Mariam Baouardy (St Mary of Jesus Crucified) is a unique saint, and this is a unique book. Brought out in this tenth anniversary year of her canonisation, it is the work of Karl-Heinz and Louisa Fleckenstein, archaeologists and pilgrimage tour guides from the Holy Land, whose lives have been profoundly touched by Mariam. Very sadly, Karl-Heinz died a few months before this book appeared.
Beautifully produced and compellingly written, the work comprises three very different but complementary parts. The first, concerned with Mariam’s life, is presented creatively in the form of interview questions which are answered by the persona of Mariam who thus recounts her life. The events described are based on biographical fact. Only the dialogue form is imagined, and it is very effective for it contains the directness and vividness of an autobiography. One also feels that the authors have given Mariam a voice that captures something of the real Mariam, with her sincerity and humble simplicity.
The episodes in Part I show us the uniqueness of this life story that was both adventurous and graced. Mariam was born in Galilee, to a poor couple who died when she was only two. She was entrusted to an uncle who, according to custom, arranged a marriage for her just before she turned thirteen. But Mariam refused: her whole desire was to give her life to the Lord. Not long after this, when she was visiting people nearby, her witness to the Catholic faith provoked fury, and she was left for dead. When she awoke, she found herself in a grotto, being tended to by a beautiful lady in a blue dress (who, she later discovered, was the Virgin Mary) who predicted that Mariam would become a Carmelite. In fact, Mariam would found the Carmel of Bethlehem and also pave the way for a future foundation in Nazareth.
The many places which feature in Mariam’s life story are further made vivid by the rich selection of photographs, so that readers can more easily visualise the path of her life and, as it were, accompany her along the way.
Part II, which is equally well illustrated, is devoted to Mariam’s influence since her death. It is again presented vividly, including a section in the form of a real conversation, which took place in the parlour of the Carmel of Bethlehem when various sisters answered the authors’ questions. Also discernible is a very real friendship between the Carmelite community and the Fleckenstein family – as with, for example, one of the sisters being godmother to the authors’ daughter Mirjam and laying the baby on Mariam’s bed in the saint’s cell.
The chapters in this second part of the book cover such themes as the spiritual legacy of Mariam; her relics in the Bethlehem Carmel; the increasing number of visitors, for whom the ‘Mariam Centre’ was built; her beatification (on November 13, 1983) and her canonisation (on May 17, 2015). A very special chapter shows us Karl-Heinz and Louisa in their role as archaeologists, excavating the site of Emmaus, the location of which was revealed supernaturally to Mariam.
Louisa speaks, in the Preface, of her wish, just before their marriage, for herself and Karl-Heinz to translate, one day, the Thoughts of Mariam. This inspiring anthology forms the collection of sayings in Part III. They include such headings as: ‘Always cling to Jesus’ (p. 112); ‘Lord, place me wherever You want’ (p. 132); and ‘I grasp the hand of my Beloved’ (p. 146).
This memorable book is truly a labour of love and a beautiful tribute to Mariam. The design is impressive and could make this an ideal present, with its laminated pages, abundance of illustrations, the slightly larger format (24 x 17 cm), and the different-coloured edging along the top, denoting the various parts of the book. The front cover also features an icon of Mariam by Cecilia Lawrence, specially commissioned by Teresian Press.
Finally, given the times in which we live, we can well take on board the subtitle of this book: ‘A Palestinian Saint & Ambassador for Peace in the Holy Land’. These epithets may be prophetically important, for Mariam is surely a powerful intercessor for peace and reconciliation in this place both beleaguered and sacred.
