Threefold Mary

“The Mary mystery has meaning for all humankind, and a renewed Christian understanding of the human being in the fullest sense will be able to fathom it.” ― Emil Bock

This little book contains three lectures presented as “The Mystery of the Virgin Mary in Body, Soul, and Spirit” during the Christmas Holy Nights of 1950/51.

On November 1, 1950, Pius XII proclaimed the Dogma of the Assumption―Mary’s bodily assumption into heaven―sending shock waves throughout the Christian world. C. G. Jung, for example, wrote his Answer to Job in response. Emil Bock’s response was these lectures that answer some of the issues and broaden the scope to include not only the Mary–Sophia mystery in human history, but also the meaning of the feminine element in the evolution of consciousness.

Those interested in an anthroposophic perspective on Mary in body, soul, and spirit will gain much from this book.

Emil Bock (1895–1959) was born in Wuppertal, Germany, in 1895. He studied German and modern languages at the University of Bonn and, after joining the army, was wounded at the war front in Flanders. In 1916, while still in the army, he met the famous evangelical preacher, Friedrich Rittelmeyer, in Berlin. After his release from the military, he studied Protestant theology in Berlin and later attended priest courses with Rudolf Steiner in Stuttgart and Dornach. With Rittelmeyer, Bock helped establish the Christian Community (the movement for religious renewal) in 1922 and soon became its leader, a position he held until his death. In November, 1922, Bock married Grete Seumer, with whom he had four children. He remained a priest, writer, and lecturer until his death in Stuttgart. Bock's many books include Genesis; Moses; Kings and Prophets; Caesars and Apostles, The Three Years; Saint Paul; and The Childhood of Jesus.