Mary Page News

October 26, 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
• News from the ML/IMRI
• News from Around the World
• Marian Events
• New Resources
• Documents, Pronouncements (Magisterial, doctrinal)
• Mary in the Secular Press
• Prayer Corner Requests
• Marian Themes in Magisterial Documents
• News Archive

The graphic at the top left of our home page now randomly displays works by Katherine Ann Osenga.  Click on an image to enlarge.

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New Art Exhibit

NOW being exhibited at The Marian Library Gallery: 
When Devotion Meets Art: Statues of Our Lady.  Displayed are more than 450 statues of varied twentieth-century representations of Mary, the mother of Jesus, that were part of the former National Shrine of Our Lady of the Green Scapular in Palmyra, Wisconsin.

October 15, 2001 - January 4, 2002
Monday through Friday (8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)
Telephone: (937) 229-4214 or (937) 229-1431.

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Schedule of IMRI Courses for the Fall Semester

The International Marian Research Institute will be offering a selection of seminar courses in Theology on the University Dayton campus during the Fall 2001 Semester.  For more details, click into Current Courses.

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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.  

We also encourage our readers to submit their opinions on various styles of Marian Art through an on-line art survey.

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News from Around the World

Rediscovering the Rosary in a Troubled World

Interview with Founder of Youth Missionary Service

ROME, OCT. 11, 2001 (Zenit.org).- For those who think the rosary has been forgotten, the founder of the Youth Missionary Service has a very different message.

Ernesto Olivero, 61, former banker and a married man with three children, dedicates himself to the service of the poor and the marginalized. Mother Teresa of Calcutta once recommended him for the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1964, Olivero founded the Youth Missionary Service, an association characterized by its simple, fraternal, communal lifestyle, dedicated to proclaiming the Gospel through initiatives of conciliation.

John Paul II appealed to Catholics to pray the rosary this month for world peace and an end to terrorism. Here, Olivero talks about the timeliness of this prayer.

--Q: What does the rosary mean to you?

--Olivero: It is something I carry within me. The rosary leads me to the Word of God. Never before has the rosary been so invaluable. In such a mad world, only one woman, Mary, can help man rediscover peace.

What is happening at present makes us understand that if man does not find the wisdom that leads to God, chaos alone remains. We continue to choose God, and I believe that the Virgin is a great intermediary.

--Q: And yet, there are those who say it is boring and repetitive. Do you agree?

--Olivero: No. The rosary has a repetition that is full of meaning and love. Love never regards anything as repetitive, including the simplest gesture to the beloved. Sometimes, while I pray the rosary, I am tormented by the fact that I don't understand what I am saying, that I am distracted, but I know I am dedicating time to God through Mary. So it is not repetitive.

--Q: Do you think it is an appropriate prayer for young people? 

--Olivero: I think so. It is the prayer of simplicity, and whoever is simple has understood everything. And young people are simple. Anyway, before advising a boy or girl to pray the rosary, I would suggest that they encounter God, with the silence of God that leads to the rosary, to that apparent repetition.

Again, Pope Calls Faithful to Pray Rosary for Peace - "Who, Better Than Mary, Can Accompany Us"

ROME, OCT. 14, 2001 (Zenit.org).- For the fourth time in two weeks, John Paul II appealed to the faithful to pray the rosary "for peace at this time burdened by grave concerns." He made his appeal today before 20,000 pilgrims gathered in St. Peter´s Square for the midday Angelus. The Holy Father mentioned "peace" six times before reciting the Marian prayer. "Given the present international situation, I have invited individuals and communities to pray the rosary for peace," he said. "I also renew this appeal today, underlining at the same time that the rosary is the contemplation of Christ in his mysteries, in close union with Mary Most Holy." "Contemporary spirituality feels the intense need, so to speak, to focus on the essential," the Pope continued, from the window of his study. "Because of this, there is at present a promising rediscovery of the true nature of the rosary, as a prayer that helps to be in Christ’s company, to know him better, absorb his teachings and live the mystery. “And who, better than Mary, can accompany us in this journey of the mind and heart? This is the meaning of the repetition of the Hail Mary, which constitutes the scheme on which the contemplation of the mysteries develops.

From L’Osservatore Romano September 19&26

• On September 23, at the end of the Mass on the Square of the Motherland in Astana, Kazakhstan, the Holy Father prayed the Angelus with the people gathered there. He made an appeal for a non-violent solution to the terrorist attack on the USA and invoked the protection of Mary for the entire nation of Kazakhstan. He noted that the Astana Cathedral which can be seen from the Square is dedicated to Our Lady of Perpetual Help and said that: "At this moment I wish to go on spiritual pilgrimage to your national Marian shrine near Oziornoe where you, dear Brothers and Sisters, venerate the Blessed Virgin under the title of Queen of Peace. Prostrate at her feet, I pray for the entire nation of Kazakhstan." To Mary he entrusted "all of you: Christians and non-Christians, believers and non-believers," and the countries bordering Kazakhstan. He gave a special greeting to all those present of Kazakh origin and said: "May the Blessed Virgin Mary take you and your families under her mantle."
• In his letter of condolence sent September 15 to Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Archbishop of Washington, the Holy Father repeated the Gospel injunction "not to be conquered by evil, but to conquer evil with good." The letter was read at the Mass for Healing and Peace celebrated at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.D. September 16.
• In his message September 12 to Fr. Joseph Chalmers, Prior General of the Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mt. Carmel, the Holy Father asked the friars to follow the example of the two great persons connected with the Order, the prophet Elijah in his listening to God and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in her song of praise and in her generous readiness to serve her cousin Elizabeth. He said: "Ask Mary, who was so caring and so gentle towards the Child Jesus (Lk 2, 7b), to clothe each of us with the wisdom and love of her divine Son."
• The Holy Father celebrated Mass with the priests, religious and seminarians of Kazakhstan in honor of Our Lady, Queen of Peace in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help on September 24. He asked that "Mary, Queen of Peace, sustain these your children. Today they entrust themselves to you with renewed confidence. Our Lady of Perpetual Help, from this Cathedral you embrace the whole Catholic community. Help the faithful to be generous and committed in bearing witness to their faith, so that the Gospel of your Son may resound throughout these vast, immense and beloved lands."
• After the Mass at the Square of the Motherland in Astana, the Holy Father had lunch with the Ordinaries of Central Asia, the Nuncio and the Papal Entourage. In his address that followed the Pope spoke to the Ordinaries about the difficulties of their task of starting again "in these territories, newly open to the Gospel." He said that "The leaven seems insignificant, but it has the power to transform the whole loaf." He entrusted their "pastoral mission to Mary, Star of Evangelization and Queen of Peace" and said that "In the Cathedral of Astana you venerate her as the Mother of Perpetual Help. Into her maternal hands I place your endless work, your expectations and your plans; may she guide and sustain you every step of the way."
• On Sunday, September 16, at the end of his visit to the city of Frosinone, in the Ciociara region south of Rome, the Holy Father made one of his intentions for the Angelus a prayer for the American people as they pick up their lives after the tragedy on September 11. His prayer:

  "May the Blessed Virgin bring comfort and hope to those who suffer on account of the tragic attack of the terrorists, that last week seriously harmed the beloved American people. To all the children of this great Nation I direct my heartbroken and heartfelt consideration. May Mary welcome the dead, console the survivors, support those families who are particularly tried, help all to resist the temptation to hatred and violence, and to dedicate themselves to the service of justice and peace."

• In his address to the Sylvestrine Benedictines, who he received in audience September 8 at the papal residence of Castel Gandolfo, Pope John Paul II said: "In this journey, may the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose Nativity we celebrate today, grant you her maternal assistance. May her Magnificat that celebrates the memory and hope of the People of God become your Congregation’s canticle of praise at the beginning of this new millennium."
• On September 14, the Holy Father spoke to the Father General and the members of the 17^th General Assembly of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, whom he received in audience at Castel Gandolfo. He said: "It was not by accident that St. Gaspar del Bufalo established your Congregation on the Solemnity of the Assumption of Our Lady. For he saw in the glory of the Virgin the wondrous fruit of the sacrifice of her Son on the Cross....That is why you must look always to the Woman ‘clothed with the sun, the moon beneath her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.’" (Apoc. 12,1)
• The Pope began the General Audience on September 12 with a message of profound sorrow for the tragedy in the United States and of solidarity with its people, then led the pilgrims and visitors in solemn prayer for the living, the dead, for peace and an end to violence and terrorism. He greeted "with special affection" the thousands of Carmelite pilgrims who came to Rome to celebrate the 750^th anniversary of the giving of the Scapular and crowned a beautiful statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. He said that in his letter to the Superiors General of the Order of the Carmelites and of the Order of the Discalced Carmelites, inviting them to this special dedication, he wrote that the "Scapular is essentially a habit which evokes the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary in this life and in the passage to the fullness of eternal glory." He said that the "Scapular also reminds us that the devotion to her must become a ‘uniform’ that is a Christian life-style, woven of prayer and interior life."

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Marian Events

This section lists all of the current Marian Events by geographical position.

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New Resources

The Newsletter for the Mariological Society of America (MSA) is now on-line.

We've also added answers to new questions submitted by readers. 

• Are there special virtues attached to the 15 mysteries of the Rosary?
• Did Saint Anne teach Mary how to read?
• What is a Vierge Ouvrante or Shrine Madonna?
• What is the story about the Marian Statue in Urakami, Japan?

A new section on international stamps with images of Mary has been added to our Resources section.  The latest added was Colombia.  Expect more countries to follow.

A new section on Mary in History was recently added to our Resources index.
We have also added a new section on French-language Resources.
Our section on New Marian Poetry was also updated recently.  Also, we have added a prayer to Mary by St. Anselm to our section on Marian Prayers.

We've posted memorials to three long-time faculty members who died recently:

Fr. Frederick M. Jelly, O.P.

Fr. Walter M. Brennan, O.S.M.

Fr. Théodore Koehler, S.M.

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Ad Caeli Reginam: On Proclaiming the Queenship of Mary

Encyclical of Pope Pius XII promulgated on October 11, 1954.  Issued on the feast of the Queenship of Mary, it summarizes the history of devotion to Mary as Queen.

Spanish version at: www.multimedios.org/bec/etexts/adcr.htm

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Mary in the Secular Press

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 October 3-20.

• The Archbishop of Kampala Archdiocese, Cardinal Emmanuel Wamala, has asked Christians to pray hard and ask the Virgin Mary to help end the war in Afghanistan and other religious wars all over the world, Africa News said on October 20. The Archbishop was celebrating Mass during the platinum jubilee for St. Thereza Bwanda girls’ primary and secondary schools in Villa Maria parish, Masaka.
• The Roman Catholic community held its annual procession and Mass for peace yesterday, a ceremony especially significant in light of last month’s terrorist attacks on New York City and the Pentagon and the U.S. attack on Afghanistan, the Providence RI Journal-Bulletin wrote on October 9. A statue of the Virgin Mary was carried in procession and one parishioner on the parade route set up an altar to the Virgin Mary in his front yard. The annual event at St. Anne’s Church also commemorates the appearance of the Virgin Mary to three children near the village of Fatima in Portugal in 1917.
• Ramona Diaz sprinkled water from Fatima, Portugal, as she blessed her son at the Army National Guard Armory in Visalia, the Fresno Bee said on October 13. Her son then left for combat training at Fort Lewis, Washington. When she can’t sleep, worrying about her son, Romano Diaz tiptoes to her favorite recliner and prays the rosary.
• More than 150,000 Roman Catholics flocked to the shrine of Fatima in Portugal amid heightened security to mark the anniversary of the last apparition of the Virgin Mary to three shepherd children, Channel NewsAsia said on October 14. The pilgrimage passed without incident. Fatima is one of the few places where the Roman Catholic church believes the Virgin Mary has appeared, in this case to shepherd children in 1917, the report said.
• Security is being stepped up for pilgrims gathering at Fatima in Portugal this weekend, a brief item in the Mirror on October 12 said. Hundreds of thousands of people were expected at the shrine to mark the 84^th anniversary of the Virgin Mary’s fifth and final appearance to three shepherd children.
• Justin Del Llano’s drawing of Our Lady of Guadalupe appearing before a peasant Indian in Mexico tells the centuries-old story of the Virgin Mary’s deep roots in the culture, the Corpus Christi Caller-Times said on October 13. Justin, 11, researched the story of the Virgin Mary’s appearance to Juan Diego for an art contest sponsored by the Diocese of Corpus Christi to increase awareness of Our Lady of Guadalupe and promote her feast day celebration on December 12. His drawing was chosen from about 30 entries.
• Guadalupita Ortiz, an Albuquerque artist specializing in religious images, asked that parishioners at St. Thomas More Church in Chapel Hill, N.C., pray for her as she worked on a painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe for their church, the Albuquerque Journal said on October 14. While she worked, she listened to a recorded reading of the Holy Rosary by the Irish singer Dana and her brother, a priest, and was inspired to paint roses around the figure of Our Lady to represent the Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious mysteries of the Rosary. The life-sized portrait of Our Lady will be unveiled Sunday, December 9 at the church in a dedication ceremony.
• The nation is in good hands with its younger generation, Fran Lucca wrote in the editorial page Opinions section of the Buffalo News on October 18. He recalled leaving for the U.S. Naval Training Station two years after Pearl Harbor and said "From that day until my return home, a vigil light burned daily before the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary."
• A large central chapel for Roman Catholic worshipers, complete with statues of the Virgin Mary, is just a few steps from the office of the secretary of a government agency along the Quezon Memorial Circle, Dean Jorge Bocobo wrote in an opinion peace in the Philippine Daily Inquirer October 8. "It is patently unconstitutional and hideously hypocritical, considering the crimes of graft and corruption, incompetence and dereliction of duty within earshot of the Our Father and within sight of Holy Communion," he wrote.
• Our Lady of Vietnam Catholic Church in Riverdale is holding its fourth annual Our Lady of Vietnam Festival through Sunday, the Atlanta Journal and Constitution said on October 20. The event commemorates the apparition of the Virgin Mary in Vietnam in the late 1700s to a group of Vietnamese Catholics who, persecuted for their beliefs, took refuge in the jungle. The event also honors 117 Catholic Vietnamese and European missionaries who were executed by emperors in Vietnam during the 18^th and 19^th centuries.
• What most visitors to the open house at Dar Al Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church did not see were booklets such as "Christianity: The Original and the Present Reality," suggesting that Jesus was never crucified, that some Christians believe the Virgin Mary was part of the Trinity and that Jesus prophesied in the Gospel of John the coming of Muhammad, not the Holy Spirit, the Washington Times said on October 4. A key to understanding Islam is knowing how it operates in one way in countries that recognize a separation of church and state and in completely another fashion in counties where mosque and state are one, scholars say, the Times wrote.
• Belief in miracles should not be regarded as irrational or unsophisticated, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia told several hundred parishioners from the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception at a brunch October 14, the Associated Press said the following day. Scalia said mainstream American intellectual thought wrongly assigns the story of Christ’s resurrection, reports of weeping statues and visions of the Virgin Mary to the realm of fantasy. He spoke at a convention center after joining other public figures who were honored at the cathedral’s annual Red Mass, a centuries-old Catholic tradition. Judges, lawyers and political leaders were invited to Mass to draw divine inspiration in their daily lives.
• In Santa Fe, State District Judge James Hall turned down a request to immediately remove a state museum exhibit containing the image of a skimpily dressed Virgin Mary, making it likely the exhibit will stand until its October 28 closing date. The exhibit titled "Cyber Arte" will close four months earlier than originally planned, a concession to those who were offended, and is expected to travel outside New Mexico after it closes at the state Museum of International Folk Art. The computer-generated image by artist Alma Lopez has drawn controversy since it open February 25. Reported by the Providence RI Journal-Bulletin October 9 and the Associated Press and Albuquerque Journal October 11.
• The 3-foot concrete statue of the Virgin Mary stolen from the front yard of Ed Madonia’s home has been returned, a black rosary with a silver cross draped around its neck, the St. Petersburg Times said on October 9. The statue was only slightly damaged; a left finger was chipped as was the pedestal. Reported also by the Tampa Tribune on October 13.
• An Irish faith healer is putting her "healing house" outside Castlecomer in Co Kilkenny up for sale because there isn’t enough room for her and her hundreds of holy statues, the Sunday Mirror said on October 7. Carmel Deighton, who claims her home has had numerous visitations from the Virgin Mary, said the collection of statues of the Virgin Mary and Padre Pio, some life size, are not included in the sale. She and her husband are moving a short distance down the road where they hope to build their new home, themed on the Virgin Mary.
• World War III is on the way, so is Jesus, and good will triumph over evil is the message of the softly-spoken prophet of doom, Sister Ruth, who made a lightning visit to the Province accompanied by a four-foot statue of the Virgin Mary, the Belfast News Letter said on October 4. Sister Ruth, a Portuguese member of One in Christ, is traveling the world to alert people to impending doom.
• On the last day of her life, Leonor Otero traveled to Clearwater with the Virgin Mary on her mind and her sister, Maria, by her side, the St. Petersburg Times said on October 3. The two women visited the famous image that some people think looks like the Virgin Mary, on a glass-walled building on Drew Street. Hours later, she and her husband were gunned down in front of their house by two or three men who remain at large.

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Prayer Corner Requests

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!

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Quotes from post-Vatican II Church documents on the Rosary devotion.
www.udayton.edu/mary/resources/documents/docs7-2.html

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Our Mary Page web site is updated frequently. Please stop in again and see what's new. 

News Archive

The archive contains excerpts from past editions of the Mary Page news.

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