Blogs
Mary in the News: April 11, 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
Alumni Activities
Sister Celia Chua, M.I.C., will attend a meeting of the Canadian Religious Conference (CRC) Theological Commission from April 11-13, 2019. She will then travel to China on April 15 and remain there until May 20.
Father Javier Alson, S.M.C., is visiting Dayton for pastoral work with the Semacom Foundation, and research at the Marian Library. He attended Marian Forum 8 at the University of Dayton on April 5, 2019. He informs us that Semacom, 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.
Mary in Media: Books, Films, Music, etc.
PAMI News
The website of the Pontificia Academia Mariana Internationalis (PAMI) has its own news page that announces many past and upcoming events. PAMI has also created an Archives and plans to start a journal.
The site mentions a competition that is advertised only in Italian. Immediately below is an English translation provided by Father Sebastien Abalodo, S.M.
As foreseen in the Rules of the Award and in agreement with the Pontifical Council for Culture, the Pontifical International Marian Academy is in charge of the 2019 edition of the Prize of the Pontifical Academies, intended for young scholars and / or institutions whose research or cultural activity makes an original contribution on Mariological and Marian themes.
The Prize, awarded by the Holy Father and presented during the annual Public Session of the Pontifical Academies, is worth 20,000 euros, which can also be assigned equally.
Scholars who are under the age of 40 and institutions involved in Mariological education can participate in the competition.
Studies of a scientific nature resulting from academic research, as well as doctoral theses, unpublished or published works in the last five years will be taken into consideration.
Authors wishing to participate must send a copy of their work together with their curriculum vitae and a letter of introduction from an academic or ecclesiastical authority.
The institutions that intend to participate must send a description of their cultural activity at the service of Mariology together with some publications attesting to the activity.
The candidacies should be sent to the address of the Academy or to the Pontifical Council for Culture, Via della Concilizaione 5, 00193 Rome, by ordinary post specifying on the package "Premio delle Pontificie Accademia", no later than April 30, 2019. The material sent will not be returned.
Further details can be requested directly from the Secretary of the International Marian Academy.
From the Marian Treasure Chest
Brother John Samaha, S.M., sent us the text below with the following comments: "Below are some thoughts about the Three O'clock Prayer to consider during Lent."
An Ideal Lenten Prayer by Brother John Samaha, S.M.
The Three O'clock Prayer has been popularized by Blessed William Joseph Chaminade and Marianist religious, laity, and schools since the early nineteenth century. The prayer has been slightly revised over the years, and the original author is unknown. While intended for daily use, it is especially appropriate for Lent.
THE THREE O’CLOCK PRAYER
Lord Jesus,
we gather in spirit at the foot of the Cross
with your Mother and the disciple whom you loved.
We ask your pardon for our sins
which are the cause of your death.
We thank you for remembering us
in that hour of salvation
and for having given us Mary as our Mother.
Holy Virgin, take us under your protection
and open us to the action of the Holy Spirit.
Saint John, obtain for us the grace of taking Mary into our lives, as you did,
and of assisting her in her mission. Amen.
May the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit
be glorified in all places
through the Immaculate Virgin Mary.
Marian Events
Title: 2019 Meeting of the Mariological Society of America
Theme: The Blessed Virgin Mary and the Call to Holiness
Date: May 14-17, 2019
Location: National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette Retreat Center in Attleboro, Massachusetts
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:
Mary in the Catholic Press
Pope Francis: 'May Mary Help us all to Live Holy Week Well' (Zenit) March 25, 2018
At the end of the March 25, 2018, Celebration of Palm Sunday and of the Passion of the Lord, and before the Apostolic Blessing, the Holy Father Francis led the recitation of the Angelus, with the faithful and pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square.
Below are excerpts from a ZENIT translation of the Holy Father's words on introducing the Marian prayer
... Today's World Youth Day, which is being held at the diocesan level, is an important stage in the journey towards the Synod of Bishops on Young People the Faith and Discernment of the forthcoming month of October, as well as in the course of preparation for the International Day, which will be held in Panama in January 2019. May the example and the intercession of Mary, the young woman of Nazareth, whom God chose as Mother of His Son, accompany us on this itinerary. She walks with us and guides the new generations in their pilgrimage of faith and of fraternity.
May Mary help us all to live Holy Week well. From her, we learn interior silence, the look of the heart, loving faith to follow Jesus on the Way of the Cross, which leads to the joyful light of the Resurrection....
Mary in the Secular Press
Dante and Holy Week (National Review website) March 31, 2015
In the graveyard, I saw two men arguing. One of them, a proud older man, stood inside a flaming open tomb, trying with his authoritative manner to put the younger man in his place. His opponent could have walked on, but he stood there arguing pointlessly about their families and the place they came from.
I couldn't take my eyes off those two. The older man was dead, but didn’t seem to know it. The younger man was alive, but seemed to have forgotten it.
Suddenly it struck me: I am observing this scene from Dante's Inferno, the book I'm holding in my hands, but in truth, I am watching my father and myself.
This unforgettable moment, in which the pilgrim Dante spars with Farinata, a damned Florentine aristocrat, revealed the hidden source of the anxiety that had plunged me into my own midlife crisis. Over thirty years of struggle between a father and a son is not exactly news, but this episode from the Inferno showed me something more profound: that both my dad and I had made false idols of Family and Place….