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In the News: August 4, 2015

By Michael Duricy



ML/IMRI Features

Marian Events

Mary in the Catholic Press

Mary in the Secular Press

Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute Features

Updates
Dear Members of the Mariological Society of America,

The Mariological Society of America is pleased to announce its Annual Meeting of 2016 which will take place May 17–20, 2016 at the Franciscan Retreat Center, Colorado Springs, Colorado (see franciscanretreatcenter.org).
The theme of the 2016 meeting will be Devotion to the Heart of Mary: Theological Foundations, which was chosen in light of the 100th anniversary of the apparitions at Fatima.

Please click here to find the Call for Papers for this conference. We would be grateful if you would inform students and scholars who might have a particular interest in submitting a proposal. We would also be grateful if you could print and display the Call for Papers at your respective college, university, seminary, parish, residence, or pastoral center.
For more information about the Mariological Society of America, please visit the website at www.mariologicalsociety.com.
Thank you so much. May God bless you for your assistance. We hope to see you in Colorado next May!
Sincerely in Christ,
Robert Fastiggi, Ph.D.
President of the Mariological Society of America
Professor of Systematic Theology
Sacred Heart Major Seminary
Mary in Books, Films, and Music

Father David Fleming, S.M., recently published a book on the Marianist charism, A New Fulcrum: Marianist Horizons Today. A former Superior General of the Society of Mary, he muses and expounds on key questions of contemporary Marianist life ... always through the magnifying lens of Blessed Chaminade's quest for a "new fulcrum." Father Fleming's work contains ten essays covering topics pertaining to Marianist education, spirituality, leadership, mixed composition, and identity. Click here for more information. The text is available from the Bookstore of the North American Center for Marianist Studies (NACMS). We are grateful to Father David for donating copies to The Marian Library. 

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From the Marian Treasure Chest

Brother John M. Samaha, S.M., sent us the short article below which he wrote.

Mary's Assumption Pertains To Us

Like every doctrine of faith, Mary's Assumption into heaven body and soul is about us too. Mary is our model in faith, charity, and perfect union with Christ.  She teaches us how to live in a faith-filled and loving way. 

Mary's Assumption teaches us how to live with hope even in dying, how to anticipate our eternal destiny. The Solemnity of the Assumption, observed on August 15, celebrates the completion of Mary's transformation by the Holy Spirit, being taken to heaven not only in soul, but also in body.

Mary's Assumption brings us hope because it reminds us that what happened to Mary is our destiny too. The Preface of the Mass declares that the Assumption is "the beginning and the image of Your Church's coming to perfection and a sign of sure hope and comfort for Your people."

We are the Church. Mary's bodily assumption is a harbinger of what will happen to us. What God has done for Mary gives us hope and comfort in what He will do for us. 

St. Paul reminds us that even in this life believers are already being transformed into the image of Christ. "All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory as from the Lord who is Spirit." (2Cor 3:18) This transformation affects not only our souls but also our bodies. "We groan within ourselves as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies." (Rom 8:23) Our bodies will be conformed to the body of Christ. "He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorious body by the power that enables Him also to bring all things into subjection to Himself." (Phil 3:21) This transformation results from Jesus' victory over the power of sin and death in His own death and Resurrection.

The opening prayer for the August 15 Eucharistic Liturgy asks that "always attentive to the things that are above, we may merit to be sharers of her glory."  Living in tune with God as Mary did, we will also undergo the transformation of both our souls and our bodies. 

The post communion prayer requests that "through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whom you assumed into heaven, we may be brought to the glory of the Resurrection."

When celebrating the Solemnity of Mary's Assumption in 2010 Pope Benedict XVI offered this clear description in his homily: "The Mother of God is inserted to such a degree in the mystery of Christ that she shares in the resurrection of her Son with her whole being already at the end her life. She lives what we hope for at the end of time...."

While admiring Mary in her glorious destiny, we are invited to recognize that the loving Lord has willed for our final destiny to live through faith in perfect union with Him. 

Our predecessors in faith professed their firm hope in "the resurrection of the body" in the Apostles Creed and in the Nicene Creed. We rarely think about the resurrection of our bodies. Yet this article of faith greatly encourages us, comforts us at the death of loved ones, and raises our awareness of the value of our bodies. 

The Assumption of Mary vividly reminds us that our lives have a special destiny with God.

Marian Events

The Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary USA (ESBVM-USA) exists to advance the study of Mary, the Mother of Christ, in Christian biblical and spiritual perspectives, and in the light of such study, to promote ecumenical interchange and prayer. Its aim is to show that in Mary, Christians of many traditions may find a focus in their search for unity.

Their 2015 Weekend Conference theme is: The Virgin Mary in Christian Dialogue: Controversy, Convergence, and Vision. The mother of Jesus has stood at the heart of Christianity's most profound truths, passionate devotions, and fiery controversies. For centuries after the Protestant Reformation, the mere mention of Mary's name in certain contexts could ignite hot-tempered disagreements.

By the twentieth century, Christians began trying to repair divisions by coming together in formal dialogues. Marian topics were cautiously included in the later of these dialogues, and joint statements that described new appreciation for each other's Marian traditions--while still noting important areas of disagreement--were signed.

While great progress was made during these dialogues, very few people are aware of them and the way forward is not clear. The purpose of this conference is to continue the important work of Marian dialogues, assessing their relevance to contemporary religious thought and practice within the various Christian traditions and providing some discussion regarding future possibilities.

Join the ESBVM-USA for what promises to be a stimulating and enlightening weekend of conversation about the mother of our Lord!

The annual weekend conference of the ESBVM-USA will be held on the campus of Misericordia University in Dallas, PA, near Wilkes-Barre and Scranton from August 7-9, 2015. Click here for Directions to the campus from the university's website: www.misericordia.edu or here for more information about the conference.

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Mary in the Catholic Press

Benedict XVI Celebrates Mass with Elderly Priest of Vatican Parish of St. Anne's from Zenit (Rome) July 30, 2015

Benedict XVI on Tuesday concelebrated Mass with a priest who is marking the 70th anniversary of his ordination.

The priest, Father Gioele Schiavella, was formerly the pastor at the papal parish of St. Anne, which is located within Vatican City.

Father Schiavella, known for his short and profound sermons, will be 93 in September. For his anniversary, he was invited to concelebrate Mass with Benedict XVI on Tuesday in the chapel of the Mater Ecclesia convent, where the Pope Emeritus leads his life of retirement and prayer inside the Vatican.

Together with them were the other priests who work in the parish of St. Anne: the present Italian Augustinian parish priest, Bruno Silvestrini, Filipino Stefano Canuto, and Latin American Jafet Ramon Ortega.

At the end of the Mass, the Pope Emeritus gave each one of them a Rosary, and to Father Schiavella his book, Heralds of the Word and Servants of Joy, as well as a basket of fruit for the Community....

Click here to see the complete article from Zenit.

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Mary in the Secular Press

The director and editors of The Mary Page 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.

Marian Days: August 6 - August 9 (Carthage, Missouri Convention and Visitor's Bureau website) August 4, 2015

Marian Days brings an opportunity to share culture, faith, and prosperity with thousands who pilgrimage to Carthage. Each year the community expands from a population of 14,500 to an estimated crowd of 60-80,000 new residents in the first weeks of August. Hotels become hubs of activity, neighboring lawns fill with campers and residents enjoy the sights and sounds of the festival atmosphere....

Click here to read the complete article or here for more information from Wikipedia.

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