Blogs
Mary in the News: March 27, 2019
By Michael Duricy
Read recent items about Mary in both Catholic and secular news. Also, see International Marian Research Institute as well as Marian Library news and updates.
Marian Library and International Marian Research Institute Features
Updates
2019 Meeting of the Mariological Society of America
This year's topic is: The Blessed Virgin Mary and the Call to Holiness. The meeting will convene May 14-17 at the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette Retreat Center in Attleboro, MA. We hope that you will be able to join us for lively discussions about the Blessed Mother.
You may find the brochure and registration form at the following links on the MSA website:
During this season of Lent, let us respond to our call to holiness and prepare to stand by the foot of the cross with Mary our Mother.
Mary in Media: Books, Films, Music, etc.
Video on Our Lady of Coromoto
Father Javier Alson, S.M.C., informed us that the Semacom Foundation, Service of Marian Communication, has created and posted a 3-D animated video with the story of the Virgin of Coromoto, the Patroness of Venezuela, on Youtube. It runs 7 minutes and 19 seconds with Spanish dialog. Please remember the people of Venezuela in your prayers.
From the Marian Treasure Chest
Brother John Samaha, S.M., sent us the text below with the following comments: "Saint Joseph is our father in faith and head of the Holy Family. Honor this father."
Saint Joseph in Perspective by Brother John Samaha, S.M.
To appreciate Saint Joseph properly we need a clear perspective with more than historical facts from Holy Scripture and Tradition. In fact, we know very little historically about the man who raised Jesus.
The three critical instances recorded about Joseph's life are his betrothal to Mary, learning that Mary is with child, and the revelation in a dream about Mary's condition. This ordinary worker and righteous Jew was a carpenter building useful things for others and to honor God. These special moments teach us about the transition from the Old Law to the New Law and the hope it brings. They indicate the shift that must take place in our own lives when God asks us to do the extraordinary and unimaginable.
Fascinating insights into the character of Joseph come to us when we observe him through various lenses as spouse of Mary, father of Jesus, man of obedience, man of faith, man of hope, man of charity, man of courage, man of poverty, man of purity, man of prayer, man of patience, man of labor, man of virtue, man of the church, shepherd, protector, and guardian. Then we understand better why God chose Joseph to help raise Jesus with Mary. Jesus needed an earthly father who was mature in age and wisdom, and would have the attributes needed to cope with the challenges of parenting the Son of God.
Joseph was head of a household that sheltered the most extraordinary persons. His overarching intention was to care for Jesus and Mary because in doing so he was serving God. Every service for them was an expression of love and thanksgiving. God entrusted Joseph with the greatest and most unimaginable gift. And Joseph through his dedicated care returned the gift perfectly. He was the man closest to Christ.
For us to observe Joseph as he raised Jesus is a lesson about the basic elements of our Catholic faith and presents a model of Christ-like living. This is Joseph in proper perspective.
The Church honors Saint Joseph twice in its liturgical calendar: the Solemnity of Saint Joseph on March 19, and the feast of Saint Joseph, the Worker, on May 1.
Marian Events
Title: University Libraries Awards
Theme: 2019 Award Ceremony
Date: Wednesday, April 10, 2019
Time: starts at 11:00 a.m.
Location: Humanities Plaza at the University of Dayton
The Rev. Theodore Koehler, S.M., International Student Award provides a scholarship to any returning international student (with non-immigrant visa). Award criteria include financial need, a good academic record, and personal characteristics which reflect the Marianist tradition.
The Rev. Theodore Koehler, S.M., International Student Award was established by Prof. Susan L. Tsui of the University of Dayton Library, with funds from the Lackner Award which was presented to her in 1995 by the U.D. Marianists. Her own experience as an international student inspired this award. The Koehler Award is administered by a standing committee of the University of Dayton Libraries.
Father Koehler was Director of the Marian Library at the University of Dayton, where he also founded and directed the International Marian Research Institute (1974-1986). From 1979 to 1989, he served as executive secretary to the Mariological Society of America and as editor for Marian Studies, the annual proceedings of that Society. He was the author of numerous studies in Mariology and spirituality, for which he received various awards. U.D. bestowed on him an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters in 1987. In retirement (1989 to his death on May 15, 2001), he was an active scholar.
This year's winners of the Koehler International Award are: Chenxin Xu; Jielong Cai; and Nuocheng Li.
The winners of this year's Brother W. Klick Award for Future Teachers [Grace Takacs] and the Brother Frank Ruhlman Award for Student Writers [Grace Takacs] will also be recognized at this ceremony.
Mary in the Catholic Press
Lebanon: The Annunciation of Mary is a National Holiday (Zenit) March 25, 2019
In Lebanon, the March 25 Marian solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord has been recognized as a national holiday since 2010. Even today, in various Lebanese churches and sanctuaries, Christians and Muslims will together experience acts of veneration for the Virgin Maria, reported Fides News Agency.
Sunni Sheikh Mohamad Nokkari, who teaches in the faculty of law in Beirut, Dubai, and Strasbourg, wanted to further national reconciliation and inter-communal friendship, by raising the profile of the Virgin Mary, who is a point of reference for both Christians and Muslims.
During a trip to Lebanon organized thanks to Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi, Sheikh Noccari told Fides: "My wife and I, who is French, had a statue of the Virgin Mary at home and there was a relative who every time he came to visit us would insult her, hid her in the bathroom, and once he broke the statue in two. I bought another one, made of heavy metal so that it could no longer be damaged."
That family incident helped give the Sunni professor the idea that Mary was to be celebrated together by Christians and Muslims. "I talked about it in Lyon with Jesuit Father Louis Boisset," remembers Mohamad Nokkari, "and we verified that there were no obstacles of a doctrinal nature for an initiative of this kind. Who, better than the Virgin Mary, can bring Christians and Muslims together?" ...
Mary in the Secular Press
The Feast of the Annunciation in Nazareth (Custodia Terrae Sanctae website) March 30, 2017
Saturday, March 25, 2017, Nazareth celebrated its most important holiday: the Annunciation, a celebration full of traditions, meditation, joy, faith, and prayer.
During the vigil, on Friday, March 24, representatives of the Christian community gathered in the Grotto of the Annunciation, to welcome the Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem in his solemn entry into the Basilica and to pray the Vespers together.
After dark, many of the faithful gathered to pray and to contemplate the mystery of the place where the Angel announced to Mary that she would become the Mother of the Savior....