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Mary in the News: Feb. 12, 2018

By Michael Duricy

Read recent items about Mary in both Catholic and secular news. Also, see International Marian Research Institute news and updates.

ML/IMRI Features

Marian Events

Mary in the Catholic Press

Mary in the Secular Press

Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute Features

Updates
  • The Koehler Award for international students is now accepting applications. The award is $200. Eligibility is for an international student currently attending UD and who would return in the Fall. The deadline to apply is February 16, 2018. Click here for more information.
  • Also, nominations are now being accepted through February 14 for the 2018 U.D. Miriyam Award. This award recognizes the efforts of people on our campus to change the atmosphere and the potential for women's achievements at the University of Dayton. You may nominate an individual or group of U.D. faculty, staff, or students. The nomination form may be found on the website of UD's Center for Social Concern
Mary in Media: Books, Films, Music, etc.

New e-zine from Radio Maria

The February 2018 edition of the online Newsletter from Radio Maria is now available.
From the Marian Treasure Chest

Brother John Samaha, S.M., sent us the text below.

Catholics in Mary's Land by Brother John Samaha, S.M.

In 1607 Lord Baltimore of England sent two ships, The Ark, and The Dove, to Maryland in the New World to establish an English Catholic plantation.  When the Mayflower left Southampton in 1620 there was no Catholic aboard. 

In 1776 when the Declaration of  Independence was signed, only one signer was Catholic: Charles Carroll of Maryland.  Despite the prejudice against Catholics called nativism, Carroll spent much of his life as a public servant.  A dedicated patriot, some consider him the most distinguished Catholic layman in American history.

Casimir Pulaski was an American general during the American Revolutionary War. Not until 1831, during the presidency of Andrew Jackson, did a Catholic serve in a president's cabinet: Attorney General Roger Taney. In 1928 a Catholic, Al Smith, ran for president. It was not until 1960 that a Catholic, John Kennedy, was elected president. In 1963 Pope John XXIII was posthumously awarded the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Congress includes a membership that is  usually one-third Catholic.

St. Junipero Serra and twelve other Catholics are  honored in the Capitol Statuary Hall.

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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)

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Mary in the Catholic Press

Mary Knows What Burdens Our Hearts (Zenit website) January 18, 2018

Mary is always with us, in every moment of our daily lives, and she also is well aware of what burdens our hearts.

Pope Francis stressed this during the Mass he presided over in Iquique, Chile on January 18, 2018, during his Apostolic Visit to Chile and Peru, January 15-22, 2018, and during his last Mass in Chile before heading off to Peru.

Recalling today’s Gospel according to St. John, which tells of the Wedding at Cana, the Pope went on to say how Jesus works miracles, through us, and how we are called like Mary to be attentive to those who are in need, like those "without wine." ...

Click here to read the complete article.

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.

The Mystery of the Virgin Womb as the Tabernacle of God in the Flesh (pemptousia.fm website) February 2, 2018

"Therefore the Lord, Himself, will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Emmanuel." (Isaiah 7:14)

The great prophet of God, Isaiah, prophesied this proclamation of the salvation of God's creation some eight centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ. At first glance, in the realm of the natural order of things, to read that a virgin birth is even possible is to speak of madness or at the very least statistical improbability. Yet, this Scripture may very well be the most crucial in all of the Old Testament for it summarizes the need of Israel and Judah for a Savior and a Redeemer to stave off their unfaithfulness while offering hope and comfort of a future supernatural event where God would intervene in human history in a way previously unknown in depth and magnitude....

Click here to read the complete article.

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IMRI Weekly Features: Feb. 12 2018

This week's features will help prepare your mind and heart for the beginning of Lent.
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Mary in the News: Feb. 19, 2018

Read recent items about Mary in both Catholic and secular news. Also, see International Marian Research Institute news and updates.
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