Radio Maria from the Marian Library

Francesca Franchina, MS Ed., a long-time member of the Marianist Family, will be doing a series of Marian broadcasts through the local stations for Radio Maria WHJM (FM 88.7) in Anna, Ohio and WULM (AM 1600) in Springfield, Ohio.  Called " Francesca and Friends: Why Mary?," the program airs every Wednesday from 11:30 AM-12:30 PM EST focusing on what is going on in the world about Mary, how to speak with others about Mary, and Mary in Scripture.

On Wednesday, April 21, Francesca Franchina speaks with Jack Davis, continuing the discussion of what was happening in the Upper Room with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, the Holy Women, the Apostles and Disciples after the Resurrection of Jesus, focusing on what was happening there while they were praying and waiting for the Paraclete and the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost as promised by Jesus. (Part 3 of 3) This information is private revelation as dictated to Sister Mary of Agreda of Spain, by the Blessed Mother in The Mystical City of God. This is not dogma or doctrine of the Catholic Church, but has been released for the faithful to read and pray over by Popes and has the Imprimatur of Archbishops.

The broadcast may also be heard on-line at radiomaria.us  The website also provides access to some previous broadcasts.  We'll keep you informed about future programs.  An encore of each show is broadcast Monday night from 8:30-9:30 pm EST one week after the original.

Fran's series, Through the Tummy to the Heart, (T5H) airs every 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 radiomaria.us from anywhere in the world. Send email to Francesca with questions, comments, suggestions at 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, April 20, at 5:00 PM, Fran speaks with Gail Horvath, Director of the Germaine Language Center, author, publisher, and world traveler, about her experiences in France and working with people from all over the world, interpreting, translating, inter-cultural education' architectural trends, and saving historical buildings, focusing on Julienne High School, its past and future in Catholic education.

Living With Mary Today! Live: Thursdays and Fridays 2:30-3:00 PM EST: From the Pontifical International Marian Research Institute (IMRI) at the University of Dayton Marian Library, internationally-known Mariologists Fathers Johann Roten, Francois Rossier, Thomas Thompson, and Bertrand Buby of the Society of Mary (Marianists), and other IMRI faculty; Schoenstatt Sisters Jean Frisk and Danielle Peters, Michael Duricy and Brother Erik Otiende will discuss Marian themes such as The Blessed Mother and Ecumenism; Mary and The Family; Mary and Suffering, Marian Teachings and Writings of Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI; Mary and Scripture from the Founder of the Marianists, Blessed William Joseph Chaminade; Mary and Vatican II, Marian Apparitions and others. The Marian Library at the University of Dayton houses the largest collection of Marian books and artifacts in the world, and IMRI is the site of post-graduate studies in Mariology for the Doctorate, STL and STD. Find out more by visiting marypage.org. The University of Dayton; The Marian Library and IMRI are collaborators with the International Satellite Radio Maria Network and Radio Maria Ohio.  Click here for the complete schedule of future programs planned to date.

This week's programs:

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The Chaminade Vision, the Marianist Charism (by Brother John Samaha, S.M.)

Below is a summary view of the gift (charism) of Blessed William Joseph Chaminade to the Marianist Family and to the Church. It is an attempt to present the special Marianist grace (charism) in a nutshell.

The Meaning

A charism is a special grace given to one person; but it is meant to benefit all members of the Church and meet the needs of the world. The term comes from the Greek word meaning free gift. Every religious congregation has a charism shared by each of its members. Chaminade's doctrine of Mary's Apostolic Mission and our participation with her to bring Jesus to all peoples, our charism, was clearly researched and organized theologically and popularized in print and preaching by Father Emile Neubert, S.M. This is our Marianist heritage. This is the challenge that all Marianists are called to live and to propagate.

The concept and reality of Mary's Apostolic Mission is the kernel of our Marianist charism. It is the watchword that encapsulates our Marianist way of life. This is our shibboleth, which we often express in the Latin ablative absolute idiom, Maria duce. We are called to participate in the state and mystery of Jesus, Son of Mary, in the mission of applying the merits of the Redemption, and in Mary's maternal responsibility to apply those merits to all humankind.

Historical Context

Blessed William Joseph Chaminade in post-revolutionary France was the only noteworthy Mariologist of the first half of the nineteenth century. Considering the tenor of those times, his contribution to Marian theology is remarkable. Commenting on those times, Monsignor George Shea observed that the deviations of Jansenism and related controversies motivated the orthodox theologians of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to nourish Marian piety. This they accomplished by broadening and deepening the doctrinal bases of Mary's mediational role, a crucial issue in the Jansenist heresy. Monsignor Shea noted that, if we assign John Henry Newman to the latter half of the nineteenth century, Chaminade is the only Mariologist worthy of note in the preceding fifty years.

Chaminade's Approach

Chaminade based his doctrine of Mary's Apostolic Mission on the foundational doctrines of the Mystical Body of Christ, and of Mary's Spiritual Maternity, Coredemption, and distribution of all graces. In his own words:

Christ has ordained all concerns of religion that Mary participated and cooperated in all of them. We do not go to Mary as our God, but we go to God through Mary, as faith tells us. He came to us through her.

Keystone of the Marianist Charism

Blessed William Joseph's teaching about Mary's Apostolic Mission is clear and straightforward. He presents nothing new and radically different, except for his clarity and amplification, from what was held by the early Fathers of the Church. But his originality and development are manifested in the consequences he draws from the doctrine of Mary's Spiritual Maternity regarding her present role in the world. He clearly establishes Mary's Apostolic Mission as a corollary of her Spiritual Maternity.

In union with her Son, Mary collaborates on Calvary in redeeming all in principle. To be the true Associate of the Redeemer she must yet apply to each of us the fruits of the Redemption in fact. Acknowledging this notion, we realize it is theologically certain. Mary's Apostolic Mission is a particular, essential, and integral aspect of her social functions as Spiritual Mother and Associate of the Redeemer.

This doctrine is the keystone of the Marianist charism. While Chaminade's inspiration is addressed to those who follow the Marianist vocation to assist Mary in her Apostolic Mission, the message certainly applies to the whole of Christianity. He saw this as an intensification of our baptismal promise, as our baptismal obligation to evangelization. The social orientation of his teaching--his Mystical Body framework and social consciousness--focuses on the Church at large and on all society.

These words of Chaminade taken from Our Knowledge of Mary summarize the charism bequeathed to his Marianist Family and to the Church.

We have seen Mary making use of all the rights of a Mother in regard to her Son, Who is our God, and sharing, if we may be permitted to say so, with the Eternal Father parental claims over the Uncreated Word. We have seen her, the New Eve, fulfilling on behalf of the human race the functions of a Spiritual Maternity, engendering in it a new life for heaven lost through the sin of Adam. We have seen her sacrificing on Calvary the only Son of her fruitful virginity. We have seen her at the foot of the Cross, stronger than death, associated with her Divine Son, as she had been associated in all the mysteries of His life. We have seen her from that very hour watching over all Christians, her children, with the most tender solicitude, fulfilling on their behalf the sublime duties of a Mother.

Our Knowledge of Mary further records Chaminade's thought on the Apostolic Mission of the New Eve. Mary's exalted mission does not end on Calvary. ... Is she not the New Eve, and as such, necessary to her children? ... Her maternal solicitude must extend over the Church to edify and to instruct the faithful, and to guide them aright along the rugged roads of a pagan world.

Nor does the sublime mission of Mary end with her entrance into glory. Even in heaven she continues to cooperate in the work of regeneration, for all things are done through Mary, and every good gift comes to us through her. Jesus proves to us the fact that His Mother is the New Eve, as truly as He is the New Adam.

On this point, the doctrine of the Church leaves no doubt. We have her testimony in the words of her accepted oracles. In reality, this is the practical meaning of our baptismal call and confirmation pledge to evangelization, to put the Good News into action.

Neubert's Integration and Synthesis of Chaminade's Mariology

Recent writings of theologians and popes have stressed the universal role of Mary. Outstanding among those writers and preachers is Father Emile Neubert, S.M. An increasing awareness of the universality of Mary's relation to all persons and to the apostolate of the Church is plainly evident in the teaching of the ordinary magisterium.

Although Mary's Apostolic Mission has not been explicitly and officially defined, it has clearly been stressed in recent teaching and in papal pronouncements on Mary's Spiritual Motherhood, Coredemption, distribution of grace, and Queenship. It is contained and implied in these other Marian doctrines.

Chaminade taught explicitly the apostolic role of Mary and our obligation to participate in it. Neubert and other Marianist writers have expanded and integrated this teaching. They made it clear that Mary's maternal responsibility is a continuous mission and not a single act which ended on Calvary. The apostolic responsibility of her Spiritual Maternity is part of her vocation--and ours.

The social and apostolic dimensions of Marian doctrine and devotion continue to unfold. The dynamic relations of Mary to us are both personal and communitarian. She concerns herself with the welfare of individuals and also of social institutions, with the entire Mystical Body of Christ--laity, religious, and clergy. More plainly this understanding is coming to the fore.

In pulling together Father Chaminade's position and couching it in precise theological terms, Father Neubert formulated this cogent conclusion, identifying Mary's Apostolic Mission. In La Mission Apostolique de Marie et la Notre he explains:

These comparisons between Mary's Apostolic Mission and her role of Mother, Coredemptrix, and Distributor of all graces permit us to affirm that this Mission is revealed. It does not follow as a simple logical consequence of these three functions of Mary which are revealed, but as a particular aspect, as an integral part of them, to the point of being identified with them. Under another name it is simply her role of Coredemptrix and above all of Mother and Distributor of graces. It shares, consequently, in the certitude of these three functions, and we can say that it is revealed as truly as these three are, even if Tradition had never spoken explicitly of an Apostolic Mission of Mary. Provided that the idea has been revealed, the name need not be.

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Form Seeking Expression--Marian Artistic Creations, by Christina Saj, will be on display from April 19 - June 18, 2010 in The Marian Library.  Click here for virtual exhibit.  The Marian Library Gallery is located on the seventh floor of Roesch Library.  Free and open to the public, hours are Mon-Fri, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm or by appointment.  Call 937-229-4214.

N.B. Prints and postcards related to the Exhibit of Polish Madonnas by Wislawa Kwiatkowska are no longer available for purchase at The Marian Library.

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