Blogs
Mary in the News: Jan. 9, 2020
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
2020 Annual Conference of the ESBVM USA Call for Papers
The Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary, USA (ESBVM USA) was formed by Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Orthodox, and Presbyterian Scholars and is open to all Christians. The Society exists to advance the scholarly study of Mary, the Mother of Christ. By drawing on insights and perspectives from all traditions within the Christian household, the Society promotes increasing one's understanding of Christianity, furthering the effectiveness of the Christian mission, fostering academic interchange, and participating in inter-ecclesial prayer.
PROPOSAL DUE DATE: March 1, 2020
Conference Theme: "Mary, Mother of the Lord"
Conference Dates: July 22-25, 2020
Conference Location: Misericordia University, 301 Lake Street, Dallas, PA 18612 (just outside Wilkes-Barre)
Submission Guidelines and Requirements:
The paper proposal should be in DOC or DOCX and must include: presentation title, your name, professional affiliation (e.g., university or church name), and status (undergrad, grad. student, Ph.D. candidate, faculty, pastor, etc.), contact information (e-mail address and daytime telephone), abstract (350-500 words), and equipment needs.
The general theme for the 2020 ESBVM USA Conference is "Mary, Mother of the Lord." This theme may be explored using a variety of methods appropriate to your field of study, personal interests, and particular Christian tradition. The following are some suggested topics to use for inspiration:
- Explorations of Mary's motherhood as gleaned from particular Scripture passages (Old Testament typologies and prophecies as well as New Testament texts);
- A study of Mary's motherhood as explored in the work of particular theologians and churchmen including the Early Church Fathers, Medieval Scholars, Protestant Reformers, and contemporary theologians;
- Mary's motherhood as it relates to and illuminates cultural and social justice issues, anthropological issues, sacramental theology, Christian anthropology, and/or soteriology;
- Conclusions drawn from or about ecumenical dialogues on the subject of Mary's motherhood;
- Historical, systematic, scriptural, or ecumenical explorations of Mary's motherhood as revealed by Marian titles such as Theotókos, Maria Lactans, or Mother of the Church and/or aspects of Mary's motherhood enshrined in Marian dogmas;
- Eastern and/or Western artistic depictions of Mary as mother of Christ, Christians, or the Church in the visual, literary and performing arts;
- Liturgical texts, prayers, and feast days in honor of Mary's motherhood; and
- The role that Mary's motherhood has played in Marian apparitions.
Please address your proposal for review to:
Christopher M. Carr, Ph.D.
ESBVM-USA, President
Misericordia University
301 Lake Street
Dallas, PA 18612
Mary in Media: Books, Films, Music, etc.
Media Coverage of the Marian Library
On Dec. 22, 2019 CBS Sunday Morning aired the story "Nativity Scenes: Miniatures of the Very First Christmas," which featured interviews with Michele Devitt (00:13) and Sarah Cahalan (02:10). The entire clip lasts 5:21.
Marian Events
Title: At the Manger: A Labor of Love
Dates: December 20, 2019 - January 12, 2020
Time: 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. weekdays, through January 10, 2020
1–4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, January 11–12, 2020
(Closed January 4–5, 2020)
Location: University of Dayton, Roesch Library first-floor gallery and Marian Library, seventh floor
Free and open to the public
Since 1995, the University of Dayton’s Marian Library has presented a selection of its expansive collection of 3,600 Nativity scenes from more than 100 countries, celebrating how people around the world ponder and picture the birth of Christ through many different cultural lenses.
Join us during the Christmas season as we showcase the dedicated and inspiring volunteers of the Marian Library's crèche workshop. Each year, At the Manger is the product of approximately 6,000 hours of faithful service by dozens of volunteer craftspersons, carpenters and docents. The 2019-20 exhibit gives tribute to these volunteers who, together, curated it from their favorite settings.
Mary in the Catholic Press
Angelus Address: On the Solemnity of Mary Most Holy, Mother of God (Zenit), January 1, 2020
At the end of Holy Mass celebrated in the Vatican Basilica, on the Solemnity of Mary Most Holy, Mother of God, and on the 53rd World Day of Peace, Pope Francis appeared at the window of his study in the Apostolic Vatican Palace to recite the Angelus with the faithful and pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
Here is a ZENIT translation of the Holy Father's address.
* * *
Before the Angelus:
Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning and Happy New Year!
Yesterday evening we ended the year 2019 thanking God for the gift of time and for all His benefits. Today we begin 2020 with the same attitude of gratitude and praise. It's not a given that our planet began a new rotation of the sun and that we human beings continue to inhabit it. It's not a given, rather, it's always a "miracle" of which to be astonished and grateful.
On the first day of the year, the Liturgy celebrates the Holy Mother of God, Mary, the Virgin of Nazareth, who gave birth to Jesus, the Savior. That Child is God's blessing for every man and woman, for the great human family and for the entire world. Jesus did not remove evil from the world but He defeated it at its root. His salvation isn't magical, but it is a "patient" salvation, that is, it entails the patience of love, which takes charge of iniquity and takes away its power. The patience of love: love makes us patient. We lose patience so often; I do too, and I apologize for yesterday's bad example [He is probably referring to his reaction to a person who yanked him]. Therefore, contemplating the Nativity Scene we see, with the eyes of faith, the world renewed, freed from the dominion of evil and placed under Christ's royal lordship, the Babe lying in the manger....
Mary in the Secular Press
CBS Sunday Morning highlights Nativities (University of Dayton News) December 18, 2019
CBS Sunday Morning featured the University of Dayton’s vast crèche collection on a segment about Nativities during an episode which aired on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2019.
The University’s Marian Library holds more than 3,600 sets representing more than 100 countries--from the smallest on the head of a nail to the largest, a Provençal Village with 150 figures that can fill an entire room.
CBS correspondent, Nikki Battiste, interviewed Marian Library Director, Sarah Cahalan, on Nativity representations from local customs and cultures around the world, demonstrating how different cultures make this familiar story their own….