The Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary Paperback – Box set, April 5, 2013

This famed account of the visions of The Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, the 19th Century German nun and mystic who bore the stigmata, the unsealing wounds of Christ, could easily be read by believers (and written off by skeptics) as the beautiful, pious imaginings of a devout, little-educated woman whose life was otherwise relatively dull, but for one thing. Sr. Anne Catherine, who had never left Germany-- nor even her small region of Germany-- described her vision regarding the precise location in what is now Turkey to which John the Evangelist had taken the Virgin Mary when Jerusalem became to dangerous for them to remain without being martyred. She described a vision of such detail that she was able to describe the road leaving the city of Ephesus as it curved up a hillside, then crossed a path leading further up to a plateau, where the small house was located. The vision was recorded and published by German poet and author Clemens Brentano, and the site described by Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, atop a high hill a few kilometers outside Ephesus (near modern Selçuk, Turkey) was located by French priest Abbé Julien Gouney, who utilized the text as a guide in 1881, and then again by two Lazarist missionaries, Father Poulin and Father Jung, from Smyrna, who rediscovered the building on July 29, 1891, again using the description from Blessed Anne Catherine's vision as their guide.At the site was found the ruins of a small, rectangular building on the hillside above a well. The building had long been venerated by an isolated rural community descended from Christians in Ephesus; there had been strong anti-Christian sentiments in Ephesus at the time of the early Church-- St. Paul, when he preached at the forum, was drowned out by crowds shouting "Great is Artemis of Ephesus!"-- so there were good reasons for St. John having housed the Virgin Mary well outside the city, and for the Christian community to have relocated to the rural countryside later as well, and to have remained there under the Muslims.The House of the Virgin has been rebuilt at the site (the remaining parts of the original House were integrated into the building, marked off with a red line), and the House is an important shrine for Roman Catholics and for Muslims as well. The House of the Virgin Mary is located a few miles from the early 5th Century Cathedral of St. Mary the Virgin, the first church to bear the Virgin Mary's name and site of the Council of Ephesus, the third Ecumenical council in 431, during which the title of Theotokos for the Mother of Christ was declared Orthodox. The choice to hold the Council at Ephesus in 431 AD is believed by many to further support the legitimacy of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich's vision.The Shrine has been visited by three Popes, Paul VI, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI.

A wonderful account of Mary’s life

Even after 12 years of Catholic education, I had hundreds of questions about the life of the Blessed Virgin. No nun or priest had any answers for me. Then, my current priest mentioned Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich to me. After researching her, I downloaded "The Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary." How wonderful to have found the Venerable Sister Emmerich! Her mystic abilities are simply amazing. In her book on the Blessed Virgin Mary, I found ALL the information for which I had been searching! The detailed descriptions are almost photographic. This is the book that led to the finding of the Blessed Virgin's last home, just outside of Ephesus, Turkey, built for her by St. John. I have visited this shrine on four separate occasions, including last summer, when I was able to attend Mass at the house. Sister Emmerich's detailed "word paintings" are extremely vivid - sometimes almost too much so, as in her description of Christ's Passion, from her "The Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ," which I also read, and which was the basis of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ." In fact, Blessed Sister Emmerich's descriptive powers are so profound that I bought all her books for my Kindle app on my iPad AND also in a set in soft cover! Her knowledge is quite unique, and I don't wonder at her having been beatified by the Catholic church. Her books are the most powerful that I have ever read!!!

Out of 374 pages I read 265 and stopped because of all the convoluted heresies in the book. I counted 19 heresies. 1) She changes whats in the bible and supports that change.2) she believes her Visions to be more accurate and have more Authority than the Bible. 3) she changes the birth of Christ from December 25th the early November and holds this to be true. 4) she changes the birthplace of Jesus Christ from a stable to a cave and holds this to be true. 5) she holds the circumcision of Jesus to be in a cave rather than in the temple. 6) She renames the three kings different from the Bible and holds this to be true. 7) she lends credit and support to star worship to the three kings. 8) she supports and lens credit to a concept a baptism of desire and blood which the church teaches is heresy. 9) she has Mary's mother Saint Anne rich and wealthy with women servants and Men servants and marry a recipient of that wealth. 10) she has Jesus visiting distant lands and places that the Bible has never said. 11) she says that Mary had pre knowledge of the three kings coming to visit her and supports this to be true which the Bible never says. 12) she praises and supports the profit Balaam who started out good in the Bible but ended up evil both in the Christian and Jewish Bible yep she supports and Praises him 13) refers to the Star of Bethlehem the three kings followed as being Guided by a supernatural being. 14) she has the angel telling the three kings to leave but not Joseph 15) she has literally everyone from the town and Villages coming to the cave to visit Jesus on a daily basis. 16) she gives Anne's second husband a different name then the Bible and holds this to be true.17) she has people warning Joseph to hide but not the angel. 18) she says that bad priests evil and bad Bishops can say Mass. 19) she says death today's priests represent the Jews and the soldiers that crucified Christ and holds this to be true when the church teaches that it's priest represents Jesus Christ only not the soldiers and jews. The fact that she treats her visions as more authoritative and more accurate than the Bible is heresy

I have the book in the normal paperback version and this larger sized one. This one is so much easier to read both in size and print

A superb and enlightening book and extremely detailed. The visions of Anne Emmerich are acknowledged by the Catholic Church as true because it has beatified her, so her visions cannot be written off as imaginings or dreams. For those devoted to Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary or simply want to know more about Her, then this is required reading.

A must read got those who seek a deep understanding of the Blessed Virgin Mary's life. Unparalleled detail and in depth view of this secret life. Praise God for allowing Blessed Ann Catherine Emmerich these great visions to aid our own spiritual growth.

I have read this book in Hard Copy and loaned it out only not to have it returned. Never again.It is a remarkable book for lovers of The Blessed Virgin Mary it fills in alot of the blanks in the intimate life of the Holy Family. Which increases a more robust faith in the belief of the contents being read about.A 'Must' for all devotees of The Virgin Mother.

This book is simply beautiful to read,it tells the true story of our blessed mother,and all who read it and believe ,will surely be saved.

Fantastic - a glimpse into the hidden life and some amazing visions to supplement what we know from the Gospels. Great for helping with meditation on the Rosary. I can thoroughly recommend this.