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2/23/07 Mary Page News items give insight into our interest areas, our outreach, and the many ways people honor Our Lady. We welcome your input and your comments. |
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Mary in Books, Films and Music Sacred Hearts a review by Dr. Virginia M. Kimball
The play was more about the human quest for spiritual truth and finding solace with oneself than about a concrete statue of Mary that strangely moved. The playwright deftly counterplays the proverbial "Catholic" who is a busy-body parish supporter against ex-law professional Bridget and her businessman brother who turn out to each define a powerful faith within themselves. "Doing the Catholic thing" for them is compassion, sibling bond, and love for life. Even the aging priest, relocated to this small rural Canadian parish like a fish out of water (actually played out in a fishing scene), attempts to cling to a spiritual identity arising from a prior 1980s liberation ministry in El Savlador. He, too, discovers a miracle in all that happens. The most potent comic engine in the play is Gretchen, a bumbling, novice reporter for the hometown press who tries to settle hurts from her past, yet uncovering her own true worth in friendship. Friendship sneaks in as a God-given miracle, too. Evan, the married man who attempts to get too close to Bridget in the middle of her miracle, slides to revenge only to turn away from journalistic slime to touch beauty of being "a friend" in the closing scene, a candlelit vigil at the shrine. This is not a play for the church hall stage, nor the Catholic high school annual production perhaps, but it is a play that startles the experimental theatre scene, and yet ... it works. There are some healthy giggles throughout, but the gift is a set of questions that walk away with every member of the audience. Perhaps, it is an invitation for Catholic thought to consider itself again. Colleen Curran is an award-winning playwright, novelist and actor. She has written comedies which premiered at the Blyth Festival. Sacred Hearts premiered at Alberta Theatre Projects' newplayRites in Canada in 1989, which won her the International Gabriel Award. Her long standing friendship with colleague and Producing Artistic Director David J. Miller of Zeitgeist Stage, brought the play to Boston. Curran was born in Montreal in 1954 and is now considered by at least one reviewer as "Canada’s funniest playwright." Hats off to the stage victory of actors Melissa Boroni, Curt Klump, Eliza Lay, Greg Maraio, Renee Miller, and Equity Actor Ed Peed. Meet the cast on the stage website: www.ZeitgeistStage.com. But this reviewer is still reflecting on the magnificent and accomplished performance of Melissa Baroni (Gretchen) and Greg Maraio (her brother Tim) who made his theatre magic truly work in the closing act. Radio Maria From The Marian Library Francesca Franchina, long time member of the Marianist Family, will be doing a series of Marian broadcasts through the local station for Radio Maria WHJM (FM 88.7) in Anna, Ohio. Called "Francesca AND Friends: WHY MARY?" the program airs every Wednesday from 11:30 AM-12:30 PM EST focusing on: What in the world is going on about Mary; how to speak with others about Mary; and Mary in Scripture. On Wednesday, February 28, Francesca Franchina speaks with Father Dwight Campbell on The Historical Development of The Immaculate Heart of Mary Devotion in Relation to The Heart of Jesus. Father Campbell, a diocesan priest from Peoria, Illinois, is studying Mariology, doing research, and writing his doctoral dissertation at the University of Dayton's International Marian Research Institute. The Blessed Mother appeared at Fatima, Portugal in 1917 and asked for Consecration of individuals and the world to Her Immaculate Heart as part of The Peace Plan from Heaven and The Triumph of Her Immaculate Heart. What is the relationship and relevance of the Two Hearts through the years and in our own time? Learn about this many faceted Marian devotion and its importance and relevance then, now and in the future. Listen, Learn, Ask and PIO ... Pass It On! CALL IN TOLL FREE (during the live show); PARTICIPATE; 1-866-333-6279. The broadcast may also be heard on-line at radiomaria.us [Click on the BVMary photo ... Scroll down to RADIO MARIA USA (English) ... Click on the windows icon or which ever media program you have on your PC.]. The web site also provides access to some previous broadcasts. We'll keep you informed about future programs. Encores of each show are broadcast Monday nights from 8:30-9:30 pm EST one week after the original. Her series, Through The Tummy To The Heart airs every Tuesday except the First Tuesday from 5:00-5:45 PM on RADIO MARIA WHJM and also online. The series encores Saturdays from 3:00 - 3:45 pm. Tune in 88.7 FM (WHJM) in the northern Archdiocese of Cincinnati and on line at www.radiomaria.us from anywhere in the world. Send email to Francesca with questions, comments, suggestions to fran@866333mary.com. Send email while the programs are going on if you cannot get through or if you are listening outside of the USA. CALL IN TOLL FREE; PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM (during the live show); 1-866-333-6279. On Tuesday, February 27, Fran stirs up good things to talk about in faith sharing and bringing people to know, love and serve Jesus continuing conversation focusing on Evangelization through talking about Our Lady of Fatima; Her Immaculate Heart and the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Enthronement of the Sacred Heart confirms Jesus as King of the Home and Family and Consecration to the Immaculate of Mary, centers The Blessed Mother as Queen of Hearts and Hearth. Francesca also shares her favorite Italian recipes using ground wheat in bread, pasta and other dishes. "Taste and See the Goodness of the Lord" in Scripture and in your family kitchen. During Lent Francesca shares favorite easy and inexpensive pasta dishes to stir up for one or many. This week enjoy Pasta Con Uova [Pasta with Egg and Butter], and if time permits Pasta with Clams. Sicilian Soul Food hits the spot simply and delectably! Current Exhibit The Marian Library Gallery will feature a multi-media exhibit on the Litany of Loreto, a traditional prayer to Mary, the mother of Jesus, from Feb. 1 to March 22. The library's exhibit centers around enlargements of copper engravings created by Josef Sebastian Klauber and accompanied by music from Wolfgang Mozart whose Litaniae Lauretanae was inspired by Klauber's work. The Gallery is open 8:30 am to 4:30 pm Monday through Friday and by appointment on Saturday and Sunday. Call 937-229-4214 for more information. Creches are also on display in our museum. Patrons with RealPlayer may also view a streaming video showing the sets which were on display during the 2005 Christmas season. We have also posted a display of the Quilts from Saint Simon's in Cincinnati shown during the Christmas 2006 season. Alumni Update Warren Kappeler, former Mary Page web designer and Research Assistant for ML/IMRI, will defend his [350 page] Ph.D. thesis, Communication Habits for the Pilgrim Church: Vatican Teaching on Media and Social Communication, at McGill University on February 26. Also, it is with great sadness that we inform you that Herb Whalen died on February 12, 2007, at the age of 90. The funeral Mass was held at Saint Albert the Great Catholic Church in Kettering on February 17, 2007. He and his wife, Ginny, have been most supportive of Marian Library/IMRI projects. Many years ago he gave many suggestions and helped IMRI as it struggled for funds. The Whalens are also very interested in providing scholarships. Ginny regularly helps on many projects--Creches, mailings, socials. Please remember, Herb and his family in your prayers. His obituary may be found in the Oakwood Register for February 20, 2007. Additional Web Addresses for The Mary Page In order to make our web site more accessible, The Mary Page may now be reached at the following URLs: lapagedemarie.org; lapaginademaria.org; marypage.org; themarypage.org; marypage.udayton.edu; campus.udayton.edu/mary; and themarypage.net. The original address on the University of Dayton site, campus.udayton.edu/mary, remains active as well. Web Collaborators Two important Catholic websites have added The Mary Page to their list of Media Partners. CatholicWeb.com highlights items from The Mary Page in their section on Catholic News. Catholic.net includes a Mary Channel on their navbar with Mary Page articles. Please visit these sites in return. We expect continued collaboration with them in the future. Also, the University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI) has added the Gallery section of The Mary Page to the Exhibits section of their on-line museum, the Plethoreum. Radio Maria broadcasts from Milan Italy, heard in 49 countries; WHJM broadcasts out of Louisiana across USA, including FF 88.7, an affiliate station in Anna, Ohio (north of Dayton) which airs regular Marian talks from UD's Marian Library every Wednesday at 11:30 am EST. International Marian Research Institute Course Schedule IMRI courses for the Spring 2007 semester commenced on February 19. The course schedule for the Spring 2007 semester is now available.
During the season of Lent. Dr. Virginia M. Kimball will be providing us with a daily poetic meditation on Mary. Those published on The Mary Page this past week were: Mother's Prayer; Mary's Nine Months; Praying With Mary; Rhythm of Lent; and Her Prayer in the Desert. Stay tuned for more! We have linked to a site commemorating the upcoming 150th anniversary of the Lourdes apparitions, Friends of Lourdes USA, and also posted their rationale for commemorating the anniversary and their list of proposed activities. We have also posted a series of Marian articles written in Spanish by Silvia Cabrera for the Catholic Observer.
Pope Says Church is "Alive and Young" The Church is alive and full of youth, Benedict XVI said when presenting a prayer he composed for the young people of Italy. The Holy Father recited his composition Wednesday when meeting in St. Peter's Basilica with bishops of the Marche region in Italy, on the occasion of their five-yearly visit. The prelates were accompanied by pilgrims of the dioceses in the region, many of them young people. When the youths applauded the Pope, he responded: "We see that the Church is alive and young!" The Holy Father then invited young people to a meeting Sept. 1-2, in Loreto, where Italy's national Marian shrine is located. "We will see you in Las Marcas, in Loreto," Benedict XVI said as he bid them farewell. Here is a translation of the prayer the Holy Father composed. * * *
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. Pope could exempt Sister Lucia
from five year waiting period The prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints, Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, said he thought it was a "very good" idea to request a waiver of the five year waiting period before the process of beatification of Sister Lucia could begin, but that this would be decided by Pope Benedict XVI. In order to initiate the process of beatification, normally a period of five years must pass after the death of the candidate. However, the Pope has the ability to waive the requirement--as happened with the case of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta and Servant of God John Paul II. "Sister Lucia certainly would deserve (the dispensation) because she was a great saint," the Cardinal told the Portuguese agency Ecclesia, emphasizing that the decision would fall to Benedict XVI. "I had much contact" with Sister Lucia, the Cardinal said, adding that he always had the impression that "she was living in another world." Bishop Albino Mamede Cleto of Coimbra said that during Cardinal Saraiva's visit to Portugal the issue would probably be discussed, but also noted that the process for Beatification is not yet in his hands. The beatification process, the bishop said, "will take many years." However, he stated that the request for the dispensation could possibly be made "before the summer." Bishop Cleto said the promoter of the cause would be the Carmel of St. Teresa in Coimbra, and that therefore the necessary consultations must be made both with the Shrine of Fatima and the Portuguese Bishops’ Conference. "I suppose Benedict XVI will accept the request, but I don’t know what his answer will be," he added. The Virgin Mary appeared to Lucia along with her cousins Francisco and Jacinta in the early 1900’s. Lucia outlived her cousins by several years and eventually entered the Carmelites. Both Francisco, who died in 1919, and Jacinta, who died in 1920, were declared "Blessed" by Pope John Paul II in 2000. Sister Lucia died in February of 2005.
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!
Marian Commemoration Days To celebrate the month of February with Mary: Mary Page offers a variety of resources inviting study, reflection and meditation. We also list important Marian dates for each month of the year. Please see Marian Commemoration Days for the month of February. Sacred Sounds--Sing to the Lord: The Psalms Through the Ages The Program Committee of the UD Library Advancement Association has been busy planning a follow-up to the very successful Sacred Places programs of 2005. On March 11 and 18, 2007, Sacred Sounds--Sing to the Lord: the Psalms through the Ages will take place in the UD Libraries and partnering venues. The two-afternoon events will include lectures, musical demonstrations, and participatory singing focusing on the Book of Psalms. Traditions and styles from ancient Hebrew roots to present practices will be explained and performed. Programs will take place in the UD Chapel on March 11th and the South Park United Methodist Church on March 18th. To tie in with our Roesch and Marian Library collections, programs will conclude in the libraries with tours of exhibits and refreshments. Exhibits will include musical instruments from the George Zimmerman collection and scores and related items from the Roesch and Marian Library music collections. Visitors wishing to peruse the Roesch Library music collections will be directed to the 6th floor. Complete information and registration form is available on the LAA event web page: http://library.udayton.edu/laa/sounds. Our Mary Page web site is updated frequently. Please stop in again and see What's New.
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