Blogs
In the News: Sept. 9, 2015
By Michael Duricy
Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute Features
Updates
Mary in Media: Books, Films, Music, etc.
Innovation within Tradition: Joseph Ratzinger and Reading the Women of Scripture has been published by Fortress Press. This book is a revision of the Ph.D. thesis of Mary Frances McKenna.Click here for details or to order copies online.
From the Marian Treasure Chest
Brother John M. Samaha, S.M., sent us the article below with the following comments: "This is from a monthly bulletin by Father Paul Landolfi about our Marianist candidates for sainthood.
Food for Thought in This New Scholastic Year
As we begin a new scholastic year, perhaps it would be helpful to review the situation of our "saints."
Did you realize that we have nine in the Marianist Family who have been named Blessed? The Church sees these as persons in heaven and we can offer them public veneration. Martyrs need no miracle to be named Blessed. All the Blesseds need a miracle to be canonized as Saints.
Blessed William Joseph Chaminade is credited with interceding with God for the cure of Elena Gracias Otero from Argentina. Even though the Church did not accept another healing as a miracle because of the possibility that it might have come about through some medical intervention, we are grateful for the answers to our prayers and we believe that Father Chaminade and our "Saints" do intercede for us.
We have seven Spanish martyrs from two different cities during the period of the Spanish civil war. The martyrs, Brothers Carlos Erana, Jesus Hita, and Fidel Fuidio were martyred in Ciudad Real. They were teachers in our school there.
Brother Carlos Erana was Basque and struggled with the Spanish language, He became a great teacher of Spanish. He was a great soccer player, When the Brothers were forced to leave the school, they took up residence with friends of the school. He was well-known as a religious teacher and would walk through the streets to maintain contact with the other Marianists, offer them help, and, in general, support them.
Brother Jesus Hita was one who overcame a stuttering problem to become a great teacher. He saw this crisis as a time for him to prepare for the worst. He spent much time praying, listening to news reports, following the progress of the armies on maps.
Brother Fidel Fuidio was older, a nationally-known archeologist, a professor in the University.
There were four other Marianists killed for the faith during the Spanish civil war. These were killed in Madrid: Father Miguel Leibar, Brothers Florencio Arnaiz, Sabino Ayastuy, and Joachin Ochoa.
There were a number of other Marianists killed during the civil war, but they were not judged to have died primarily for the faith. The Church studies to see if their deaths were truly for the faith or for political or other reasons.
Father Miguel Leibar was a mentor for the other three martyrs from Madrid. Through an informer, their residence was searched without warning. They saw his cassock and arrested him.
Brothers Florencio Arnaiz, Sabino Ayastuy, and Joachin Ochoa had been given a new assignment. Before they could get there, they were arrested, taken to a distant place, a cemetery, and murdered. They found religious articles on their persons.
Blessed Jakob Gapp was martyred for the faith because he refused to accept National Socialism. He had studied it and was convinced it was incompatible with Christianity. He preached against it wherever he could. The Superiors moved him from country to country in order to protect him and our works. In Spain, two Gestapo followed him, pretending they were Jews wishing to convert. When they had gained his confidence they took him on a little outing. Pretending they wanted to visit a friend in France, despite Jacob's objections, as soon as they were in France--then controlled by the Nazis--they arrested him and took him to Berlin. He maintained his opposition to the Nazi ideology because of his Christian faith. They beheaded him, used his body for research. What is left is his gold ring, sign of his perpetual consecration.
These nine Blesseds in heaven are members of the Marianist Family. They know us and want to help us. We must get to know them on a first name basis and ask them to intercede for us in our own efforts to live our Marianist charism. All our Blesseds need one more declared miracle in order to be canonized as Saints.
We also have three members of the Family who have been declared Venerable. They have been recognized for practicing heroic virtue. They need a miracle to be considered Blessed. We may privately venerate them and ask God to have mercy on us through their intercession. Venerable Adele de Trenquelleon, Foundress of the Daughters of Mary, is claimed to be instrumental in the healing of a Marianist Sister in Italy of ovarian cancer. This case is being studied at present.
Venerable Therese de Lamourous spent her life at the Misericorde (Mercy House) and was instrumental in the founding of other Mercy Houses in France and even in Poland. Saint Faustina, a Sister of Our Lady of Mercy, is a member of a congregation that was inspired by Therese.
Venerable Faustino Perez Manglano Magro was a Marianist Sodalist, who wanted to become a Marianist missionary in South America. He died of Hodgkin's disease. He was judged to have lived a life of heroic virtue.
There are other members of the Marianist Family who are being considered for their holiness. These are Servants of God. Father Domingo Lazaro was a noted educator. Father Vicente Lopez was chaplain at one of our schools and was known as an excellent confessor.
We really believe in the Communion of Saints. Blessed Father Chaminade's dream was that we would become a nation of Saints.
The French Province is considering Father Emil Neubert, noted Mariologist. In Latin America, Brother Miguel Quiroga gave his life defending his parishioners, who were being harassed by a lay militia group.
Besides these, we must remember the large number of the Marianist Family who are with God already. These are the unknown saints who also pray for us.
This is why it is important that we ask all our "saints" to intercede for us in our various needs. It is also good for the building up of our faith to hear that God has listened to their prayers. If a favor is granted through the intercession of one of our "saints," please let us know. You can reach me by mail, email, or phone.
Rev. Paul Landolfi, SM
Chaminade HS
340 Jackson Ave
Mineola, NY 11501
Phone: 516-742-5555 ext. 476
Email: Plandolfi@chaminade-hs.org or zarchimo@gmail.com
May God bless the entire Marianist Family during this coming year and show us His mercy through the prayers of our Marianist "saints."
Marian Events
Tuesday, September 15, 2015, the Office of MultiCultural Affairs at the University of Dayton will host Communities Engaging Mary. This panel will present three perspectives on Mary: Mary in Christian Scriptures, Mary in the Qur'an, and Mary in Latin America with a response by a member of the Society of Mary. A reception and informal discussion will follow.
This event will be held from 7-8 p.m. in the Sears Recital Hall on the campus of the University of Dayton. It is being sponsored by Campus Ministry, the Marianist Community of Alumni Hall, the Gudorf Chair in Catholic Theology and Culture, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, and the Department of Religious Studies.
Mary in the Catholic Press
Pope Francis and Our Lady from Zenit (Rome) September 8, 2015
Anyone who has known former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio understands well that his Marian devotion, far from being a recent manifestation, is a long-established devotion. From the very beginning of his Petrine ministry, he has let us experience his love for Mary, Mother of the Lord. Appearing for the first time to the world, he told us on the night of March 13, "Tomorrow I want to go to pray to the Madonna, that she may protect Rome." We were moved the following morning by the scenes of the newly-elected Pope praying in the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome.
This Basilica was built in honor of Mary, Mother of God, which is the first and most important title of Our Lady. It is a living witness to that great moment in the history of the ancient Church, the Council of Ephesus, in which the divine motherhood of the Virgin Mary was authoritatively defined. This Church is the first Marian shrine in Rome and in the entire West, in which the image of the Mother of God Theotokos (God bearer) is venerated under the title of Salus Populi Romani.
From his very first meeting with his brother cardinals in the Clementine Hall on March 15, Pope Francis stressed his link with Mary and the role he ascribes to Jesus' Mother. He said: "I entrust my ministry and your ministry to the powerful intercession of Mary, our Mother, Mother of the Church. Under Her maternal gaze may each one of you walk happy and docile on your path, listening to the voice of Her divine Son, strengthening your unity, persevering in your common prayer and bearing witness to the true faith in the constant presence of the Lord."
Francis has visited the Roman basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore on the eve of every one of his foreign visits, and upon returning to Rome, goes from the airport to the basilica to pray in gratitude for graces and blessings received on the journeys. On the eve of his departure for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for World Youth Day 2013, Pope Francis visited once again the Basilica and entrusted World Youth Day 2013 to Mary's care. During his unforgettable experience at World Youth Day 2013 in Brazil, he made a side-trip to the famous shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida in central Brazil....
Click here to see the complete article from Zenit.
Mary in the Secular Press
The director and editors of The Mary Page under the auspices of the International Marian Research Institute do not necessarily endorse or agree with the events and ideas expressed in this feature. Our sole purpose is to report on items about Mary gleaned from a myriad of papers representing the secular press.
The Extraordinary Sacred Sites Where People Have Seen Visions Of The Virgin Mary (The Huffington Post) September 8, 2015
Sightings of the Virgin Mary can happen in the unlikeliest places. Some people encounter her high in the mountains of the French Alps, while others find her in a school playground. Sometimes, Mary comes awash in a bright light. Other times, she's in tears.
In the twentieth century alone, there were about 386 sightings of Mary "reported at a level beyond local rumors," according to The New York Times.
The bishops of local dioceses study these apparitions. In any given case, a bishop might have to make sure the sighting isn't a moneymaking scheme, or confirm that it doesn't contradict church doctrine. Church authorities also evaluate the backgrounds of the witnesses, sometimes even making use of psychiatric exams and brain scans.
If local bishops put their stamp of approval on the apparition, the site often becomes a place of pilgrimage for the faithful.
The Catholic Church celebrates September 8 as the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the day when the woman Christians believe to be the mother of God was born in Jerusalem. In honor of her nativity, here are just some of the sites where Mary is said to have appeared....
Click here to read the complete article.