"The life and condition of her who is to conceive, bear, and give birth to Jesus in the world, forms part of the history of Jesus...The life of her Son is her life." So it is that this Life of Jesus is really a Life of Jesus Living in Mary . Left incomplete at the author's death, Pierre de Bérulle's Life of Jesus is a meditation on the Annunciation and on the conception of Jesus, on how Jesus took flesh and began to live, on earth, in Mary. Intended as a sequel to Bérulle's Discourses on the State and on the Grandeurs of Jesus , this work takes the more abstract theology of the Discourses and brings it more down-to-earth, down-to-flesh, and, most prominently, down-to-Mary. In the Life of Jesus , Bérulle gives a Marian theology of the Incarnation, one that influenced St. Louis-Marie de Montfort, St. John Eudes, and others. The work climaxes in a series of Elevations or Vows , which strikingly prefigure de Montfort's Total Consecration to Mary. In this work, the reader can find a deep discussion of the Incarnation and how, in being Mother of Jesus, Mary is truly the Mother of God. In addition to the Life of Jesus itself, this volume includes relevant excerpts from the Discourses , as well as footnotes providing frequent references to Bérulle's other works. On the author: Cardinal Pierre de Bérulle (1575-1629) was a French priest, theologian, and royal advisor. He guided the Carmelites—recently reformed by St. Teresa of Ávila—in establishing themselves in France. He later founded the Oratory of Jesus, a society of parish priests. He is considered the founder of the French School of Spirituality, which influenced prominent saints like Vincent de Paul, John Eudes, and Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort. His greatest work is the Discourses on the State and on the Grandeur of Jesus , followed by the Life of Jesus and the Elevation to Jesus Christ Regarding Saint Mary Magdalene , available from the same translator.