Books on Marianology: The Perfect Woman by Fr. Leo. A. Pursley & CEM Eucharistic Marian Centres First Scheme of Meditations on the Rosary

The Perfect Woman by Fr. Leo. A. Pursley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Booklet, 30 pages
Published by St. Paul Editions
Source: yard sale

A short essay copyrighted "Our Sunday Visitor" but with no date. The latest date mentioned in the book is 1954, but that is referred to as in the past. Not exactly thrilling reading, the writing is a little dry. The information is interesting though and certainly worth the read. Fr. Pursley takes a quote from a non-Christian source, a Wordsworth poem.

"A perfect woman, nobly planned,
To warn, to comfort, and command."

He explains that this woman could only be the Blessed Virgen. She is not perfection as only God is, but she is the perfect woman. He then goes on to expound each of these roles applied to Mary: nobly planned, to give warning, to give comfort, and to command. If you have no idea what Mary stands for to us as Christians, this booklet will provide that knowledge in a convincing manner. Many people are quoted from scripture and their books, plus literary persons. Father Purley also gives an excellent description of the valuable and powerful place women have within the Catholic Faith. I'll end with this quote:

"... Men may study to be learned; women should study in order to be wise. ... Woman is not, by nature or grace, the mere echo of man. She is truly free only when she is free to be herself, to envelop herself those qualities that make her more womanly. She is not emancipated when she is gifted the dubious privilege of being less womanly. Whether she is destined for marriage or not, she is alway a mother at heart; she is always a fountain of life, not only in a physical sense but in a moral and spiritual self...."

CEM Eucharistic Marian Centres First Scheme of Meditations on the Rosary by C.E.M.
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Booklet, 70 pages
Published 1986 by Central Secretariot, Roma
first published 1973
Source: yard sale

This is an interesting little booklet. It is for members of the CEM, Italian for Eucharistic Marian Centres. The book gives a brief history saying the movement is worldwide and celebrating 42 years, as of 1973. I can't find any information on these centres or groups so am thinking it has been disbanded or had a name change. The booklet has a signature within a signature. The outside wrap explains the history, purpose, rules, and prayers of the centres. The most interesting thing to be found in this section is an Exorcism prayer/ritual. The text proper introduces a special way of reciting the Rosary as a group. It covers the Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries. It explains the procedure and each decade has an introduction to be read by the leader giving thoughts of reflection. This is the meat of the book and I liked it very much. The rest of the main signature concludes with many prayers including popular ones such as the Angelus and Litany of The Blessed Virgin, but most are new to me. Not an exciting book but instructional and I'll use it for the unique Rosary approach.