This remarkable new collection will help you draw near to Mary, and through her, to Christ.
Featuring passages from Scripture, the Catechism, and writings from saints and spiritual masters, along with a rich treasury of prayers, poems, and hymns—plus a foreword and poetry by Sally Read—Gate of Heaven will deepen your devotion, enrich your prayer life, and guide you into a more intimate relationship with the Mother of God.
Gate of Heaven:
Reflections on Mary, the Mother of God
Edited by Matthew Becklo
Foreword by Sally Read
Word on Fire | June 16, 2025
Imitation Leather | 304 Pages | 5” x 7”
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About Gate of Heaven: Reflections on Mary, the Mother of God
“Salve, porta,” declares the ancient Marian antiphon Ave Regina Caelorum. “Hail, Gate of Heaven.” This is just one of the countless titles lavished on Mary, the Mother of Jesus, throughout two thousand years of Catholic tradition: she is the New Eve, the Ark of the Covenant, the Seat of Wisdom, the Morning Star, the Mystical Rose—the list goes on and on.
But is all of this emphasis on Mary unbiblical or unnecessary? What is Marian devotion all about?
Gate of Heaven: Reflections on the Mother of God offers readers of all backgrounds—Catholic, non-Catholic, and even non-Christian—a meditative summation of the Church’s love for Mary. This unique collection features passages from Scripture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and various saints and spiritual masters; a rich treasury of prayers, poems, and hymns; and a foreword and poetry from Sally Read, the author of The Mary Pages: An Atheist’s Journey to the Mother of God. Structured around the four Marian dogmas, four Marian antiphons, and four key roles of Mary revealed in Scripture—Daughter of Zion, Mother of Jesus, Mother of the Church, and Queen of Heaven—these pages invite us into the Church’s loving gaze, one that always looks through Mary to Christ, and through the gate to the heaven it contained.
“Salve, porta,” declares the ancient Marian antiphon Ave Regina Caelorum. “Hail, Gate of Heaven.” This is just one of the countless titles lavished on Mary, the Mother of Jesus, throughout two thousand years of Catholic tradition: She is the New Eve, the Ark of the Covenant, the Seat of Wisdom, the Morning Star, the Mystical Rose—the list goes on and on.
But is all of this emphasis on Mary unbiblical or unnecessary? What is Marian devotion all about?
Gate of Heaven: Reflections on Mary, the Mother of God offers readers of all backgrounds—Catholic, non-Catholic, and even non-Christian—a meditative summation of the Church’s love for Mary. This unique collection invites us into the Church’s loving gaze, one that always looks through Mary to Christ, and through the gate to the heaven it contained.
In Gate of Heaven, you’ll find:
- Passages from Scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church pertaining to Mary
- Various writings on Mary from saints and spiritual masters
- A treasury of Marian prayers, poems, and hymns
- A foreword and poetry by Sally Read, author of The Mary Pages and 100 Great Catholic Poems
- Reflections structured around the four Marian dogmas, four Marian antiphons, and four key scriptural roles of Mary
Elegantly bound in high-quality imitation leather with a durable ribbon bookmark, this book is designed to be both a devotional companion and a lasting spiritual treasure.
ABOUT THE EDITOR
Matthew Becklo is a husband and father, writer and editor, and the Publishing Director for Bishop Robert Barron’s Word on Fire Catholic Ministries. He is the author of The Way of Heaven and Earth: From Either/Or to the Catholic Both/And. He has also contributed essays for Wisdom and Wonder: How Peter Kreeft Shaped the Next Generation of Catholics and The New Apologetics: Defending the Faith in a Post-Christian Era, and edited multiple books, including The Holy Hour: Meditations for Eucharistic Adoration and the Flannery O’Connor Collection. His writing is featured at Word on Fire, Aleteia, and Catholic World Report, and has also appeared in Inside the Vatican magazine and the Evangelization & Culture journal, and online at First Things, RealClear Religion, the Catholic Thing, and the Catholic Herald. He lives in New York with his wife, Elizabeth, and their four children.
ABOUT THE EDITOR
Matthew Becklo is a husband and father, writer and editor, and the Publishing Director for Bishop Robert Barron’s Word on Fire Catholic Ministries. He is the author of The Way of Heaven and Earth: From Either/Or to the Catholic Both/And. He has also contributed essays for Wisdom and Wonder: How Peter Kreeft Shaped the Next Generation of Catholics and The New Apologetics: Defending the Faith in a Post-Christian Era, and edited multiple books, including The Holy Hour: Meditations for Eucharistic Adoration and the Flannery O’Connor Collection. His writing is featured at Word on Fire, Aleteia, and Catholic World Report, and has also appeared in Inside the Vatican magazine and the Evangelization & Culture journal, and online at First Things, RealClear Religion, the Catholic Thing, and the Catholic Herald. He lives in New York with his wife, Elizabeth, and their four children.
“I have long wanted a book like this—not only to remind me and explain to me Marian teaching but also to bring together in one place poetry and reflections about the Mother of God. Mary wrote nothing down. Her words in Scripture are few. But if we’re familiar with the richness of Mary’s essence—which is what this book so beautifully explicates—we’re going to be brought even closer to her son.”
— Sally Read, from the foreword
“I have long wanted a book like this—not only to remind me and explain to me Marian teaching but also to bring together in one place poetry and reflections about the Mother of God. Mary wrote nothing down. Her words in Scripture are few. But if we’re familiar with the richness of Mary’s essence—which is what this book so beautifully explicates—we’re going to be brought even closer to her son.”
— Sally Read, from the foreword
Contents
Foreword by Sally Read
I. Daughter of Zion
1. The New Eve
2. She Who Is in Labor
3. The Virgin Shall Bear a Son
4. The Immaculate Conception
5. Sing, O Daughter Zion
II. Mother of Jesus
6. The Spouse of the Spirit
7. The Mother of God
8. She Pondered in Her Heart
9. A Sword Will Pierce Your Soul
10. The Role of a Mother
III. Mother of the Church
11. Do Whatever He Tells You
12. Perpetual Virgin
13. Here Is Your Mother
14. Mary at Pentecost
IV. Queen of Heaven
15. The Assumption
16. A Woman Clothed with the Sun
17. The Warrior Queen
The Rosary with Bishop Robert Barron
How to Pray the Rosary
The Joyful Mysteries
The Sorrowful Mysteries
The Glorious Mysteries
The Luminous Mysteries
Additional Marian Prayers
The Angelus
The Memorare
The Litany of Loreto
St. Louis de Montfort’s Act of Consecration
St. Maximilian Kolbe’s Act of Consecration
Pope St. John Paul II’s Act of Entrustment
Notes
