Blogs
Mary in the News: Jan. 29, 2018
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
-
Father Donald Calloway, M.I.C. will be leading pilgrimages to Ireland, Mexico, Poland, and the Holy Land! Here is a link to see all the pilgrimages: http://www.pilgrimages.com/fr
calloway/ -
Also, prayerfully consider helping the Marians of the Immaculate Conception by purchasing one of his Marian books or items (see https://www.fathercalloway.com/books-and-gifts). Feel free to spread the word on Facebook and your social media outlets. Thank you for your love and support for the Marians!
Mary in Media: Books, Films, Music, etc.
New Marian Book from Ave Maria Press
From the Marian Treasure Chest
Brother John Samaha, S.M., sent us the text below.
Appreciating Blessed William Joseph Chaminade by Marianist Affiliate Roger Bichelberger, edited by Brother John Samaha, S.M.
William Joseph Chaminade is a man for our times. You may wonder how a priest who died in 1850 can be so considered. During the years of the French Revolution, the Empire, and the Restoration he was a man open to his times to bear witness to Jesus Christ our Redeemer. With the rallying cry, Nova bella elegit Dominus (The Lord has chosen new battles), he directed his collaborators not to put new wine into old wineskins.
Following the spirit of the Gospel, Chaminade forged ahead boldly into the world of his day. Defying the Reign of Terror and the oath required by the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, he fearlessly pursued his apostolic mission in Bordeaux, assuming various disguises to celebrate the Eucharist clandestinely at the risk of his life.
When he returned to France in 1800 after exile in Spain, he faced reality squarely and envisioned another approach to rebuilding the Church, a less clerical way separated from all concern of caste or class.
Engaging lay men and women he developed a "new evangelization" based on the established Sodality model and centered on each individual's witness in his or her own milieu, person to person, worker to worker. In this he was a precursor of official Catholic Action. He gathered the laity under the banner of Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ and of all people.
Acting on the inspiration of Mary received at the shrine of Our Lady of the Pillar and the interest of some lay followers, he collaborated with Adele de Batz de Trenquelleon to found the religious congregation of the Daughters of Mary Immaculate (F.M.I.) in 1816. A year later, he organized the men religious as the Society of Mary (S.M.). Their common objective was to animate the lay people in the Sodality, and to emphasize serving the young and the poor. Eventually they concentrated on teaching as the preferred and most influential apostolate.
Solidly grounded in prayer and realizing that the Son is never separated from His Mother, Chaminade entered into an alliance with Mary to participate in her apostolic mission to bring Christ to all.
Today's Marianist Family is the lengthened shadow of Blessed William Joseph Chaminade.
Marian Events
Event: Annual Conference of the Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary (ESBVM)
Theme: Mary, Disciple of the Lord: Suffering
Location: Misericordia University in Dallas, Pennsylvania
Date: July 26-28, 2018
The Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary (ESBVM) will be presenting its 2018 Annual Conference on July 26-28, 2018 at Misericordia University in Dallas, Pennsylvania. The theme of the conference is: Mary, Disciple of the Lord: Suffering. Guidelines for proposals are given below. If you would like to submit a proposal, the deadline is March 1, 2018. Please feel free to share this Call for Papers with others who might be interested in presenting at the conference. Questions regarding proposals may be addressed to ESBVM president, Dr. Christopher Carr at ccarr@misericordia.edu. Please put "ESBVM Conference" in the subject line. Details about the conference will be sent to all members as they become available.
The conference theme may be pondered 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 the importance of Mary’s suffering, such as studies of Mary as a teacher in how to deal with suffering or the concept of “Co-Redemptrix” and its implications for doctrine and/or ecumenical dialogue
- Eastern and/or Western artistic depictions of Mary, such as her presence at the foot of the Cross in paintings and iconography, or in other media like Michelangelo’s Pieta.
- Descriptions of Mary and suffering in literature, such as poetry or Medieval passion plays
- Mary’s role in consoling those who suffer, drawing from Scripture, Tradition, and/or popular piety
- The historical development in the Christian understanding of Mary as someone who suffered or consoles, beginning with either the Bible, the Church Fathers, Medieval theologians, the Reformers or later thinkers
- Biblical evidence (or lack thereof) of Mary’s suffering or ability to intercede for those who suffer, especially according to Reformation principles or in the thought of the Reformers themselves
- Liturgical texts that express Mary’s experience of suffering, such as the Marian lamentations used in Eastern Christianity on Holy Friday
- Marian titles and devotions in Catholicism that focus on Mary’s suffering (e.g., Our Lady of Sorrows, or the Immaculate Heart)
Mary in the Catholic Press
Pope’s Homily for Feast of Translation of Salus Populi Romani Marian Icon (Zenit website) January 28, 2018
Pope Francis celebrated Mass in the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore this morning, Jan. 28, 2018, Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time, on the occasion of the Feast of the Translation of the Icon of the Salus Populi Romani. Here is a ZENIT translation of the homily the Pope gave in the course of the Holy Mass.
* * *
As a people of God on their way, we are here to stand in the temple of the Mother. The presence of the Mother makes this temple a family home to us children. Together with generations of Romans, we recognize in this maternal house, our home, the house where we find refreshment, comfort, protection, [and] shelter. The Christian people have understood, from the beginning, that in difficulties and trials, we must resort to the Mother, as indicated by the most ancient Marian antiphon: Under your protection we seek refuge, Holy Mother of God: do not despise the supplications of us who are undergoing trials, but deliver us from all danger, O glorious and blessed Virgin.
We are looking for refuge. Our Fathers in the faith have taught that in turbulent moments, we must gather under the mantle of the Holy Mother of God. Once the persecuted and the needy sought from noble, high-ranking women, refuge; yet they stretched out their cloaks, which were considered inviolable, as a sign of reception, for they granted protection. Similarly, we see this with us and Our Lady, the highest woman of mankind. Her coat is always open to welcome us and gather us. The Christian East reminds us of this, where many celebrate the protection of the Mother of God, who is depicted in a beautiful icon, where she with her mantle, shelters her children and covers the whole world. Even the ancient monks recommended, in trials, to take refuge under the mantle of the Holy Mother of God: to invoke her--"Holy Mother of God"--this prayer, and repeating it was already a guarantee of protection and help: "Holy Mother of God." "Holy Mother of God" ... Only in this way....
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.
Walter Sisto on Bulgakov's Mariology (Eastern Christian Books blog) January 3, 2018
I first came across Walter Sisto's name several years ago after he published an insightful article on ecumenical method. Not long after, he submitted an article to Logos: A Journal of Eastern Christian Studies, which we published after very strong recommendations from the reviewers.
Now he is out with a new book, The Mother of God in the Theology of Sergius Bulgakov: The Soul Of The World and following my usual custom I sent him some questions for an interview. Here are his thoughts:
AD: Tell us a bit about your background
WNS: My name is Walter Nunzio Sisto. I am a Roman Catholic theologian and assistant professor of Religious Studies at D’Youville College in Buffalo, NY. I completed my master’s degree in theology at Seton Hall University and my doctorate at The University of St. Michael’s College in Toronto. In both instances, my research interest was the Orthodox-Catholic ecumenical movement. My doctoral work focused primarily on an ecumenist and Russian theologian, Father Sergius Bulgakov. I have written various articles in journals such as Logos: A Journal of Eastern Christian Studies, Irish Theological Quarterly, Ecumenical Trends, and Marian Studies. Recently, I published a book for courses that I teach called Death and the World Religions: How Religion Informs End-of-Life Decisions. The book was inspired by Bulgakov’s sophiology of death....
Click here to read the complete article.