As James Heft SM reminds us, “there were probably no local schools then; it could be said that everybody home-schooled. Mothers were expected to teach their children their culture and their religion. Culture and religion were not separate, they were intimately related, and had very much to do with wisdom. At the age of thirteen boys were entrusted to their fathers who would teach them a skill or craft.”
Can we see in Jesus’ dealings with women, the influence of a mother’s teaching?
 In The Marian Blog, NCR books editor Arthur Jones invites a discussion on envisioning Mary, the mother of Jesus, in 21st-century terms.
Jones has been a Catholic journalist since before the Second Vatican Council. This month, Paulist Press releases his latest book, Mary, a Mother Waiting, Raising the Messiah. Jones describes his book as an exploration of the mother-son relationship of Mary and Jesus during the “hidden years,” until she eases him front and center into his ministry at Cana. You follow The Marian Blog and news about Mary, a Mother Waiting, Raising the Messiah on Facebook (tinyurl.com/Mary-A-Mother-Waiting) and Twitter (twitter.com/amotherwaiting). |