Blogs
Mary in the News: Aug. 3, 2018
By Michael Duricy
Read recent items about Mary in both Catholic and secular news. Also, see International Marian Research Institute news and updates.
Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute Features
Updates
- Marianist General Chapter
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The General Chapter of the Society of Mary (Marianist) was held in Rome from July 8-29, 2018. They elected a new administration: Superior General, from the Ivory Coast, Father Andre Fetis; Father Pablo Rambaud, from the Province of Spain, Assistant for Religious Life; Brother Maximan Magnan from the Region of Togo, Assistant For Education; and Brother Michael Mc Award from the Province of Meribah, Assistant For Temporalities. Below is a link to the a video presentation on that meeting dated July 17, 2018.
- The Marianists of the United States held a meeting of the Province Assembly recently. Father Oscar Vasquez was elected the Provincial Superior. He and the new members of the provincial council took office on Aug. 1, 2018.
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Mary in Media: Books, Films, Music, etc.
Snow White: An Allegory of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- The article below explores Snow White as an allegory of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the context of a poem titled 'Snow White' which follows.
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The Immaculate Virgin Mary is the true Snow White since She is as "pure as the driven snow; [and] her blessings and graces, [are as] numerous and varied as falling snowflakes." I have always been intrigued by the character of Snow White, and the fairy tale has long resided in my imagination. The true reason for this is because Our Lady is the archetype of all women whose greatness, beauty and purity transcends comprehensibility, and so all idealistic portraits and figures of women, in art, literature, the collective cultural imagination, and above all in Salvation History, are as sacramentals, as icons as it were, of Mary Herself--each providing a unique glimpse into the person of our Lady.
Though indeed, the primacy of biblical feminine icons must be emphasized--as these, belonging to Public Revelation, provide the clearest portrait of Mary, and serve as morsels providing the greatest depth of insight into Her. Still, this does not mean we ought to neglect and throw away the plethora of feminine characters which have occupied history, or have been molded in the imaginations of mankind throughout the ages, since these speak in diverse ways of Our Lady--even if at times certain negative aspects need to be polished and done away with--for only the positive, good and noble traits of these women bear witness to Mary the Most Blessed of All Women.To appropriate and recognize Our Lady in these historical and mythical feminine icons, is part of a process to see the Face of God in all things, and testifies to the fact that all these feminine icons are so prominent and/or have been crafted, as a temporal response to the inner yearning that beats within the heart of every human being to be one in union with Mary the Mother of God, as was Joseph and as was Christ. Every heart longs for Mary, since this is indistinguishable from the thirst for God inherent in every man. Why? For God is so united to Mary in an indivisible bond of grace, that one cannot be one with God unless one is one with Mary, and vice versa....
Complete article - N.B. The Mary Page also has articles on this topic: Snow White Semiotics and Religion; and Is there Marian imagery in Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs?
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From the Marian Treasure Chest
Brother John Samaha, S.M., sent us the text below with the following comments: "August 13 is the feast day of Blessed Jakob Gapp, Austrian Marianist priest martyred by the Nazis in World War II. He is a model for our times."
Witness to Faith and Justice: Blessed Jakob Gapp, S.M. (1897-1943) by Brother John Samaha, S.M.
The feast of the Marianist martyr for the faith and for social justice, Blessed Jakob Gapp, is celebrated on August 13.
Heroes and models are important in the lives of all. Our Marianist candidates for sainthood are a mark of divine approval of our charism and ideal. One such model is Jakob Gapp. What do we know about him?
Blessed Jakob was the seventh child of a working class family in Austria's Tyrol. During military service in World War I on the Italian front he was wounded, received a medal of courage, and was captured as a prisoner of war. When he returned home he learned about the Society of Mary (Marianists) from a relative. In 1920 he entered the novitiate at the age of 23. A year later in 1921 he professed the vows of religious life, and in 1930 he was ordained a priest.
Jakob was a conscientious teacher and an ardent advocate of social justice. His concern for the poor was intense. And he was a vocal foe of National Socialism (Nazism). He strongly insisted on the incompatibility of National Socialism and Christianity. Christianity teaches the love of all persons regardless of nationality or religion. God supercedes Caesar. He was moved frequently among various schools and parishes across Europe because he was constantly shadowed by the Gestapo.
In 1943, the Gestapo arrested him in southern France near the Spanish border and took him to Berlin for imprisonment. Condemned to death on July 2, Jakob Gapp was guillotined for treason on August 13, the anniversary of his entrance to the novitiate. His two farewell letters, one to his family and one to his provincial superior, are gems. The laudatory testimonies of Nazi leaders, Roland Freisler and Heinrich Himmler, are superlative tributes to his sterling character.
Pope St. John Paul II beatified Jakob Gapp in 1996. Biographers and commentators extolled Blessed Jakob for these outstanding virtues: a passion for truth; unwavering faith; commitment to the Church; and dedication to Mary. For us who follow in his steps, he is a model of service to the truth, to the Church, and to Mary. He is an icon of advocacy for social justice. All Christians are called to be relevant and significant to the Church and to society.
Blessed Jakob Gapp, pray for us!
Marian Events
Event: Fatima USA 2018
Location: Spiritual Center of Maria Stein, 2365 Saint Johns Road, Maria Stein, Ohio 45860
Date: August 10, 2018
Holy Mass with Rev. Father Alexander Witt begins at 7:30 pm. After dark, a candle-lit rosary will take form on the grounds as each prayer is recited. The program will conclude with a candle light procession around the grounds.
More information is available at facebook.com/Fatima.usa.mass
Mary in the Catholic Press
Ahead of Seventh Centenary of "Our Lady of Social Justice and Love" Shrine in Poland, Pope Sends Letter to Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Catholic Education, his special envoy (Zenit) May 21, 2018
Pope Francis appointed on March 24, 2018, Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Catholic Education, as his special envoy at the celebration of the seventh centenary of the consecration of the Shrine of "Our Lady of Social Justice and Love." On May 21, 2018, the Vatican published the Pope's letter to the cardinal in Latin ahead of the consecration which is to take place in the city of Piekary Śląskiein, in the Archdiocese of Katowice, in southern Poland....
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.
Former Chaminade president is new assistant provincial of U.S. Marianists (Hawaii Catholic Herald) February 22, 2018
The former president of Chaminade University of Honolulu, Marianist Brother Bernard Ploeger, has been appointed assistant provincial of the Marianist Province of the United States. The new provincial is Marianist Father Oscar Vasquez. They, plus five additional members of the provincial council, will take office on Aug. 1, 2018.
The council members were chosen following a formal consultation process involving the brothers and priests of the Marianist Province of the United States. In Hawaii, the Marianists sponsor Chaminade University, Saint Louis School and St. Anthony School, Maui.
Father Vasquez, 54, is a native of San Antonio, Texas. He professed first vows in 1987 and was ordained in 2005. He currently is ministering in St. Louis, Missouri, as chaplain at Chaminade College Preparatory and assistant pastor at Our Lady of the Pillar Parish.
Brother Ploeger, 69, was raised in Cincinnati. He professed first vows in 1967. He has served as a professor and vice president of administration at the University of Dayton, and most recently as president of Chaminade University.
The provincial and assistant provincial serve five-year terms, with a possible three-year extension.
The other members of the council are: Father Timothy Kenney, assistant for religious life; Brother Jesse O'Neill, assistant for education; Brother Joseph Markel, assistant for temporalities; Brother Charles Johnson, councilor; and Father Charles (Kip) Stander, councilor....