Blogs
In the News: August 31, 2015
By Michael Duricy
Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute Features
Updates
Mary in Media: Books, Films, Music, etc.
In 2014 the former president of OCIC and SIGNIS, Father Peter Malone, published the booklet, Mary on the Screen for the Center for Research and Education in Communication (CREC). For almost fifty years Father Malone has been monitoring themes which can give us an insight into how Catholicism, the Bible and the Church are represented in popular cinema. He looks at developments in the representation and the creation of different perceptions of the faith.
Malone wrote the book for teachers involved in primary, secondary, and tertiary education, for students of theology and spirituality who focus on Mary, as well as for readers interested in this and other Christian themes on screen. His objective was not to make an extensive study of Mary in films.
He looks at the best-known films which often can be found on DVD, seen regularly on TV channels, and today, on YouTube, like the film Golgotha (1935) made by one of France’s leading directors, Julien Duvivier. Click here to see this famous life-of-Christ film from 1935 (93 minutes, black-and-white, French dialogue).
Malone wanted to provide a comprehensive insight as well as giving readers the tools to study new Mary films, or films not mentioned in the book. What makes the book fascinating is its guidance in how to watch not only films about Mary but also films with and about religion. For others, these films are able to give an insight into the gospel, because most popular films with a religious theme are not seen only by Christians.
"The first part of the book is an overview of the history of films which offer substantial images of Mary. They include films specifically about Mary and also her presence in life of Jesus films ... In the second part of the book, which has been designed especially as an aid to teachers, eight particular focuses on Mary in the Gospels are used as reference points for the Mary Films. For each of these eight focuses, scenes from particular films are described briefly but in some detail so that teachers can pick and choose what they might like to screen and know what features are to the fore in each sequence. At the end of each section, there is a brief overview followed by a listing of the key themes for this focus on Mary’s life. In the third part, there is more detail on the apparition films and in the fourth part more detail on the Marian figures and metaphors."
Click here to see the complete article from Signis.
From the Marian Treasure Chest
Brother John M. Samaha, S.M., sent us the article below which he wrote.
Sacred Tradition Explains Mary's Assumption
The Assumption of Mary is not mentioned in the Bible. But an apocryphal account of the Assumption is found in the Transitus Mariae of Pseudo-Melito, which was never considered an inspired text, but an apocryphal gospel and not evidence for the Assumption. However, that text does show that the early Church believed in the Assumption.
Divine Revelation consists of both the written Word of God, the Bible, and the unwritten Word of God, Sacred Tradition. If the Bible is silent or ambiguous on a particular matter, it can usually be determined by what is taught by way of Sacred Tradition.
The Bible is silent on Mary's death, but Sacred Tradition tells us she was taken up bodily into heaven by God. The Church has always maintained that a biblical allusion to Mary's Assumption is contained in the Book of Revelation 12:1, "A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars."
Marian Events
The World Meeting of Families will have a Marian talk, on Tuesday, September 23rd, 2015 as one of the "Break-out" sessions from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers, president and CEO of Servant Enterprises, Inc., and the founder and director of Deaconharold.com will speak on Mary of Nazareth: First Disciple and Mother of the Redeemer.
This presentation will explore the absolute awesomeness of the Blessed Virgin Mary. You will learn how her faith-filled "Yes" to becoming the Mother of God draws families into life-giving communion with her Son. Through Mary's intimacy with the Holy Spirit in the gift of motherhood, you will see how listening to the voice of God and allowing that voice to change your life leads to a truly dynamic relationship with the living God.
Click here for more information.
Mary in the Catholic Press
Seoul Cardinal: Seventy Years of Division Is a 'Painful Reality' from Zenit (Rome) August 17, 2015
The feast of the Assumption this year marked the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Korea from Japan and the division of North and South Korea (Aug. 15, 1945).
The archbishop of Seoul said it is a "painful reality" that "one ethnic race that speaks the same language" would be turned against each other for seventy years, and he called on the faithful to pray and to offer concrete assistance to the North.
Here is the full text of a message from Cardinal Yeom Soo-jung, archbishop of Seoul, for this year's feast.
* * *
My dearest brothers and sisters!
May God's blessings and peace be upon you all.
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, Our Lady Queen of Peace. We remember the fact that "by her maternal charity, she cares for the brethren of her Son, who still journey on earth surrounded by dangers and cultics, until they are led into the happiness of their true home." (Lumen Gentium 62) The assumption of Mary granted us the hope that as Christians, we are allowed to participate in the resurrection of Christ. Since the early church, the Virgin Mary is regarded as "Mother of the Church and Mother of our faith." We pay respect and great admiration to the Virgin Mary because she is specially blessed by the Lord for her deep faith.
All her life, Mary faithfully listened to and believed in the Lord. "I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." (Luke 1:38) With such proclamation of faith, she took great part in the history of the Lord's salvation. Mary lived a life of difficulties and pain, but she remained a life of devotion to the Lord's calling....
Click here to see the complete article from Zenit.
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.
Mary, the Example to All Christians (American Orthodox Institute) August 13, 2015
Mary of Nazareth has been given many titles over the last two millennia. She is called the Virgin Mary, Theotokos (Greek: "Birthgiver of God"), Panagia (Greek: "All Holy One"), the Blessed Mother and Our Lady to name a few. No other woman has achieved such enduring fame and influence than has Jesus' mother, Mary.
Through eyes of the world, Mary is a historical curiosity. Through the eyes of the Christian however, Mary is the preeminent follower of Jesus and an example to all believers. Everything she does and says points to her Son....
Mary is not merely a figure found in books. The late theologian Alexander Schmemann wrote that "Mary is the great example, not the great exception." God shows is in the example set by Mary--her obedience, prayer life, and forgiveness--how He can work through His creatures. All we have to do is to respond to Him with an open heart.
Click here to read the complete article.