Connell, an attorney and Marian authority, calls on readers to listen to Mary in a book that combines reports of apparitions with Catholic teaching and some history of devotion to the mother of Christ. The book
has an apocalyptic feel, based largely on the content of recent Marian messages. Connell also opens with talk of the biblical “end times,” going on to suggest that Mary's appearances to people of diverse cultures and beliefs in this generation are unprecedented. The author writes devoutly of Mary and her own relationship with the Madonna, incorporating such personal experiences as her interview with two young men who witnessed an apparition of Mary in Oliveto Citro, Italy, in 1989. The text is thoroughly referenced, though the author does not indicate the source of what appear to be messages from Mary and God at the conclusions of chapters. Some also are in other places, but always without a footnote. This may leave readers wondering whether Connell received them herself or simply wrote them based on her knowledge of other Marian messages. Those who share the author's devotion to Mary will most appreciate Connell's work, but her book also serves as a good introduction to Mary for the merely curious. (Oct.)
