Manual for Marian Devotion (TAN Books)

Manual for Marian Devotion is the third book in a line of spiritual manuals published by TAN Books. The first two being Manual for Spiritual Warfare and Manual for Eucharistic Adoration. The book begins with a "How to use this Manual" section, which explains that this book is to be used "to provide Catholics with a basic framework for understanding the Church's veneration of Mary and fostering it in their own devotional lives." The reader is then encouraged to carry this book everywhere and make use of it especially during Holy Hours and other devotional times. The book is then divided into two parts - Preparing for Marian Devotion and Aids for Marian Devotion.

In Preparing for Marian Devotion, the book walks us through Mary in Scripture (both Old and New Testament), doctrines on Mary, and Marian apparitions. The second section provides us with prayers, hymns, writings of the saints, and miracles performed through Mary's intercession. These sources are both from Eastern and Western saints, which I always appreciate because it seems the Eastern saints can be forgotten and overlooked in Roman Catholicism. The part I enjoyed the most was the legends associated with Mary. Unfortunately, there weren't many of those. However, they did include an apocryphal work (The Protoevangelion) as one of their sources as well, so that was a welcome surprise.

Overall, I found this to be a very enriching and enlightening book. As a convert to Catholicism, this book would have been very helpful earlier in my conversion when I was still new to the faith. It's not that I doubted Mary or didn't appreciate her, it's just that I didn't understand her as much as I would have liked, nor loved her as deeply as I should have. In addition to the beauty within this book, the presentation format is top notch with a blue UltraSoft leather binding. I highly recommend this as a gift for Confirmation, conversion, or graduation.

This book was provided to me for free by TAN Books in exchange for an honest review.