Mary in Prayer (Loyola Press).
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
Priceless! July 8, 2008
A dear friend worked on this book and recommended it, knowing I love prayer books and any book on Mary. I bought it out of obligation to my friend and now find myself turning to it every morning to begin my day! The prayers and meditations really help me get focused for the day ahead. It isn't too long or too short, but just perfect. It has quickly become my favorite Mary book.
Rediscover the Love of Your Mother June 6, 2008
The book's author, Heidi Hess Saxton, a convert to Catholicism is a blogger at Mommy Monsters, and Behold Your Mother: A Bouquet of Love from Mary to Her Children . She is the editor of Canticle Magazine, the periodical of Living His Life Abundantly, Johnette Benkovic's long running EWTN TV program.
"His soft spot smelled of lambskin
as I lifted him from his tiny bed,
He nestled close, wisps of hair glued with sweat,
his eyes closed with concentration.
First feeding, my favorite moment.
So still, before the house awakens, it is just you
and I and no one else in the world,
My little Lord"
If you were fortunate enough to nurse a newborn, this passage evokes tender memories, yet you may be taken aback by the last line, `my little Lord'" But why is it surprising? Surely this typical moment between mother and infant was repeated many times in the life of the Holy Family. The problem is, as cradle Catholics, we sometimes lose touch with the more intimate moments of Our Lady's life, awed as we are by her purity and holiness. This often leads to an unintentional emotional distance from Mary, and sterility in our prayer lives. She is placed on a pedestal when she wants to hold our hand.
Because of her sinless nature, we may assume that obedience was effortless for Mary, yet in "Behold Your Mother", the trials of Our Lady's life are described with an immediacy that shows her extraordinary grace of her Immaculate Conception in action. We see that Mary's "yes" in the Annunciation wasn't a solitary act, but a constant challenge in her life as Mother of the Lord, one that is possible to imitate in our own lives.
We remember that loneliness and doubt touch every life, including that of Our Lady. She had a life where joys were always tinged with sorrow. We remember that the Flight into Egypt was exhausting, and that Our Lady may have pleaded for God to give her rest. We feel the anxiety of St. Joseph and Mary when young Jesus is left behind from the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and their bewilderment when they find Him so at home in the Temple, teaching the teachers. "Behold Your Mother" finally reminds us how much the Passion of Our Lord cost his Mother. That Man on the Cross was once her baby, He was beaten and bleeding, and there was nothing she could do but stay near Him and pray.
"Her obedience had thwarted Satan's plan.
But the snake would strike again. . .
From the cradle to the tomb, her greatest Joy
was touched by sorrow. Her mother's heart
knew full well the price of Love's victory:
The apple of her eye."
Have we ever pictured ourselves at the foot of the Cross with one of our children on it? "Behold Your Mother", helps us to do so here,
"I can't even wipe that precious forehead
I used to kiss each night.
Or bring a cup of water.
My Son, if I could take your place,
my broken heart for yours I'd do it. "
The last meditations take a few of the more well-known titles of Mary, such as Our Lady of Guadalupe, and bring us into the moments when she touched human lives powerfully, yet always maternally, reminding us that once Our Lord gave her to us as mother, she was walked by our side, ready to help hear our burdens, and bring them to her Son.
After reading this book I had a renewed sense of Our Lady's tender presence in my life, as my mother and friend, my companion as I mother my children and care for my husband. Because I feel more comfortable sharing the little things which life brings me, I find myself thinking about her, and turning to her more often in prayer.
Blessed Mother Teresa had written me a letter in 1990 while I was discerning my vocation. In the letter, she repeated advice from her own mother, "put your hand in Mary's hand and she will lead you to Jesus". The final meditation is just that, an invitation to let our renewed friendship with Our Lady lead us to the embrace of her Son Jesus.
The best book on Mary I've ever read May 10, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I tried to zip through it. Goodness knows, I have had it long enough to have been done with it long before now. But I just couldn't.
Behold Your Mother: Mary Stories and Reflections from a Catholic Convert might sound like it's a stuffy book. Perhaps you will stop reading now, before I shatter the preconception you may have just from reading the title.
Yes, it's a book about Mary, the mother of Jesus. Yes, Heidi Hess Saxton is a Catholic convert. No, it's not stuffy.
I couldn't put it down, though that seems to contradict the fact that I couldn't read it all in one sitting either. I was caught completely off guard by the style of the book. I don't know what I was expecting - it's not a very thick book, 70 pages - but I wasn't prepared for the impact this little collection would have on me.
The book is divided into two parts. In the first, Heidi shares three short stories from her own life about Mary. They're not of the rolling-your-eyes-this-lady's-off-her-rocker variety; instead, they're candid tales that were probably written only after Heidi had done a bit of shaking her head and trying to attribute them to something other than Mary's intercession. (My mother-in-law has a fair share of guardian angel stories of this ilk.)
In the second - and my favorite - part, Heidi has put together 48 reflections on the life of Mary. They were as surprising in their point-of-view as they were fresh in their styling. There were a few that made me tear up, and there are more than a couple of dog-eared pages that I'll be turning back to again and again.
It's the kind of book that I buy for all of my close friends and family, whether they're Catholic or not. That's partly for selfish reasons - I don't think I can part with this book to lend it out, because it's really that good. (The list of books I don't lend out is very small, just so you know. It probably includes two books, come to think of it.)
I challenge you, for a second, to let go of your preconceptions about Mary, Mother of God. Even if you have a devotion to her. Start out with a blank slate, and pick up this book. You may find that you come away changed. You may find that you come away smiling, with tears in your eyes. You may find yourself looking around you with new eyes.
While it would make a great Mother's Day gift, or birthday gift, or it's-Tuesday-I-love-you gift, don't wait to share this book with your favorite person. As a mother, I think automatically of other women and mothers to share it with, but last night, at our parish's May Crowning, I looked at Padre standing in the shadow of the be-flowered statue of Mary, and I realized that HE needs a copy of this book. Then I thought of my own father, and my husband, and my brother-in-law.
There's a timelessness to this book, and I look forward to sharing it with my daughters someday, and my nieces, and perhaps even my grandchildren. May, the month of Mary, is a terrific time to read it, though I can't think of a BAD time to read it.
Am I fawning?
I'll stop.
But only if you promise to go check it out for yourself. Then let me know what YOU think of it!
A book that will help you relate to Mary in ways you've never considered April 16, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Full of stories that reach the heart of motherhood and the relationship all people can have with the Blessed Virgin Mary, "Behold Your Mother: Mary Stories and Reflections from a Catholic Convert" by Heidi Hess Saxton will draw you closer to Mary, and therefore, her Son, Jesus.
As a former Catholic, I know the significant role that Mary plays in the Church. It is a part of that faith that used to mystify me; and my husband, who was brought up Greek Orthodox, after nearly 10 years of marriage still asks me what's up with the whole "Mary" thing.
But as I grew into adulthood and became a mother, I gave Mary more thought and realized what an inspiration and source of strength Mary can be to every one of God's children. This is exactly what Saxton has captured with "Behold Your Mother".
In the first story, Saxton discusses her own hesitation in praying to Jesus' mother after converting to Catholicism. There are also two other stories that show how Saxton draws strength and receives protection from Mary. The remainder of the book serves as a devotional. Snippets of Scripture are brought together with thought-provoking meditations about Mary and the role she plays in all our lives. Each meditation ends with a short prayer.
After reading "Behold Your Mother", I am more convinced than ever that people can reach out to Mary and gain a closer relationship with their Savior, Jesus Christ. In a world of uncertainty, Mary can give us the strength to move forward and she protects us as we reach out to her and seek her intercession.
"Behold Your Mother" by Heidi Hess Saxton is certain to bring people of all faiths closer to Mary and God. It will also make an excellent Mother's Day gift or alternative to a Mother's Day Card.
Awesome book March 26, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Behold Your Mother is a wonderful gift that will help to introduce you to Mary or rejuvinate your relationship with her. It begins with three stories of how Heidi came to know our Mother and then had 48 reflections about Mary. It is beautiful.
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