This book has great interviews taken from the Medjugorje visionaries. The six seers, who see or saw the Mother of God daily, are interviewed in this awe inspiring book. They tell their story simply and make responding to God's desires more easy to achieve. They are full of knowledge from heaven that we simply would not know. They do. They have seen the future and what lies ahead for those who do not turn to God. They tell us what we must do now. They speak of the importance of prayer, of a Sacramental life, of a family that prays together. This book is a "must read" for anyone interested in Medjugorje and their future. Beware of some of the theology in the introductory and concluding chapters, they are the opinion of the author-not the Medjugorje visonaries. This book is a collection of interviews. Read them and understand the greatness of those who give their lives over to Mary in order to live heaven on earth.

I really can't recommend this book enough for anyone interested in the Blessed Virgin, in Marian Apparitions, or in Medjugorje. If you are interested in all three, I'd consider this book a must-have. The woman who wrote the book interviewed not only all of the visionaries (the ones who see the Blessed Virgin Mary and have since 1981 !) but also the two child 'locutionaries' as well. Each chapter of interviews speaks of how it began for each person and 'where they are today' as far as which ones still receive a daily apparition and which have a yearly one now, and who has all ten secrets and who is yet to receive all ten (now, most have ten and some have nine). It explains the phenomena of Medjugorje very well. There are also photographs to go along with all the book talks about. I did not know there were child locutionaries (they hear the BVM talking to them, and I believe this because for one thing, the things those two children say are amazingly wise beyond their years) until I read this book.

The interviewer asks spiritual questions of each subject and the answers will have your mouth dropping open. I can't seem to hold onto this book; every once in a while I will buy a new copy, only to give it away again to someone I feel will be amazed by it too -- and they are. The interview subjects discuss heaven, hell, purgatory, God's peace, the visions, etc.etc. It's an amazing book, and will leave you feeling very good after reading it. I found it inspiring. [....] Right now it's my favorite book about Medjugorje.

I have read Visions Of The Children many times over and over. After having been to Medjugorje twice I feel Jan Connell's book is probably the book which will make you feel as if you are already there in Medjugorje. I have read many books on Medjugorje. This one is my favorite because it is the most detailed about the six visionaries and their testimonies and encounters with Our Lady in Medjugorje.This book goes beyond all of the manifestations of Medjugorje like the rosaries turning gold, the sun spinning, etc- and focuses on the true messages of Our Lady and which she has been stating for the last almost 21 years. Do read this book and let it touch you as it has us those of us that have been blessed to visit Medjugorje ourselves and for those that havent this will take you on a journey there in your heart. A beautiful and inpisring book!

This is the second Brian Moore novel I've read and if there is a pattern emerging it is that his books are intensely readable. I defy you to read the first ten pages of this book and try to set it down. It isn't going to happen. That said, though, the book does not completely succeed from an artistic standpoint.

The story starts off as a simple mystery. An American woman is vacationing in France with her husband. She wants to separate from him and is indeed planning to announce this to him when he is involved in a boating accident and killed. The following day, she returns to the hospital to which he was taken, and is told that his body has disappeared.

Pretty gripping, admittedly, and sure enough, the reader finds himself happily engaged in discovering what this mystery is all about. But very quickly, we sense something unusual about this woman. Her thoughts and actions do not seem normal; in fact, they become somewhat bizarre. It is then that we learn that there is something else going on here; something much larger than the mystery at hand. We realize that the husband's disappearance is only a minor element of this other aspect.

I cannot reveal what it is; it would ruin the experience of the earlier mystery. Let me just say that there is a supernatural element which leads to a thought-provoking theme: what is it that we want from this life? Salvation? Freedom? Privacy? It would appear that not all of us are involved in a lifelong, soul-searching quest for enlightenment, even when it is handed to us on a silver platter. And that this is not necessarily a bad thing.

My complaint with the novel lies in the fact that not all the pieces fit together. There are several threads which are begun and left in the air and one gets the disturbing sense that this was deliberate. They are red herrings meant to deceive us. What were the husband's notes, for example? Much time is spent in showing us his writing them and her searching for them. And then they are never mentioned again. What was that about? And the fat man with the dogs. He appears out of nowhere, seems to have a malevolent presence at several significant events, then vanishes. Why is he even there? Of course, the entire beginning subplot steers us in the wrong direction to begin with.

Clearly, these things are intentional, and I'm not sure why. Leading the reader into blind alleys does not advance the novel thematically or in any other way. But it is nevertheless an enjoyable book, and will inspire at least a little thoughtful introspection on the part of the reader.

Having read many recently published books and not found many that I would give a rave review, I asked myself what book WOULD I rave about and thought about "Cold Heaven", which I read several years ago yet remember as vividly as if it were yesterday. The novel pulled me in with its unique, "Twilight Zone" plot, then deftly introduced other themes on the nature of love, sanity, spirituality and Catholicism. It is truly a gripping, haunting book, and a good introduction to Moore, who has written several other superb novels--although none, in my opinion, as memorable as this. One final note: avoid at all costs the film based on the book, a botched job if there ever was one

Moore asks, how we would we react, today, to a religious vision? I'd run like hell, and so does the heroine. All of Moore's books are fascinating, but I think this is his best. And the ending is perfect. (By the way, the movie was dreadful.)

This book is certainly valuable as a kind of encyclopaedia of apparitions of Mary through history. But it is, unfortunately, coloured by the author's own political agenda. In many cases Swann tries to interpret Mary's message as some kind of anticommunist propaganda, although the actual quotes from the texts seldom supports that interpretation.

In the case of La Salette 1846, Swann interprets Mary's warning for disasters as partly referring to the rise of Communism. In the case of Zeitoun in Egypt 1968 Swann even suggest that Mary's apparition was the reason for Egypt moving closer to the US some years later. Mary is seen as a cold warrior on the US side! This says something essential about Swanns own political views but almost nothing about the apparitions. It is sad that the author use this interesting subject as a pretext for writing a rightwing pamphlet.

The apparitions of Mary are indeed fascinating but it is hard to distinguish between those things in the stories that are genuine and what are later additions by the Catholic Church, or by local sectarians. Swann is incapable of making these distinctions, because he is sometimes a defender of orthodoxy, sometimes a defender of sectarian views (cf how he downplays the anti-semitism in the Wisconsin "apparition" in 1949!).

But for those who seek a short overview of the Mary apparitions Swanns book is certainly useful.

A last comment, though. Isn't it sad that the woman who made the Magnificat is portrayed as a symbol of reaction!

Don't get me wrong, I'm a Catholic and I love my heavenly mother, but this guy is bonkers for Mary. It was downright scary the powers that he gives to her. It made me want to dis-believe in all the private revelations. I don't think Mary would smile on this one. However, there was lots of legendary information there.

As one (non-Christian/Catholic but spiritual and Jewish...go figure) who has been fascinated with Marian Apparitions, I enjoyed this book and found it informative. There are apparitions included that I was not familar with, as well as the more "famous" sightings, such as Fatima, etc. Swann has also inlcuded a lot of detail about various apparitions that have not been addressed by other writers. I personally found the section on the Egyptian apparitions particulary interesting. Swann treats this subject with respect. I wish Swann had included a little more of his own personal thoughts on what these apparitions are; religious? "alien?" truly paranormal/supernatural? etc. but it's a minor point, and he does give his thoughts throughout the various chapters. A concluding chapter of "what if/what is it?" would have been interesting. But Swann has chosen to focus on specific apparitions, with detail and information that has not appeared elsewhere, or, is very difficult to find. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in this subject, including as a first book for someone just beginning to become familar with this area. I enjoyed it very much, and appreciated Swann's style, tone, and detail.

Hucksters of prophecies usually make their sales by scaring what wits their customers still have entirely out of them. So, this book stands out from the rest by stroking the terrified reader with reassurances that all is not so bad as it might seem. Of course, this is the usual thing with the Biblical and other religious crowds, who all hope to make it past the fiery Millenium, but freaked out New Agers may want to hear some good tidings, too.
A bonus is the book's inclusion of several, not just one, traditions of hocus-pocus. So several word-of-mouth and late-night-television groups may be drawn to this title.
I'd recommend it for the paranormal collection in high schools, public libraries or podunk colleges, where stuff like this gets checked out permanently or ripped off all the time and the staff need to keep something on the shelf.

Having never read any of Elizabeth's books before, and being relatively aware of St Germaine and his wondrous work on this planet, this book jumped out at me. Yes, I agree with the other reviewees, that it is a helpful book to enable us to 'relax' somewhat and know that all is indeed not doom and gloom. Power to the people could never be as important at this time that we are presently in. However, there is a group of chapters which I would have to whole heartedly disagree with and if I didn't know any better, they appear to have an agenda behind them.The Child's Perspective and a few of the following chapters from this one I personally found quite alarming in their content. There is no greater truth than your own, so take care when reading some of this, because at the end of the day it is only an opinion. Don't be afraid to feel and if all of her words ring true for you fantastic, but if they don't this is because this is Elizabeth's truth and not your own.

This is a very well-written and well-researched book, but most importantly, it gives us a very profound sense of hope by saying that prophecy is just a warning, it's not intended to panick people and make them buy tons of supply and just wait for the world to crumble down, but we actually can overcome it and make our destiny what we want it to be.

Catholics thinking about purchasing this book should know that it is written and published by representatives of the break-away organization the "Society of St. Piux X," that the book bears neither an Imprimatur nor Nihil Obstat from Catholic bishops, and that its contents and commentaries are not necessarily conforming to Catholic doctrine.

Human Beings ignore that every day of their life they advance toward their death and what there is after. Even if they ignore it, they head for that. And if they know that, even if they don't want it, they go toward it because God wants it and nobody can resist his will which is competent for everybody WITHOUT ANY EXCEPTION (we will see God who will tell us either: "it is well, Good servant come in the Joy of your Lord" either: "withdraw from bad servant, I don't know you").
And if we say all these things, we can't say the contrary because between two things which contradict each other, one only can be respectable and the other can be rejected: error is not respectable; it is false to think that there is nothing after death and there is no liberty in this thought (God did not ask before our birth if we wanted to live or not: it is the same thing for the death and after the death: there is no truth stronger than that). Freedom is only in truth and not in some false choices as modern man pretends.
Because the most important is to go to heaven and because all happiness on earth is nothing compared to the hapinness of Heaven. On the opposite, because misfortune of hell is very much more horrible compared to all of the most horrible misfortunes of this earth, it is very important to find a means to go to heaven. There is nothing better than the Blessed Virgin Mary. She is wonderful and powerful with God who is his Son. His Son can't stand that our Mother is insulted or offended. But he loves a lot those who love her. Because she has a great influence on her Son and because She prevented him from chastising Human Beings for their iniquities, it is the most useful, the most helpful devotion that we can have. She is so sweet, so kind that she can obtain all the things that we ask if it is conformed to the will of God who doesn't want any evil.
Dear readers, I hope that you will take care of these truths which are not invented by anybody but before we lived on this earth, they existed already and they existed before the very beginning of this world in the mind of God.
The Book of Saint louis de Montfort help to be full of them.
I hope that at the end you will go to heaven which is much less far than we think... Many Human Beings die when they don't plan it: it is a very actual fact that God comes always like a thief; today more than 5000 persons died: where are they now? Only God knows, the only holy thief. And tomorrow it will be the same thing and so on until the end of times. When will this day (terrible for sinners and sweet for those who bravely fighted on earth) happen to us? Let us be ready for this day which can be tomorrow... And the best means is the Blessed Virgin Mary. The book of Saint Louis de Montfort is very good to eliminate all the things which displease to God (only sins displease him and we sin everyday). Let God have mercy on us not only in this world where his mercy is evident but in the other world where alas very few people find it because gate which leads to Heaven is very narrow. God bless you who hear the true word of God.
It is only in his Church which is the Catholic Church that we find the Truth. The Church condamned many heresies like protestantism and many false religions where God is not the Master but arranged by Human Beings and put with other divinities: how can God stand it because he knows that he is alone and there is no several gods in Heaven but only him. Who would enjoy it in his place? It seems like scoffing at him to put divinities equal to him as they are nothing more than fiction beings in the imagination of men. Do you enjoy to be mocked? I don't think so. God doesn't enjoy either.
And for those who don't hear it, I wish from all my heart that you will convert one day before it is too late to the true faith without mixing that with any error that God hates (modern world does that all the time). Hatred of God is so strong that I don't wish you to be in its range because you will feel it alas eternally. And don't laugh for God warned us: "Misfortune to you who laugh because you will cry". But I wish you to labor in this world: "Happiness to you you cry because you will laugh" he also said.
God uses those who are crazy to confuse those who are wise. If you are wise and if I am crazy now (because these truths are crazy for the world), in the other world, I will be wise and you will be crazy, not for a short time like now but for eternity. 2000 years, it is nothing, it is not even the beginning of eternity...
Let Our Mother enlighten you, it is what I wish you from my heart of hearts because for anybody I don't wish hell. And I pray with other catholics who have the true catholic faith for you very much, dear readers. Have a true devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and you will be saved.

This book had provided me with an intimate relationship, with Mary, that was so desperately needed. I feel as if my spiritual life has become fuller because of the love and confidence that De Montfort shows that Mary wants to give us just for the asking. I sincerely feel the love that Mary has for me. The meditations are organized in a fantastic format. It was the best five weeks of organized meditation in really long time. It did create a spiritual awakening and renewal that I did not know existed. The true sense of this book cannot be put into simple words-it must read, meditated upon, and spiritually experienced in order to understand its comfort.

Connell is usally an excellent writer but her reporting
on Medjugorje is compromised and shallow.

This book has enlightened my life mentally as well as spiritually. I recommend this book to people who are on the road to learning about this little town in Yugoslavia. A beautiful book!

This book consists of interview questions by a lawyer with six "visionaries" in Mejougordje, Bosnia who have been visited regularly by the Virgin Mary since 1982. Contains amazing revelations about Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, the power of prayer and what the Blessed Mother is saying everyone needs to do now -- which is prayer, fasting, and turning your life over to Jesus. Each visionary has been given 10 "secrets" which will be revealed in their lifetimes (they are about 32 years old) which will provide clear, visible proof of God. The secrets concern punishments or chastisements" that will be inflicted upon the earth by God because of sin. There will be a three-days (only) warning notice announced by the local priest in Mejougordje when these will begin.

Stravinskas presents a fairly standard view of the history of Fundamentalism, and provides some interesting, if mostly anecdotal, evidence of the increased acceptance of Marian devotion in Protestant Charismatic efforts to proselytize hispanic Roman Catholics. I believe that this is the only source for research on the subject, and thus must reluctantly recommend it to those interested in this new proselytism.

Unfortunatly, the book does not measure up to its title. Stravinskas falls flat on his face in examining Protestant views of Mary, and the reasons for their rejection of the Catholic view.

One wonders how it is possible to write a 230-footnote chapter on the role of Mary in Protestant and Fundamentalist theology without actually presenting a view of what Protestants think. Stravinskas shows the positions of the Reformers as being more sympathetic to the Catholic view, but this is irrelevant to the modern Protestant position. He quotes a number of liberal Protestant theologians who are also sympathetic, but these views are largely unknown to the rank-and-file. Worst of all, when he actually deals with Protestants who are more representative of popular belief, he never actually addresses their arguments!

Stravinskas gets truly mean-spirited here, using [sic] to point out grammatical mistakes and painting his opponents as buffoons. He only quotes objections of the 'Pope=Antichrist' variety, and sources that are at the lunatic fringe of Fundamentalism.

The real pity is that there are serious issues at hand that would be addressed in a more honest work, such as the Protestant view of sole mediatorship and the definition of 'worship'. These must be dealt with, both to defend against sheep-stealing and in ecumenical dialog. Anyone interested in these issues would be better served by works such as _The One Mediator, the Saints, and Mary (Lutherans and Catholics in Dialog No. 8)_, rather than by this hate-filled polemic.

An excellent resource for Marian apologetics. Fr Stravinskas cites numerous objections and answers them. Footnotes provide full information for more research if the reader desires. Great!

Fr. Stravinskas' work here is first rate. It is the best answer to and analysis of the theological underpinnings (ultimately disastrous) of the Fundamentalist and Evangelical phobic responses to Mary and Marian devotion. A must read!

In this book, Butler, for many years a senior Methodist minister in the Central Valley of California proposes a "two story line" reading of the Gospel of John, in which chapters 11-13 are taken to be keys to Jesus' inauguration of a new form of universal ministry. Mary and Martha are, the author concludes, included in this new form and intent of ordination for all of Jesus' disciples. This unfolds by means of a complicated system of hidden signs which, the author argues, parallel the intentions of the Fourth Gospel with transformation of the priestly caste system of the Pentateuch. The capstone is Mary's intended anointing of Jesus which, by Jesus' words "Let Her Keep It," turns the anointing upon Mary (her odination to ministry), as the sign and seal of the anointing of all of Jesus' disciples.

"Let Her Keep It" by Thomas W. Butler is a well crafted exploration of Mosaic oracles known as 'semeia' in ritual symbolic gestures found in first century Judaism. Butler applies intuitive detective work, spiritual insight and scriptural scholarship to the Gospel of John, gaining a fresh perspective, exposing a deeper layer of significance and uncovers cohesive connections between elements that have been viewed previously as separate events. His inclusion of directly translated material from the Greek text is a real plus for those struggling with the language barrier and for those who have been taught a prejudice against certain translation editions.

Butler's exploration of John's Gospel is especially ingenious. By removing the artificial constraints of chapter and verse, (which were a later addition to the text),as he presents what are seemingly separate events he unfolds three interrelated acts of a play. With the thoroughness of Robert Eisenman, and having taken cues from such scholars as Allen Culpepper and Raymond Brown, Butler has gone beyond the boundaries of his predecessors with a plausible new slant on the material. If his conclusions are correct, Butler has opened a door of easy access and facilitated a quantum leap for general readers as well as scholars.

His conclusions support a far broader role for women as recipients of the heritage of Christ's promise to make of us a priestly people.

M. E. Bessette

This book has a very extensive listing of shrines in the East and Midwest but has only two listed in the entire West -- one in California and one in Oregon -- and only two in the Southwest. When I ordered the book I was looking forward to making some day and weekend pilgrimages to sites in my area. The book still gave me lots of ideas for pilgrimages, but they'll have to wait for my next trip back east.

This book is an excellent guide of the Marian Shrines. It is not just for the traveler but for people that dream of visiting the shrines. The description of the shrines, the history and directions are all there.

Hark fellow pagan wymen ! Here be a tome of most rightious truth and beauty, consistent with the guidance of the Goddess! Herein all honor is given to the sacred moon-time flow. Blessed Be!

I was also disappointed with this book. I had saved clippings and ads about it and looked forward to reading it, even lucked upon a signed copy. But this modern style is not for me. Both the premise and the setting (Christ and Mary Magdalene's love story in a Celtic world) were great, but I didn't like the execution. The author often intrudes with a narrator's voice, which works in many novels but would probably have worked better here if she had chosen one style and stuck to it. There are probably a lot of modern writers and readers who enjoy this mixture of archetypal subject and words like "piss", but I'm not one of them. Too many cuss words and not enough mythic flavor. If you are still hungry for that special work, I would suggest Evangeline Walton's retelling of the Mabinogion, perhaps. Or anything by McKillip or MacAvoy. I do still want to try reading some of Ms Cunningham's other titles, however. She's obviously got spirit.

After reading other customers reviews, I was really looking forward to this book, however, I found myself surprisingly dissappointed. The modern humor with which the author flavors 90% of the novel, mixed with the time period of centuries ago was not well executed, and came across as cheeky and immature. I found the combination didn't work for me at all. The book comes across as very superficial and impotent.