Personal encounters with Mary, the mother of Jesus, seem to be increasing even more today than when she began appearing during times of upheaval to unlikely visionaries on hillsides and in other rural areas of Mexico and Europe. It is often the feminine face of God that shines through and consoles us in times of our deepest personal and collective need. Scott Sparrow, author of two other books on Jesus and Mary (published by Bantam books), recounts experiences in which individuals have felt the presence of Mary either through light, visions, voices, or simply an overwhelming feeling of love. Some say that Mary brings us an awareness that we desperately need at this time—a nourishing spirit of self-sacrificing love that, if embraced more widely, helps to reverse the tide of hatred and bloodshed spilling into many regions of the world today.