By Vincent McNabb, O.P.

The Blessed Virgin is said to have merited to bear the Lord of all, not that she merited His Incarnation, but because by the grace bestowed upon her, she merited that grade of purity and holiness which fitted her to be the Mother of God. (Saint Thomas Aquinas)

“Every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.” Supreme among these gifts is Mary of Nazareth—the woman chosen by God to be the Mother of His only-begotten Son and the Mother of all mankind, redeemed by that Son’s blood. In praise of Mary, “God’s Masterpiece,” Vincent McNabb offers a bountiful array of fruit for contemplation. Organized by the months of the year, the meditations take the various forms of scriptural exegesis, poetic appreciations, personal stories, inspired preaching, and fervent prayers. In McNabb’s devout treatment, the glories of Mary—from the Annunciation to the Assumption, Bethlehem to Golgotha, her Rosary to her Immaculate Heart, her Immaculate Conception to her perfection of the virtues—shine like “the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun.”

First published in 1940, Mary of Nazareth is an invigorating contribution to the canon of Marian devotion. Uncommon in style, powerful in effect, McNabb’s act of thanksgiving for the “Gift of Our Blessed Lady” should inspire an increase in devotion to the Mother of God and Splendor of the human race.

Vincent McNabb, O.P. (1868–1943) was an Irish Dominican priest and scholar. Active in apologetics and catechesis, he authored dozens of books and hundreds of articles, served as professor of philosophy, and filled numerous roles for his Domini­can province. Such was his sheer presence that G. K. Chesterton once wrote: “Nobody who ever met or saw or heard Father McNabb has ever forgotten him.”

Paperback: 180pp.

ISBN: 978-1685955083