Blogs
Mary in the News: Jan. 16, 2019
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
The Virtual Learning Community for Faith Formation (VLCFF) at the University of Dayton (U.D.) offers a variety of on-line Religion courses including two courses on Mary: Mary, Holy Possibility; and Mary in Scripture and Tradition, as well as a series of Marianist Studies courses. The first cycle of courses for 2019 starts on January 20. so register today! For further information call 1-888-300-8436.
Mary in Media: Books, Films, Music, etc.
From Mean Streets to Marian miracles: Harvey Keitel to star in Fatima movie scheduled to be released in 2019
The apparitions of the Virgin Mary at Fatima and the secret prophecies that three shepherd children say she vouchsafed to them are over 100 years old--but they are getting more attention than ever.
First, Pope Francis traveled to the shrine in central Portugal to mark the May 13 anniversary and centenary by canonizing two of the three children, a brother and sister who died in the flu epidemic two years after the 1917 events.
And now comes word that legendary actor, Harvey Keitel, famous for his role in bloody gangster films--from Mean Streets to Pulp Fiction--will play a starring role in a dramatized version of the Marian visions, called Fatima.
The Brazilian actress, Sonia Braga, will play opposite Keitel, according to an announcement Thursday (May 18) from the producers at the Cannes Film Festival in southern France.
"Cannes is the perfect place to introduce buyers to this heartfelt and timely film, whose main characters were canonized by the pope, and that has an impressive, built-in audience around the world," said producer Gary Hamilton, managing director of Arclight Films....
From the Marian Treasure Chest
Brother John Samaha, S.M., sent us the text below with the following comment: "Celebrate Blessed William Joseph Chaminade, especially around January 22."
Preparation for Chaminade Day by Brother John Samaha, S.M.
These are some ideas to consider when planning for the celebration of Chaminade Day. Serious preparation is very important for a successful and effective observance.
Are we planning to celebrate on two levels: the entire Marianist Family worldwide and each administrative unit?
What can we do to make this a very special occasion for the Marianist Family and to renew our dedicated lives?
In preparation for the appropriate celebration of Chaminade Day, January 22, one important element is to re-study Chaminade's life, his writings and spirituality, his apostolic mission, preparation and similar themes for prayer and study.
The purpose of Chaminade Day is to celebrate the gift of our Founder, and the gift of our Marianist vocation and mission. It is a time to give thanks to Jesus and Mary, but also to show that we are happy to be Marianists. We need specific moments to express these ideas and to prepare for Chaminade Day.
This is a special time for re-studying our Marianist sources and charism, and making them real and concrete now according to the signs of the times. We are presented with another opportunity to re-found the Marianist Family. Re-foundation means going to our roots, applying the essentials of our charism to respond to the needs and questions of today. Fidelity to these essentials is necessary and needs to be matched to creativity. The Church expects fidelity and creativity, lest we lose the continuity of our history. We must point to the present and to the future.
To this end, Pope St. John Paul II offered a helpful orientation as we ushered in the third millennium: "In this moment ... we must look to the past with gratitude and embrace the future with hope, living the present with patience."
The Marianist future requires living the present with patient and continuing effort.
Marian Events
Theme: True Devotion to Mary--Study Group at Saint Albert Parish
Dates: Mondays from February 4 - March 25, 2019, 7:00 - 8:15 p.m.
Location: The Spirit Center [behind the playground] of Saint Albert Parish
The group will discuss True Devotion to Mary by Saint Louis Marie de Montfort and Preparation for Total Consecration to Jesus Christ through Mary by Father Hugh Gillespie. Free tea and coffee will be provided by the Legion of Mary. For details, contact Gloria Dodd by email at gdodd1@udayton.edu
Mary in the Catholic Press
Pope's January Prayer Intention: Young People and the Example of Mary (Zenit) January 3, 2019
The following reflection was written by Father Jacob Boddicker, SJ. Father Boddicker was ordained to the priesthood in June, 2017 and is currently doing pastoral ministry in St. Francis, South Dakota. He is a member of the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network Board of Directors.
"The world ushers in a New Year each January, so named after the Latin word for "door": we stand on the threshold of another Year of Our Lord. It is the world's New Year; as a Church we've already celebrated the new liturgical year with the First Sunday of Advent, a season in which we prepared for the coming of the New Man. December is a month of celebrating something new--a child!--while the world around us sees only what is old, thinks only about the past year.
Now the world looks to the New Year and we, instead, look to Mary: we thus begin with the great Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God on January 1...."
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.
Movie Review: The Apparition investigates the strange phenomenon of Virgin Mary sightings (Athens Banner-Herald) September 10, 2018
Ambitious and well-executed, The Apparition is a kind of ecclesiastical thriller. An involving and intelligent entertainment, if it ends up somewhat less than the sum of its parts, it's not for lack of attempting something different.
Best known for 2015's similarly unsettled Marguerite, about an opera singer who didn't know how bad she was, writer-director, Xavier Giannoli, has taken as his theme another story outside the bounds of accepted reality: the alleged appearance of the Virgin Mary in a rural French town....