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Mary in the News: June 20, 2018

By Michael Duricy

Read recent items about Mary in both Catholic and secular news. Also, see International Marian Research Institute news and updates.

ML/IMRI Features

Marian Events

Mary in the Catholic Press

Mary in the Secular Press

Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute Features

Updates
  • ESBVM-USA Conference
  • Event: The Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary-USA 2018 Annual Conference

    Theme: Mary, Disciple of the Lord: Suffering

    Location: Misericordia University, 301 Lake Street, Dallas, PA 18612
  • Dates: July 26-28, 2018

    Please register by July 6, 2018.

    Whether you are Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Anglican, Reformed, Non-denominational, Catholic, Orthodox, or from any other Christian tradition, you are invited to join us for study, prayer and dialogue!

    Here's what you can expect:

                 Eight thought-provoking, scholarly presentations

                 Good-natured, lively dialogue with new friends

                 Prayer to strengthen our lives as Christian disciples

    For more information, contact the ESBVM-USA President, Dr. Christopher Carr by email at ccarr@misericordia.edu or by phone at 570-550-1619.
  • The Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary USA (ESBVM USA) exists to advance the study of Mary, the Mother of Christ, in Christian biblical and spiritual perspectives, and in the light of such study, to promote ecumenical interchange and prayer. Its aim is to show that in Mary, Christians of many traditions may find a focus in their search for unity.

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Mary in Media: Books, Films, Music, etc.

Marian Devotion section on the National Black Catholic Congress website

  • The National Black Catholic Congress, comprised of member organizations, represents African American Roman Catholics, working collaboratively with National Roman Catholic organizations.

    They commit themselves to establishing an agenda for the evangelization of African Americans; and to improve the physical conditions of African Americans, thereby committing themselves to the freedom and growth of African Americans as full participants in church and society.

    National Black Catholic Congress website
  • Subsection on Marian Devotion
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From the Marian Treasure Chest

Brother John Samaha, S.M., sent us the text below with the following comments: "Below is a review of a study published by Father Jean-Louis Barré, S.M. The review is the assessment of the late Father Luigi Gambero, S.M., himself a noted patrologist and Mariologist.  The translation from French into English was made by Father Joseph Stefanelli, S.M., and edited by Brother John Samaha, S.M.

Appreciating Father Emile Neubert, S.M.

Who was Emile Neubert?  A French Marianist priest, small of stature, fragile of health, modest and humble. When he was a student of theology preparing for the priesthood, a doctor told his superiors that he might not be able to continue his studies because of his general physical condition. However, he lived a long life and became the most respected and most famous Marian theologian of the Society of Mary founded by the Blessed William Joseph Chaminade.

Known throughout the world through his writings, Emile Neubert may be considered as one of the agents of the Mariology which is today noted for its rigorous and scientific character. Yet, it is not beyond the comprehension of simple believers. It is now many years since his death in 1967; yet his features and his work remain alive in the memory of his Marianist brothers. For it was he who, by his life and by his activity as a theologian, as writer and as educator, interpreted faithfully the Marian spirituality of Blessed William Joseph Chaminade and spread it far beyond the institutions and associations which the latter had founded.

Neubert's name leads us almost instinctively to think of the Mother of the Lord. It can be said that, in his numerous publications, all is expressed in a Marian key. Cardinal Richaud said of him that he possessed a true charism for speaking about the Blessed Virgin. Cardinal Suenens spoke of him "as a pioneer of Marian theology presented at the level of all and inserted into practical living."  That is how Emile Neubert was, and that is how we like to remember him when reading his works of Marian doctrine and spirituality.  They continue to arouse enthusiasm and consensus.

Now we have the good fortune to have within our hands a publication, scholarly and profound, of his thought.  Jean-Louis Barré, SM, in his doctoral thesis, La Mission de la Vierge Marie d’apres les Ecrits d’Emile Neubert (1878-1967), presents us with a study which takes us through all of Neubert's works and which helps us to recapture the principal and clearest lines of his Marian theology.  [The book was printed in Belgium by Trinacria, 334 pages.]

Barré’s work, in a way, takes us on the long journey Neubert traveled in order to achieve his full maturity as a theologian and master of the spiritual life.  It was already apparent in the autobiography which is given appropriate consideration at the very beginning of the thesis.

Fundamental also are the clarifications of the theological and cultural context in which Neubert's vocation for the study of Mariology was nurtured.  He well understood that engaging in a deep study of the historical sources of Christianity was not superfluous since many of those sources required further research and stricter verification.  Neubert began this engagement in historical investigation in his dissertation for his doctorate, Marie dans l’Eglise anténicéenne.  Fortunately, Barré, in his second chapter, passes in review the authors and the currents of thought which might have directly or indirectly influenced Neubert's cultural and Marian formation.

Chapter three, on the track of Marie dans le dogme, devoted itself to a properly dogmatic theology concerning the Mother of God, as elaborated by Neubert.  It does so with abundant presentation and a rich investigation.  Chapter four deals with the slender volume Mon Idéal: Jésus, Fils de Marie.  It is truly a masterpiece of Marian spirituality showing how Neubert offers the believer, in the person of the Mother of God, a precious and enthusiastic guide for walking safely along the path to Christian holiness.

In conclusion, Barré, in chapter five, presents an overview of the reception which, even today, is given to Neubert's writings and of the spiritual fruits which they produce not only among the spiritual descendants of Blessed William Joseph Chaminade but in the entire Church.  Its proof, among others, is the translations into many languages in which Neubert's works have been published.

Barré's work bears the best letters of credibility for obtaining a welcome from the Marianist religious, from specialists in Mariology, and from the faithful who reserve a special place for the Blessed Virgin in their journey toward the fullness of the Christian life, who is Jesus, Son of Mary.

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Marian Events

Event: Totus Tuus

Theme: Summer Program for Youth

Location: Holy Angels Catholic Parish, 1322 Brown St., Dayton, OH 45409

Date: July 15-20, 2018

Totus Tuus is a week-long summer youth program that combines Catholic religious instruction  and having fun.  A team of college-age students and seminarians will come to Holy Angels the week of July 15-20. 

For children going into grades one through six, the program will be held Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.  Each day will include presentations on the Creed and Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary, songs and skits which teach the faith, encounters with the sacraments, especially Confession and Eucharist, and times for games and recess.

For teens, those entering grades seven through twelve, the program will be held from Sunday to Thursday at 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. with more in-depth discussions.

Cost per child is only $20 with a $50 maximum per family.  Registration forms are available on the parish website.  Contact Sharon Christy with questions by email at schristy@stanthony.org.  These programs are also being held around the Cincinnati Archdiocese and throughout the United States and Canada.

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Mary in the Catholic Press

Seoul: Koreans Look to Mary for Reconciliation (Zenit) June 7, 2018

To entrust peace on the Korean peninsula to the Virgin Mary and put under her mantle the path of reconciliation between North and South Korea: with this spirit the Committee for the Reconciliation of the Korean People in the Archdiocese of Seoul organized a special "Night of Prayer" with the Virgin Mary at the conclusion of the Marian month. As reported to Agenzia Fides, Cardinal Yeom, Archbishop of Seoul, was present at the prayer, who said in the central message of his homily: "We pray for peace on the Korean peninsula with our Queen of Peace, patroness of the diocese of Pyongyang."

On May 31, priests from North Korea, religious, lay people, families with relatives, North Korean refugees, asylum seekers and members of the campaign, launched by some faithful, took part in the special nocturnal celebration held in the "Garden of Mary," within the complex of Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul in order to "recreate a parish" in North Korea....

Complete article

Mary in the Secular Press

The director and editors of All About Mary 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.

Always in Our Midst (Liguorian) May-June, 2018

This year, the feast of Pentecost takes place in May. It is a wonderful day to reflect on the place of Mary in the beginning of the life of the Church.  In the Acts of the Apostles, St. Luke writes about a pre-ascension meeting of Jesus and His followers.  "While meeting with them, He enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for 'the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak; for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the holy Spirit'." (Acts 1:4–5)

After witnessing the ascension (Acts 1:6-12), the disciples entered "the city [and] went to the upper room where they were staying....  All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and His brothers." (Acts 1:13–14)

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