Book Review: Mary and the Fathers of the Church
While I was working on a personal project about the Blessed Virgin Mary, I came across the book Mary and the Fathers of the Church by Father Luigi Gambero, published by Ignatius Press, available here. As someone who is blessed with a devotion to Mary, this book was very appealing to help me learn about the Church Fathers. Before diving into this review, I want to note that I am not endorsed by anyone for this. I am making this review entirely independent of any interested parties and I paid for this book out of my own pocket.
About the author
Information on the author is very scarce. I found one website with minimal information. The only other information comes from the back of the book. Father Luigi Gambero was born in Robbio, Italy on January 7, 1930 and died in Rome on June 6, 2013. He became internationally-known as an expert on early Christianity. From what I was able to find, he has written two or three books. At least two are translated into English, Mary and the Fathers of the Church, and Mary in the Middle Ages. The third book is titled in Italian as Faith and Marian devotion in the Byzantine Empire: From the post-patristic period to the fall of the empire, which may have been retitled as Mary in the Middle Ages. Currently, Mary and the Fathers of the Church is the only one in print with Mary in the Middle Ages being discontinued in print, however it is still available in digital form. I plan to post a review of Mary in the Middle Ages at a later date.
About the book
The author takes us through about 400 pages of early Church history and Marian theology by focusing on the writings and teachings of the Church Fathers. The book was originally published in 1991 making the writing style rather contemporary and easy to read. It was originally written in Italian before being translated into English. This book presents two major aspects of the Catholic Church, Mary and the Church Fathers, in a wonderfully cohesive way through the lens of Christian history
Summary of the book
Mary and the Fathers of the Church takes us on a journey through time to discover the development of Marian theology starting with the earliest Church Fathers, the Apostolic Fathers, and ending in the eighth century with John Damascene (AKA Damascus) who is known as the last of the Church Fathers. During our walk through Church history, Father Gambero details heresies, persecutions, and other historical events occurring throughout our journey. He gives us his own insight throughout the book as we see Marian theology start from seedlings, grow into saplings, and finally become the forest of trees we have today.
My review
The book is well written in a contemporary writing style. Despite being an educational book discussing history, theology, and doctrine, it was not at all bland. The writing reflects the passion of the author while he shares the knowledge he has been blessed with. As he takes us through numerous Church Fathers, Gambero could have fallen into a predictable pattern to discuss each father, however he did not. While there are naturally traces of this type of pattern, the reader can see he did not force the Fathers into a pattern, rather, he worked with the natural pattern that occurred between the Fathers while organically working with the natural fluidity of the contributions of these great and unique men of the Church.
Additionally, I appreciate that Father Gambero does not shy away from controversial figures in Church history such as Origen and Hippolytus. Instead, he writes about their contributions to our understanding of Mary while addressing the personal shortcomings of these men.
In conclusion, Father Gambero did a fantastic job compiling more than seven centuries of information into an easy-to-read book filled with profound knowledge. In my opinion, Mary and The Fathers of the Church serves three great functions: 1) to introduce Mary’s devotees to the Fathers of the Church, 2) to introduce fans of the Church Fathers to Mary, and 3) to introduce any Christian to the Church Fathers and the Blessed Virgin Mary to understand the significance of Our Lady. The writings of the Church Fathers show the depth of Marian theology by helping us see the very first roots of the giant trees of Marian doctrine. Father Gambero details numerous heresies, which I am sure was not exhaustive, that were destroyed by the Church Fathers looking to understand Jesus by going to Him through Mary. Those of us who profess the Nicene creed owe a great deal of thanks to the Fathers of the Church who discovered the Christological truths by going to Jesus through Mary.
If you choose to read this book, it can be read at any time of year. The book is written to educate the reader on history, theology, and doctrine, meaning it does not have a heavy spiritual nature, though these aspects are able to draw us spiritually closer to Jesus through Mary. I was able to read Mary the Fathers of the Church in big chunks even with the chaos of several little blessings running around the house.
I want to thank Catholic Answers for promoting this fantastic book on their website where I found it. It has become one of my favorite books and I recommend it as a must-read for any Christian so we may develop and reinforce our understanding of Jesus through Mary.
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