The Passion of Mary-Margaret

I’ve read enough of Lisa Samson’s novels to know that she likes to push the envelope a bit, particularly considering she writes for the Christian fiction market. In that genre especially she is unconventional to say the least and The Passion of Mary-Margaret is no different.

According to one of my all time favorite sites, dictionary.com, “passion” can be defined as “a powerful emotion, such as love, joy, hatred, or anger; ardent love; strong sexual desire; lust; the object of such love or desire; boundless enthusiasm.”

Certainly all of these elements come to mind when we consider someone’s passion. Other, archaic definitions include “martyrdom” and “a suffering or enduring of imposed or inflicted pain; any suffering or distress (as, a cardiac passion); specifically, the suffering of Christ between the time of the last supper and his death, esp. in the garden upon the cross.” All of these aspects of passion, both the conventional definition as well as the archaic, are found in Samson’s story of Mary-Margaret Fisher, a religious sister longing to serve the love of her life, Jesus Christ, in willing surrender. From the publisher’s description:

Mary-Margaret yearned to dedicate her life to the Lord. Jesus had another idea.

When Mary-Margaret Fischer met Jude Keller, the lighthouse keeper’s son, she was studying at a convent school on a small island off Chesapeake Bay. Destined for a life as a religious sister, she nevertheless felt a pull toward Jude–gorgeous, rebellious, promiscuous Jude. But Jude, driven by demons no one really understood, disappeared into Baltimore’s seamy red-light district. Mary-Margaret moved on with her life, preparing to serve God with her sisters as a teacher and artist.

Then Jude comes home–but now he’s bitter, dissolute, and diseased. And Mary-Margaret receives a divine call that shakes her to the core, a call to give up her dreams for the troubled man who befriended her so long ago. For Jesus’ sake, can she forsake the only life she ever wanted for a love that could literally cost her life?

On the whole this was a completely engrossing read. I do, however, have a few misgivings that make me hesitant in deciding whether I liked the book or not. First of all, the novel is written as a memoir of a seventy year old woman. As such, there are many flashbacks as well as flashbacks within flashbacks, rendering the storyline somewhat confusing and hard to follow at times.

Also, I have a little trouble with the mysticism contained in the story. Remember, I told you Lisa Samson likes to push the envelope a bit? Mary-Margaret sees Jesus, talks to Jesus (and He talks back), has tea with Jesus. I can’t decide whether this contributes or detracts from my personal endorsement of the novel. I mean, I know that I do not get my understanding of God from a novel. It is, after all, fiction, no more, no less. Though I get that Mary-Margaret’s intimacy with Jesus is a metaphor of sorts, I am still unsettled and a little uncomfortable with Mary-Margaret’s visions just the same.

But that’s just me. And I realize we are here to talk about books, not theology!

Anyway, as I said, all mysticism and accompanying visions aside, The Passion of Mary-Margaret is a beautifully written, engrossing story, one you will not soon forget; her theme of unconditional love, redemption and steadfast commitment is both stirring and inspiring.

Wife and mother, Bible teacher and blogger, Lisa loves Jesus, coffee, dark chocolate and, of course, books. Read more of her reflections at Lisa writes….