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Mary in the News: July 22, 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
Marian Retreats
Mt. Angel Abbey in Oregon will be having in August a Marian Retreat with a Benedictine director, and then in October another Marian retreat with Dr. Elizabeth Farley, IMRI graduate. They will also have an Advent Retreat in December.
Mary in Media: Books, Films, Music, etc.
Marian stationary - free
Below are links to free printable Marian stationary. Enjoy!
Religious stationary and other printables
Our Lady of Guadalupe stationary
From the Marian Treasure Chest
Brother John Samaha, S.M., sent us the text below with the following comments: "I am happy that The Valley Catholic, (San Jose) included the attached article about St. Junipero Serra in the Sept. 29, 2015 issue. He deserves more attention as our California saint."
Junipero Serra, Apostle of California by Brother John Samaha, S.M.
Saint Junipero Serra (1713-1784), the first apostle and colonizer of Alta California, was a model evangelizer and is a benchmark for the missionary spirit for spreading and renewing the faith. The church celebrates his feast on July 1.
When Pope Francis visited the USA in September 2015, he canonized him at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC.
A native of Petra on the Spanish island of Majorca and baptized Miguel Jose, he followed in the footsteps of his early educators, the Franciscans, and took the name of Junipero, who was a disciple of St. Francis himself. After a decade of service as a noted preacher and professor of philosophy, he rekindled his early desire to be a missionary and requested to be sent to Mexico in the new World. In 1749, at the age of thirty-six he wrote a formal petition to his provincial superior: "All my life I have wanted to be a missionary. I have wanted to carry the Gospel teachings to those who have never heard of God and the kingdom He has prepared for them."
Fray Junipero was missioned to the New World in Mexico, where he served the native populations for twenty years. When Spain decided to complete the occupation of California, he and other specially trained Franciscan missionaries accompanied the military and the colonists. During the ensuing fifteen years in Alta California, he founded the first nine of the twenty-one missions. In this period, Serra was compelled to confront the military and civil authorities concerning the mistreatment of the Native Americans. He drafted a statement of thirty-two grievances which he personally presented to the Viceroy in Mexico. Some of his recommended improvements were implemented and some were overlooked.
Though afflicted with an ulcerated leg wound, Padre Serra frequently visited his missions, often walking rather than riding horseback because St. Francis of Assisi had always walked. Records show that he baptized and confirmed thousands of natives without neglecting the colonists and the soldiers. He was beloved by all. While concentrating on the spiritual needs of the neophytes and catechumens, he and his collaborators did not forget their material welfare. The natives were taught methods of farming, cattle raising, along with arts and crafts. The native peoples were educated to shift from an unsettled lifestyle to a stable domestic way of life. Serra's extensive written reports filed with government and religious authorities reveal a saintly man who loved and served his people as an adept teacher, organizer and manager.
Although some Spaniards were guilty of abusive treatment, Padre Serra had never been guilty of mistreatment. On the contrary, he defended them from harm. In 1784, Father Serra died at Mission San Carlos Borromeo, and later he was buried in the sanctuary of its church. When St. John Paul II beatified Junipero Serra on September 25, 1988, he praised the Apostle of California as "an exemplary model of the selfless evangelizer, a shining example of Christian virtue and the missionary spirit." These are the traits we are challenged to exhibit.
A statue of Junipero Serra represents California in the National Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Imposing statues of the colonizer of California also grace Golden Gate Park in San Francisco and are also prominently placed in many other cities throughout the state. His name has been adopted by the international lay organization of men and women known as the Serra Club, which is dedicated to fostering vocations to the priesthood and religious life.
Saint Junipero Serra witnessed to the holiness of the Church and its concern for all people. As an extraordinary missionary and an exceptional example of the Church's apostolic calling to preach and exemplify the Gospel to everyone, he personifies the spirit of the new evangelization that characterizes our times.
Marian Events
Title: Fatima USA 2019
Date: Friday, August 9, 2019, 7:30 pm
Location: Spiritual Center of Maria Stein, 2300 St. John's Road, Maria Stein, OH 45860--Directions
You are invited to Fatima USA 2019 with an outdoor mass, rosary, and candlelit procession around the grounds at the Spiritual Center of Maria Stein!
Holy Mass with Father Justin S. F. Cinnante, O.Carm., 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.
For more information see facebook.com/Fatima.usa.mass
Mary in the Catholic Press
100,000 Pilgrims of Radio Maryja Family in Poland (Zenit) July 15, 2019
About 100,000 people took part in the 28th Pilgrimage of the Radio Maryja Family to the Jasna Góra Shrine of Our Lady. For years it has been one of the most numerous pilgrimages in Europe. The pilgrims were greeted by Pope Francis during the Angelus prayer.
The motto of this year's pilgrimage was the statement of St. John Paul II: "May Your Spirit descend! And renew the face of the earth. Of this land!". The faithful prayed for their families on the meadows around the Shrine of Our Lady, asking for respect for everyone's life and apologized "for insults, sacrileges, and profanities...."
Mary in the Secular Press
Prayer to End Abortion (Catholic Telegraph) July 17, 2019
Prayer to end abortion will begin with Mass at Holy Name Catholic Church, 2448 Auburn Avenue, Cincinnati, followed by Exposition, a peaceful rosary procession to the nearby Planned Parenthood, and then back to the church for Benediction. Mass and prayer intentions will be offered for the women and workers at the Planned Parenthood Facility on Auburn Avenue, July 27, 2019 from 8-10 am.