The Reed of God: A New Edition of a Spiritual Classic

Caryll Houselander

may 2020 · Ave Maria Press

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First published in 1944 and now a spiritual classic for Catholics across the globe, The Reed of God contains meditations on the humanity of Mary, Mother of God. British Catholic writer and artist Caryll Houselander lovingly explores Mary’s intimately human side, depicting Our Lady as a musical instrument who makes divine love known to the world. This refreshed edition is rich and rewarding reading for all Christians who wonder what Mary was really like.

While the Second Vatican Council led to a renewed interest in the theology and person of Mary, Caryll Houselander offered a simple yet profound reflection on the Mother of God almost fifteen years before the council began.

Confronting the static, surreal “Madonna of the Christmas card,” Houselander provides instead an intuitive, warmly human, and approachable image of the Mother of God. Through the central image of a reed that is played for music, Houselander demonstrates how Mary chose to make herself an instrument for the divine plan, giving her inmost being to the proclamation of God’s greatness. In sharing her distinctive vision of Mary, Houselander offers the Mother of God as a model for all people seeking to be instruments of the Divine.

The essays and poems in The Reed of God also reflect on the mysteries of Mary’s life and her impact on salvation history. In the book’s four parts, Houselander explores key events of Mary’s life, including her fiat, finding Jesus in the Temple, and the Assumption, as well as the themes of fruitful emptiness and the eternal search for union with God.

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Caryll Houselander (1901–1954) was an English artist who became one of the most popular Catholic spiritual writers of modern times. Although in poor health for most of her short life, her literary and artistic output was remarkable. Beginning in 1927 until her death in 1954, she wrote and published constantly. With the publication of This War Is the Passion in 1941, she became one of the most popular and highly respected religious writers of the period.

Marie Anne Mayeski is Professor Emeritus from the Department of Theology at Loyola Marymount University.