Mary Page News
June 8, 2001
Mary Page News items give insight into our interest areas, our outreach, and the myriad ways
people honor Our Lady. We welcome your input and your comments.
The Liturgical Season
with Mary
Personal thoughts and reflections about Mary from our readers
We've added a section to our Research and Publications section showing selected personal comments from our readers about the Virgin Mary. Click here to see comments received within the past month. From this page, feel free to submit your own personal thoughts on Mary.
A new exhibit, Mary and Women: Images From the Heart, featuring works by Janet McKenzie, will be on display through July 27, 2001. The works can be seen on-line by clicking into the Gallery section of the Mary Page and then choosing 'Current Exhibit'.
International Marian Research Institute Summer Courses
Summer courses begin on June 11. See the course offerings for the summer academic session of The Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute at: Summer Schedule.
This section lists all of the current Marian Events by geographical position.
The director and editors of 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.
Commentary on Mary in various news articles from May 17 through June 4, 2001.
A report that the image of
“Our Lady” will remain on display until Oct. 28, cutting the
duration of the exhibition short by about four months. Albuquerque
Journal, May 23.
A phone interview with Museum Regent Frank V. Ortiz, who compared the exhibit to racial epithets and suggested Hispanic representation among docents is inadequate according to documents released by the Museum of New Mexico. Ortiz said his written comments were motivated by a widespread lack of appreciation for the museum's impact on traditional culture among local residents. Ortiz received both a call by museum volunteers for his resignation and a strong rebuke from top administrators. Albuquerque Journal, May 23.
Editorial comment by National Review's deputy managing editor with the headline: "Stop Attacking Our Lady." In National Review Online Mike Potemra states the collage "shows a woman of great loveliness, bedecked with flowers. Surely…an appropriate image for the loveliest member of the human race, the woman described in medieval Catholic writings as flos florum – the flower of flowers." May 24.
A report that state museum officials promise to reconsider how they treat sensitive subjects in the wake of protests following their decision to keep the image of a scantily clad Virgin Mary on display through October. Local and national critics of the image were scheduling prayer vigils, including one on June 30 organized by America Needs Fatima, a Pennsylvania-based campaign responsible for a deluge of more than 12,000 postcards protesting the display. Albuquerque Journal, May 25.
A defense of the collage by
southern California artist Amy Lopez who said she doesn't understand why
some people consider her representation of the Virgin Mary offensive.
"I see this woman's legs and her belly…and I don't see anything
wrong," she told the Los Angeles Times. Memphis, TN Commercial
Appeal and Houston Chronicle, May 28.
The Chicago Daily Herald wrote that as May drew to a close, the 700-plus families of the Queenship of Mary Church were finishing a month-long celebration honoring the Virgin Mary. DuPage County's only Vietnamese Roman Catholic Church also draws Filipinos.
"Unlocking the Secrets of 'Loraaminshee' and the Possible Links with the Lost Medieval Convent of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Termonfeckin, Co Louth," an essay by Niall Murphy, 14, a second-year student at Drogheda Grammar School, is overall winner of this year's TCD schools prize in history, the Irish Times wrote on May 22. "If we had received it as a BA dissertation from a final-year student, it would have been in the running for a first," said Dr. Sean Duffy, incoming head of TCD's department of medieval history.
Locals in the city of Elsa, Texas, claim they can see the Virgin Mary's face in the dust on the bonnet of a 1981 Chevrolet Camaro sports car and devout Christians are making pilgrimages to view it for themselves, the Daily Star said on June 1.
Mary McGrath, a 69-year-old retired school social worker, is taking pity on damaged Twin Cities statues, the Minneapolis, MN Star Tribune said on June 4. After noticing that the statue of the Virgin Mary in a peaceful little arbor in Minneapolis had lost her aging thumb and fingertip she spoke with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondolet who will arrange for repairs. The statue and little garden are dedicated to the nuns of their order who served at the old St. Mary's Hospital. Now she is determined to aid a statue of St. Francis of Assisi in St. Paul's Como Park Conservatory. "His hands are really gone," she said.
"Why make a federal case if the Blessed Virgin Mary decides to favor an unsuspecting family with a million in cash?" Colombian cops who nabbed three adults arriving in Bogota from Spain with two kids in tow and wads of U.S. currency secreted in their bags and babies' diapers didn't believe the explanation given by a female member of the group that the Virgin had appeared before the family and the money simply fell into their hands. Reported by the Institute for Public Affairs May 28.
A review of Dianne Schoemperlen's "Our Lady of the Lost and Found," appeared in the May 27 edition of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The book "is a dandy, read, full of both entertainment value and food for thought." Previously reported.
PROMINENT
VIRGIN MARY EXHIBIT
MARIA by Guido Dettoni della Grazia [Santa Maria delle Rose - Assisi]
MARIA is a sculptural and sensory installation of an image of the Mother of Jesus. The original shape moulded by Guido Dettoni della Grazia grew out of an encounter between hands and wax. From this original hand sized version he replicated the form in special editions of thirty three different types of wood from all over the world. In each exhibition you see featured on the website (
www.nesher.org) the visitor is invited to become fully involved by touching, smelling, looking closely and feeling the shape and its subtleties.Rosa Maria Falvo
From Zenit
Conclusion of the Pope's Address Before Praying "Regina Caeli" on May 27, 2001
Among all creatures, Most Holy Mary was associated more than any other to this mystery (of the Ascension of Christ). As the new Eve, from whom the new Adam was born, she points out the way for our endeavor on earth; at the same time, having been assumed into heaven in soul and body, She invites us to be directed to our real homeland, where the fullness of the life of love of God, One and Triune awaits us.
As the Church embarks on the ocean of the new millennium, she does not lose sight of the polar star that guides her navigation. That star is Christ, Lord of the centuries. Next to Him is his and our Mother, who does not cease to accompany her children in their earthly pilgrimage. We look to her with sincere hope. We entrust to her the hopes and plans of the Church, as they emerged from the extraordinary consistory that just ended. As we sing the "Regina Caeli" with renewed confidence, we ask her for the gift of peace for the whole world.
We've added the answers to three new questions submitted by readers.
A new section on U.S. stamps with images of Mary has been added to our Resources section. Expect more from other countries to follow.
Also, we have changed the graphic at the top left of our home page to randomly display flowers named after the Virgin Mary. Click on the flower to enlarge the image and display information about it.
We have also updated our Search engine. Feel free to inform us on how you think it compares to the previous version.
We have also revised the navigation index at the far left of each page. Let us know what you think.
Documents, Pronouncements (Magisterial, doctrinal)
This section contains full-text official documents from the Catholic Church on matters related to the Virgin Mary and other points of Catholic Doctrine. Having just celebrated Pentecost [June 3], this week's selection is "The Holy Spirit and Mary", Letter of Pope Paul VI to Cardinal Léon Josef von Suenens on the Occasion of the International Marian Congress May 13, 1975
Marian Themes in Magisterial Documents
This section contains an index to Marian references within various official documents from the Catholic Church. This week's topic is Pentecost in the Life of Mary. Among the document references, this from Behold Your Mother:
There are striking likenesses between the Annunciation and Pentecost. Mary, the great mother figure for the Church, is present not only at the Annunciation, but praying with her Son's disciples before Pentecost. 79
After Christ's Resurrection, surrounded by His disciples, Mary prayed for the coming of that same Spirit, in order that the Church, the Body of her Son, might be born on Pentecost. 115
See more at: http://www.udayton.edu/mary/resources/documents/docs6-2l.html
This section contains excerpts from past editions of the Mary Page news.
Our Mary Page web site is updated frequently. Please stop in again and see what's new.
You are invited to help us pray for our Prayer Corner intentions. Please take a look! This site has been updated and enhanced and now allows users to directly submit prayer requests or to volunteer as a prayer partner for these intentions!
Mary Page, maintained by The Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute, Dayton, Ohio 45469-1390, was last modified Thursday, 16-Aug-2001 14:20:24 EDT by Michael P. Duricy. Please send any comments to Johann.Roten@udayton.edu.
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