Blogs
Mary in the News: July 1, 2019
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
Legion of Mary News
Free Catholic information booth at Montgomery County fair will be hosted by the Legion of Mary July 8-14, 2019, in the air-conditioned Main Event Center, open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., at the 4-H Fairgrounds, 645 Infirmary Road, Dayton, OH 45417. Free literature, rosaries, medals, etc. Regular Fair admission applies.
For more Fair info: http://www.montcofair.com/#fair.
For more info about the Legion of Mary, call Gloria Dodd at (937) 229-1431.
Mary in Media: Books, Films, Music, etc.
Amazon's #1 new release for "Roman Catholicism" is How to Pray Like Mary.
The new book by Sonja Corbitt (author of Fulfilled: Uncovering the Biblical Foundations of Catholicism) is already a best-seller on Amazon!
Thousands of Catholics have already started reading this book for summer reading or book groups! Amazon hasn't been able to keep the book in stock to keep up with the demand.
From the Marian Treasure Chest
Brother John Samaha, S.M., sent us the text below with the following comments: "July 5 is the feast of Our Lady of Refuge, Patroness of Both Californias."
Our Lady of Refuge: Patroness of Both Californias by Brother John Samaha, S.M.
Our Lady of Refuge, Nuestra Señora del Refugio, is Patroness of Both Californias (Ambas Californias). This festival is celebrated as an obligatory memorial on July 5 in California.
The Franciscan missionary Francisco Diego Garcia y Moreno was the first Bishop of the Californias--Baja California (lower California in what is now Mexico) and Alta California (upper California in the present U.S.A.). It was he who proclaimed Nuestra Señora del Refugio, Patrona de las Ambas Californias. The official proclamation was made by Bishop Garcia Diego on January 4, 1843, at Mission Santa Clara in Alta California.
The Episcopal Proclamation
The entire text of Bishop Garcia Diego's declaration is recorded in Mission Santa Clara's Libro de Patentes. After citing the early Fathers of the Church on the practice and spiritual benefits of naming patron saints, the first bishop of the Californias stated: "We make known to you that we hereby name the great Mother of God in her most precious title, 'del Refugio,' the principal patroness of our diocese … With so great a patroness and protectress, what can we not promise ourselves? What can be wanting and whom need we fear?
"If through the centuries this most worthy Mother of God has shown goodness and compassion to all peoples and nations … will she not do likewise for those peoples who bind themselves to her as their refuge and special patroness?"
All California missions, and the parishes established later, celebrated this patronal feast with great solemnity. In the many political and historical shifts, interest in celebrating the feast had waned. But now the feast is attracting fresh attention.
The Liturgical Feast
In 1981, the California Catholic Conference of Bishops petitioned the Vatican Congregation for the Sacraments and Divine Worship for authorization to observe the feast of Our Lady of Refuge on July 5 as an obligatory memorial. This was approved by official document dated January 15, 1982, and signed by Archbishop Giuseppe Casoria.
The dioceses of Baja California celebrate this patronal feast on July 4. Because of Independence Day, the dioceses of Alta California chose July 5, and the memorial is listed for that day in their Ordo. The feast of Our Lady of Refuge (sometimes called Our Lady, Refuge of Sinners) has its own proper prayers for the Eucharistic Liturgy and the Liturgy of the Hours.
Over the last century and a half, the original Diocese of Ambas Californias has been divided many times on both sides of the border as the local Church has grown. Until the end of the nineteenth century, the priests of the Archdiocese of San Francisco prayed a special liturgical office for the feast of Our Lady of Refuge. In the Dioceses of San Diego the feast has always been observed.
The renewal of interest in this Marian feast honoring the patroness of the Golden State was stimulated by the 1987-1988 Marian Year observance and Pope John Paul II's encouragement to revitalize interest in special, local feasts of the Virgin Mother Mary.
The entire coat of arms of Bishop Garcia Diego included only the image of Our Lady of Refuge. A painting of Our Lady of Refuge holding her Child, usually the product of a local or native artist, graced each mission church after the bishop's proclamation. To this day, most of the twenty-one missions of Alta California still display this image in the churches or in their museums.
The original painting of Our Lady of Refuge came to the Franciscan Apostolic College of Guadalupe at Zacatecas in Mexico from Italy. An Italian Jesuit missionary brought it to Mexico to explain the enthusiastic interest in Our Lady, Refuge of Sinners, that had developed in parish missions in eighteenth century Italy. Devotion to the Mother of Jesus under this title and in this pictorial representation gained wide popularity among the Mexican and Californian Franciscans and the people they served.
Paintings of Our Lady of Refuge are, with few exceptions, quite similar in design and execution. The heads of the Infant Jesus and His Mother, Mary, lean together with no background between them. Both figures wear a crown. Mary's eyes are turned toward the observer, while the gaze of the child seems to turn left of the viewer.
In the Santa Clara Mission church, the painting of Our Lady of Refuge is found above the larger picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe in one of the side altar niches on the left as one nears the sanctuary. Another painting by Eulalio, a local Native American, is on display in Santa Clara University's De Saisset Museum near the mission church.
Other known and attractive portrayals of Our Lady of Refuge are found at Mission Santa Barbara, Mission San Francisco de Asis, Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, and the De Young Museum in San Francisco.
The proper name, Refugio, was and still is given to both male and female Mexican children at the time of birth and Baptism.
Church historians and native Californians applaud the move for restoring the Patroness of Both Californias to her original and rightful prominence in the local Church's liturgical calendar.
Marian Events
Title: SOCIÉTÉ CANADIENNE DE MARIOLOGIE - Congrès marial 2019
Theme: Marie dans l’avenir de notre Église
Date: samedi 6 juillet 2019
Location: Sanctuaire marial national Notre-Dame-du-Cap
You are all invited by Msgr. Frank Leo to this French-language Congress where he and Sr. Celia Chua would be there to welcome you.
Pour couvrir les frais liés à l’organisation du congrès, nous vous suggérons une simple contribution de 25 $ par personne à remettre au moment de l’inscription. La journée se passera surtout dans la salle Mazenod à l’hôtel La Madone (10, rue Denis-Caron, Trois-Rivières, Québec, G8T 3W9), sauf pour la Messe qui sera célébrée au petit sanctuaire.
Vous avez le choix, pour le dîner, d’aller à la cafétéria de l’hôtel La Madone (17 $/repas; vous êtes prié de communiquer avec la réception au 819-375-4997 pour confirmer votre présence); ou à la cafétéria du Sanctuaire ou encore d’apporter votre lunch et manger sur le terrain du Sanctuaire aux endroits réservés à cela. Pour d’autres renseignements, n’hésitez pas à communiquer avec nous par courriel à notre site web: http://socama.ca/contact.php
En terminant, nous aimerions simplement réitérer la joie et l’enthousiasme de ce beau Congrès marial et notre vif désir de vous y accueillir, avec vos proches et vos ami(e)s, pour passer une belle journée d’été sereine avec Marie, notre Mère.
Mary in the Catholic Press
Pope’s Address at Marian Meeting with Young People and Families in Iasi, Romania (Full Text) (Zenit) June 1, 2019
Following is the full text of the address Pope Francis gave on June 1, 2019, at his Marian Meeting with Young People and Families in Iasi, on the second day of his apostolic journey to Romania from May 31 - June2.
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Dear Brothers and Sisters, bună seara!
Here with you, I feel the warmth being at home and part of a family, surrounded by young and old alike. In your presence and looking out at you, it is easy to feel at home. The Pope feels at home here with you. Thank you for your warm welcome and for your testimonies. Bishop Petru, good strong father that he is, included all of you in his introduction. And you, Eduard, confirmed this when you told us that this meeting was not simply for young people or adults, but that you "wanted our parents and grandparents to be with us tonight." ...
Romania is the "garden of the Mother of God," and in this meeting, I have been able to realize why. Mary is a Mother who encourages her children's dreams, who cherishes their hopes, who brings joy to their homes. She is a tender and true Mother who cares for us. You are that living, flourishing and hope-filled community that we can offer to our Mother. To her let us consecrate the future of young people, families and the Church. Mulţumesc! [Thank you!] [00957-EN.01] [Original text: Italian]
Mary in the Secular Press
A jubilee year for the Shrine of Cotignac (mariedenazareth.com) June 29, 2019
Our Lady of Graces Shrine in Cotignac (southern France) is celebrating a jubilee year in 2019, for the 500th anniversary of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary in this blessed place. And from Saturday, August 10, to Friday, August 16, 2019, there will be a Jubilee Festival to commemorate the apparitions of the Virgin Mary to Jean de la Baume.
Brother Jean Marie Baptiste, from the Community of Saint John that operates the shrine, gives the reason for this special jubilee:
"The tradition of jubilees in the Church comes from the Hebrews who, at the invitation of the Lord, marked a special year of celebration every fifty years, during which debts were cancelled, slaves freed, and divine mercy offered to all ... A jubilee is a time of thanksgiving and deep joy. Those who come on pilgrimage pray, renew their fervor, and can benefit from the plenary indulgence that is "the remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose fault is already erased by confession," as explained in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Each shrine has its own grace or mission. Cotignac is called the Shrine of the Holy Family, attracting families and couples who come here to be renewed. In 1519, Mary appeared with the Child Jesus, and in 1660, 4 kilometers from this first place of apparition, Saint Joseph also appeared to a thirsty shepherd to whom he said: "Lift this rock and you will drink," revealing a hidden source. The rock we are asked to remove is our heart of stone hardened by sin that prevents the flow of grace, the source of life. Saint Joseph was the protector of Jesus and Mary, and he is now the protector of the Church and of all families. Mary and Joseph remind us how much the family is a gift from God, the place of love and fruitfulness."