My review of Abbot Joseph’s book, A Place Prepared by God: Through the Virgin Mary, the New Eve, Paradise Will Not Fail Twice:
The editorial description on the back cover (copied below for your convenience) accurately explains the purpose of this book and gives a high level overview of its contents. But neither it nor I can do justice to how the author accomplished his goals. I’ve no doubt that his (our) Mother had her hand in this particular accomplishment.
If you think you don’t need another devotional book about Mary or Christianity or Redemption (all three are inseparable), don’t be so sure. This book isn’t just another pretty and consoling spiritual book; it is a catechism (not in style, but substance) of our Blessed Mother, our Christian faith and our Redemption.
This book will help those who already possess an abundance of Marian knowledge and share an intimate relationship with Mary increase both the quantity and quality of those treasures.
Abbot Joseph is exceptional at making complex themes easy to read about. Because there are countless themes to savor and reflect on, you may want to read this book more than once and certain portions of it perhaps many times.
This book is a beautiful and exciting read, truly outstanding. It is often hard to put down, but one must in order to benefit most by what was just read and not allow that to be overcome by all that is to follow. So read it through once and then begin anew.
For those who know little of Mary and would like to learn more about her, this book will make much more than an excellent first step toward that end. Catholics and non-Catholics will be enlightened and blessed as they read about the mysteries of Mary’s life, her relationship to us, her protection over us, and her intercession for us. This is not a narrative about she who is Full of Grace; it is a guide for us to be all that we are called to be.
When explaining a particular mystery, Abbot Joseph wrote: “The deeper you go into God, the clearer it will become.” I can tell you that the more you read Abbot Joseph’s works, the deeper you will go into God.
To love someone, we must know them. By means of this book Abbot Joseph exclaims with Jesus, “Behold your Mother.”
Thank you Abbot Joseph.
In case you haven’t yet read the editorial description, I’m including it below for your convenience.
“A Place Prepared by God is more than a book of reflections on the mystery of the Mother of God. A personal experience of the presence of Our Lady prompted Abbot Joseph to write something to help make her better known and loved. Mary is offered to us by God not merely for our admiration or veneration, but as a real, living Mother with whom we can personally relate, in whose loving company we can walk on the way to the Kingdom of Heaven. Through these pages, you will discover a Woman whom you have perhaps not sufficiently understood before, who shines through the pages of Scripture and the whole experience of the Church, and who invites you to a richer spiritual life. Peppered with personal experiences and a bit of poetry, along with an additional perspective from the Byzantine tradition, this book is more engaging than a standard treatise on Our Lady. When you learn what God has really meant her to be, for the whole world and for you personally, you will surely come to her and allow her to bring you to Jesus.”
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If you decide to purchase this marvelous book, please consider ordering directly from the author. You’ll be offering more support for Mt. Tabor Monastery – Amazon takes 55% right off the top! Click here for details.
