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5/11/11
The Mary Page News items give insight into our interest areas, our outreach, and the many ways people honor Our Lady. |
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We have received a number of emails from readers commending our website, The Mary Page. Thank you all for your encouragement and support. The following is are typical examples. I am wondering if I can share excerpts from the reflection on John Paul II posted on The Mary Page in our ACCU newsletter as well as a link to the full text. Since the University of Dayton is a member of ACCU, we would like to share this nice tribute with our other member schools. Lindsay Every second year I teach a course called Hagiography and Mary is surely part of that field. Please extend my greetings to Father Tom, Clare, Michael, Brother Bill, and the rest of the crew. Happy Easter. Maureen Position Opening The International Marian Research Institute (IMRI), located at the University of Dayton seeks a full time Lecturer and Researcher. This position is non-tenure track for twelve months with an anticipated start date of July 25 and is renewable annually. This person will teach an average of five IMRI courses a year such as Introduction to Mariology, Mary and Theological Anthropology, Marian Spirituality, and Mary in the Modern Period. Responsibilities also include conducting research in projects (annual bibliography, contributions to The Mary Page and other publications); directing students' theses and dissertations; editing IMRI-based journals. The person in this position also helps to acquaint students with library procedures; advises students on research projects; and handles reference questions related to theology. The successful applicant must possess a terminal degree in theology with preference given to S.T.D. with a specialization in Mariology. The ability to interact with students from diverse international backgrounds is required. Knowledge of and sensitivity to the Catholic tradition of the University is essential. The requirement to be able to read several principal languages of theological literature is central to the position with preference of the languages such as French, German, Italian, Portuguese, or Spanish. Teaching experience at the graduate level, ability to edit scholarly publications, familiarity with the bibliographical databases, theological reference works, and scholarly publications in theology and Mariology is preferred. Applications will be reviewed starting June 20, 2011, and will continue to be reviewed until the position is filled. Applicants must apply at: http://jobs.udayton.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=52040 The University of Dayton, founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary, is a top ten Catholic research university. The University seeks outstanding, diverse faculty and staff who value its mission and share its commitment to academic excellence in teaching, research and artistic creativity, the development of the whole person, and leadership and service in the local and global community. To attain its Catholic and Marianist mission, the University is committed to the principles of diversity, inclusion and affirmative action and to equal opportunity policies and practices. We act affirmatively to recruit and hire women, traditionally under-represented minority groups, persons with disabilities and veterans. Minimum Qualifications:
Terminal degree in theology Preferred Qualifications:
S.T.D. with a specialization in Mariology Alumni Update
The entire 1 1/2 hour graduation ceremony may be viewed on-line at fansonly.com/schools/dayt/allaccess/?media=243348. Gloria appears from minutes 74-76, accompanied by Father Thomas A. Thompson, S.M. Users will need to have Flash installed on their computers to watch the commencement ceremonies. For a free download of Flash, go to adobe.com/products/flashplayer/. Ramya Jairam and Muhammad Omar Memon also received their degrees at this ceremony. We are grateful for all the work they did on our website, The Mary Page, before graduation. Mary in Books, Films, and Music Act One Founder Urges Catholics to Work in Media Barbara Nicolosi is encouraging Catholics to get involved in the arts, especially in the cinema, the "art form of our time." The founder of Act One, a Hollywood-based organization that promotes Christian values in the entertainment industry, addressed students at Christendom College on Monday. Nicolosi spoke about Why Hollywood Matters, drawing on her experience as a consultant for the movie The Passion of the Christ and screenwriter for a new film, Mary, Mother of the Christ, which stars Al Pacino and Peter O'Toole and will be released next year by MGM. She asked: "Why do we love the movies so much? The movies are the combination of the four classical art forms: literature, performance, music, and composition. They are the art form of our time." She explained that a person needs three things in order to perceive beauty: sensitivity, somewhat free of prejudice and fear; intelligence, as opposed to ignorance; and imagination, to allow one's history to combine with the artist's communication. Nicolosi recalled an example of a statue of Our Lady Queen of the Angels that she saw on a tour of the cathedral of Los Angeles. The statue was created to appear androgynous, combining features from various types and races of people. When she commented that the statue was "kind of ugly," the tour guide responded: "The Church isn't about that anymore. The Church is about everyone feeling welcome by including them in the statue." Nicolosi observed: "They were not going for wholeness, harmony, and radiance here. They were going for agenda, so they sacrificed the beauty because of the political point." Click here to read the complete article from Zenit. 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 12:00 - 1:00 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, May 11, 2011, Francesca Franchina speaks with Tim Bete, Communications Director for St. Mary's Development Corporation (SMDC) in Dayton, OH, about their housing project, Homes for Our Troops; the effect and results of the earlier competition focusing on Thankful Homes; the opportunity to help people find suitable housing in times of need and waning health including SMDC Residential Services; Independent Living apartments; and Homes for Families, Senior Housing, health care services, home ownership assistance, training programs; and the Home Ownership Center. Francesca and Friends with Francesca Franchina, National OSIA Trustee, is now being broadcast throughout the New York City metropolitan area at 11 pm on Friday nights on WSNR 620 AM, as well as on other local Radio Maria USA frequencies, and streaming on radiomaria.us. This is the replay of the program originating on the preceding Wednesday at noon EST. Give a listen every Friday at 11 PM; Mondays at 8:30 PM and LIVE on Wednesdays at noon EST. 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, May 10, Francesca (Open Mic) addresses the lives of the saints and their intercession for us, living in this time of mercy, St. Faustina, St. Padre Pio, and Blessed John Paul II, and speaks with Father Neil Buchlein of West Virginia about encountering Jesus and healing through the intercession of the Blessed Mother at Medjugorge; and how his life, including a second career as a diocesan priest, has been affected by his nineteen pilgrimages and the effect/fruit of Marian pilgrimages. Visit his website, blessedmotherschildren.com. Francesca Franchina shares her family's traditions, customs and foods: Baked Italian Chicken Cacciatore with onions, tomatoes, potatoes and peas. Send a SASE to Francesca at P. O. Box 3238, Dayton, OH 45401 for recipes. This program and all Francesca's programs are archived on-line. 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 Bertrand Buby, François Rossier, Johann Roten, and Thomas Thompson of the Society of Mary (Marianists), and other IMRI faculty; Michael Duricy, Jean Frisk, Danielle Peters, and others 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 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 tentative schedule of future programs planned to date. Click here for the new audio archive! This week's program: Dr. Virginia M. Kimball, Thursday, May 12, 2:30 PM on the Ecumenical Society of the B.V.M. From the Marian Treasure Chest Fatima in Focus (by Brother John M. Samaha, S.M.) On May 13 the Church celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Fatima. Like the apparitions of Our Lady at Guadalupe and at Lourdes, her apparitions at Fatima are known far and wide across the world in both religious and secular circles. To appreciate more clearly the impact of Mary's appearances at Fatima, it is important for us to know something about the conditions in Portugal at the time of the appearances in 1917. The events need to be placed in historical context. The Historical, Political, Social Circumstances For centuries Portugal had distinguished itself by its zeal for the spread of the Christian faith. But in the eighteenth century, the government was influenced by anti-religious ideas and, from that time, Freemasonry set about de-Christianizing the country. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the moral and religious situation in Portugal was abysmal. In 1911, the separation of Church and State became official. The years from 1910 to 1913 were years of terror: priests and bishops were imprisoned or exiled; religious orders were suppressed; almost all the seminaries were closed and confiscated; missions languished or were abandoned. Freemasonry was in control. From 1910 to 1926, Portugal experienced sixteen revolutions with forty changes of government officials. The Apparitions and Their Message Then, on May 13, 1917, a shining Lady appeared to three little shepherds near Fatima, a Portuguese village. They were Jacinto, seven years old; Francisco, her brother, nine years old; and their cousin, Lucia, ten years old. The brilliant Lady encouraged them to pray the rosary, a summary of the Gospel, and to offer acts of penance. Then she asked them to return on the thirteenth day of the next five months. The children were faithful in coming, except for August 13, for the mayor, a Mason, had them imprisoned at that time. He had threatened to cast them into a caldron of boiling oil if they did not reveal the secret confided to them by the Lady. At each meeting, the Lady revealed to them a little more of God's designs. She foretold future misfortunes which they were to keep secret for the time being, and which were recently revealed by the sole survivor, Lucia. These had to do with an even more terrible war than the current one of 1914-1918. The Lady asked for the consecration of the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for only through her could the aid of God come to the world. On the last apparition, that of October 13, she promised a great miracle which everyone would be able to see. Curiosity drew ever-larger numbers that accompanied the little visionaries to each meeting: there were some twenty-five to thirty thousand on September 13; about seventy thousand on October 13. That day, on which the great miracle promised by the Virgin Mary was to take place, rain poured all morning. The crowd was soaked. But at noon the skies cleared. Mary appeared to the three shepherds and revealed her name: Lady of the Rosary. She asked that people be converted and pray. Then, in the sight of the seventy thousand spectators, the sun, which had just appeared through the clouds, began to rotate or spin three times. Each rotation lasted three or four minutes, illuminating the trees, the crowd, the earth, with all the colors of a rainbow. Then it zigzagged in the sky and descended as though to fall into the crowd. People fell to the ground crying for mercy. Then the sun returned to its proper place. The spectators noticed that their clothes were completely dry. News of this miracle, witnessed by seventy thousand people, including a number who were hostile to religion, spread like wildfire throughout Portugal and made a tremendous impression. The material miracle was but a sign of another miracle, the enlightenment of souls and the conversion of the country. The Aftermath Over the centuries this celebration underwent some problems and waned in significance. As late as the thirteenth century the liturgy was still not entirely structured. Since the seventh century there had been a general decline, and this event was celebrated early in the day on Holy Saturday. When Pope St. Pius V reformed the Missal in the sixteenth century following the Council of Trent, he forbade the celebration of the Eucharist after midday. Consequently, on Holy Saturday morning in churches brightened with sunlight and a barely perceptible flame on the Easter Candle, the celebrant sang, "O night truly blessed!" In addition, very few people were able to attend this long liturgy on Holy Saturday morning. This added to its diminished appreciation. The Biblical, patristic, theological, and liturgical renewal that began to swell in the 1920s indicated the unacceptability of this condition and the impoverishment of the Easter celebration. In 1951 Pope Pius XII authorized the celebration of the Easter vigil during the evening hours of Holy Saturday, and revised the rites to foster greater congregational participation. Then in 1955 he decreed that the Easter Vigil must take place at night. In our day we follow the "Missal of Pope Paul VI" promulgated in 1969 following the Second Vatican Council. Today the Easter vigil has four parts: 1) the blessing of the fire, procession of the Easter Candle, and the chanting of the Exultet; 2) the Liturgy of the Word; 3) the baptismal liturgy, which includes at least the blessing of the water and the renewal of baptismal vows; 4) culminates in the Eucharistic liturgy. This solemn celebration of the Lord's resurrection is the zenith of the liturgical year, "the solemnity of solemnities." The Challenge Less than two weeks after the last apparition, a first sign of a new attitude manifested itself in the protest by an influential antichristian newspaper against a sacrilegious attack by a group of sectarians at Fatima. In 1918, the bishops were recalled from exile and were able to hold a meeting at Lisbon. The military chaplaincy was reinstated and relations with the Holy See re-established. At that point, the Masonic lodges had the president of the Republic of Portugal assassinated. They sought to reinstate the control of the anti-clericals, but their efforts failed. In 1926, the first National Council was held. In 1928, the renowned Oliveira Salazar rose to power. He was an outstanding Catholic and a great statesman, the providential man for the financial, civil, political, and religious restoration of Portugal. Come 1936, a new great danger menaced the land. The Russian Bolshevists decided to establish atheistic communism in Spain and Portugal in order to spread it more successfully in the east and in the west, throughout all Christian Europe. We know what success they had in Spain. Portugal seemed unable to resist their activity, organized with satanic cleverness. To dispel the danger, the bishops saw salvation only in the Blessed Virgin Mary. In 1936, they promised, by what was termed an anti-communist oath, to make a pilgrimage of the entire nation to Fatima if Portugal were preserved from the peril which was threatening it. While, on the other side of the frontier in Spain, the 'Reds' were massacring, profaning, pillaging, burning priests and men and women religious and churches and convents, trying to extirpate the last vestiges of Christianity, Portugal enjoyed the most profound peace. And so, in 1938, an enormous pilgrimage of a half-million faithful was on route to Fatima to thank the Virgin for her miraculous protection. In 1940, Portugal signed with the Holy See the most perfect concordat, from the Christian point of view, ever signed in recent times. The faith is proclaimed throughout the entire country with pride, the sacraments are frequented, Catholic Action flourished, ecclesiastical vocations multiplied. In eight years the number of religious had quadrupled. In keeping with the prediction of the Virgin at Fatima, the Second World War was much more horrible than the first. Yet, though most of the nations of the world were involved in the indescribable calamities and anguish, Portugal continued with its tranquil life under the protection of Mary. The Church's Action The ecclesiastical inquiry into the facts of Fatima was opened in November of 1917. However, because of circumstances, a verdict was rendered only thirteen years later, on October 13, 1930. Meanwhile, pilgrimages continued to arrive, always more numerous, and usually on the thirteenth of each month. Cures were taking place. In 1926, a board of review was established similar to the one at Lourdes. More than a thousand cures, scientifically unexplainable, had been registered by 1955. On the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the apparitions at Fatima, the ecclesiastical authority judged the moment suitable for revealing in part what Our Lady of the Rosary had asked Lucia to keep secret for the time being. In his radio message of October 31, 1942, to the pilgrims gathered at Fatima, Pope Pius XII consecrated the Church and the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. He renewed this consecration the following December 8 in Rome. The bishops of the whole world also made this consecration for their individual dioceses on March 28, 1943. We know that Pope Pius XII confided to Cardinal Tedeschini that he himself had seen the solar phenomenon on October 30 and 31, and on November 1 and 8, 1954, on the occasion of the definition of the dogma of the Assumption. The Impact of Fatima The message of Fatima has been heard in Portugal, and Mary's goodness has marvelously repaid it. Has it been heard in the rest of the world? Certainly not enough. Otherwise wars among nations by armies, 'cold wars,' and fratricides within countries would have ended long ago. However, not all have turned a deaf ear. The message of Fatima has been received in part, at least, by a great number of Christians. Devotion to the rosary continues to gain favor and reaches into many countries. As has been said, all the dioceses of the world have been consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary by the bishops. The visits of the Pilgrim Virgin statues have been received with tremendous enthusiasm not only by Catholic populations, but also by Protestants and Muslims as well. The message of Fatima has moved many and has contributed to making our era an Age of Mary. It has not spoken its final word. What that word will be depends on the cooperation which Our Lady of Fatima receives from us. She extends this call and invitation to each of us. The words of Franz Werfel about Lourdes apply also to Fatima: "For those who believe, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not believe, no explanation is possible." Current Exhibit Drawn on Copper: The Year in the Company of Mary and the Saints The Marian Library Gallery is featuring works on copper by Rosemary Scott-Fishburn related to Mary and the Saints. The exhibit will run from April 25 - June 17 on the seventh floor of Roesch Library. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and Saturday and Sunday by appointment. Call 937-229-4214. Click here for a virtual exhibit or here for an article. 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 articles from The Mary Page. Please visit these sites in return. We expect continued collaboration with them in the future. Radio Maria originated east of Milan, Italy in 1983, and is now heard in fifty-four countries. The main USA station is in Alexandria, Louisiana with affiliate stations across the USA [including FM 88.7, WHJM, in Anna, Ohio (north of Dayton) and AM 1600, WULM, in Springfield/Dayton, Ohio. All USA Radio Maria stations regularly air live Marian talks from UD's Marian Library every Wednesday from 12:00-1:00 pm EST and on Thursday and Friday from 2:30-3:00 pm EST, as well as local programming originating from many other affiliated Radio Maria stations in the USA. International Marian Research Institute Course Schedule IMRI courses for the Summer 2011 semester will commence on June 6, 2011. The Pontifical Academic Program leading to STL and STD in theology with a specialization in Marian Studies offers courses in three year-round sessions. See course offerings for Summer 2011. In keeping with the season, we recommend Easter Poetry, Our Lady at Fatima, and May, Mary's Month. We have revised and expanded our material in German and Chinese. These are works in progress, so expect more content soon. Feel free to let us know what you think of these sections.
Book Reflects on Mary's Prayers and Silences Mary's words, but also her silences, hold a message for Christians who want to know her better, says Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo. This was one of the affirmations in a new Italian-language book by the president of the Governorate of Vatican City State, presented April 13 in Rome. The two-hundred-page book, Maria. Silenzi e parole (Mary: Silences and Words), was presented by the author along with Monsignor Giuseppe Sciacca, auditor of the Tribunal of the Roman Rota; Gabriel Moretti, former president of the Italian National Tourism Agency; and Benedetta Papasogli, professor of Italy's LUMSA University.... Click here to read the complete article. The director and editors of The 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.
Be Firm in the Faith with Mary Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, We invite you to join us in a worldwide campaign of prayer, FIRM IN FAITH WITH MARY, praying the Rosary for World Youth Day on Saturdays from the beginning of May until WYD takes place in August. Since the first World Youth Day twenty-five years ago, the event has become a very important opportunity to awaken and deepen faith for young people around the world. This year's World Youth Day in Madrid from August 16-21 can be a great moment of grace for the New Evangelization not only of young people, but also for all throughout Europe and the world. Aware of the importance of this event, a number of Church organizations have joined together to call the whole Church to prepare for WYD and implore for its fruitfulness by praying the Rosary. The World Youth Day Organization in Madrid heartily endorses this initiative. We invite you first and foremost to join us in prayer, because as we know from Jesus himself, our prayer has the power to move mountains. Also, more than simply joining us in prayer, we invite you and we need you to help us spread the Good News of this campaign to others. Recently we have been witness to the power of media to effect rapid socio-political change. So let us now harness the power of media for an even greater good, the good of changing hearts and remaking our world through the grace of Christ. For this wide promotion of FIRM IN FAITH WITH MARY we need to make full, dynamic and up-to-date use of the internet. The campaign website, video resources, and social networking will be accessible at firminfaith.org or in Spanish at firmesenlafe.org. Also logos, banners, e-flyers, wallpapers and all the resources you will need to promote the campaign will be available for download from this page at DOWNLOADS. As FIRM IN FAITH WITH MARY starts at the beginning of May, websites and resources will be fully available at the beginning of April. With your help and the help of others in the Church throughout the world, we have, through God's grace, the chance to do something truly remarkable–-to create through this campaign a global, interactive community united in and through prayer. Let us join together in the Rosary, which the soon-to-be-beatified Pope John Paul II called both his "favorite prayer" and "the Gospel made prayer." Believing in the power of prayer and in Mary's love for us, her children, we entrust World Youth Day and our whole world to our Holy Mother through this campaign. N.B. The above information from sent to us by Father James H. Phalan, CSC, Director of Family Rosary International and Vice-President of the Mariological Society of America. He was recently interviewed by Father Thomas Rosica of Salt and Light TV. This video may be viewed on-line at saltandlighttv.org/witness/phalan.php and runs about half an hour.
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 directly or to volunteer as a prayer partner for these intentions!
Marian Commemoration Days To celebrate the month of May with Mary: The 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 May. MSA Annual Meeting Title: The Virgin Mary in the United States and Canada Date: May 17-20, 2011 Location: Franciscan Renewal Center (Scottsdale, Arizona) The Mariological Society of America (MSA) holds an annual three-day meeting. The place of the meeting, themes and speakers are determined by the Administrative Council. Suggestions for future annual meetings are appreciated. Particularly welcome are offers from groups who wish to host an annual meeting. Anyone may attend the sessions of the annual meetings. The annual meeting usually includes a presidential address, five or or six presentations; and a survey of recent Marian publications, focusing primarily on books and articles in English, but including recent writings on Mary in other languages as well. The proceedings of the annual meeting are published in Marian Studies. All members receive a copy and subscriptions are also available. Click here to see the program in PDF format [requires Adobe Acrobat Reader] for this year's meeting. The Mary Page web site is updated frequently. Please stop in again and see What's New.
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![[Dr. Gloria Falcao Dodd with Father Francois Rossier, S.M., Director of ML/IMRI]](http://campus.udayton.edu/mary/images2/GloriaDodd1.JPG "[Dr. Gloria Falcao Dodd with Father Francois Rossier]")
![[Dr. Gloria Falcao Dodd with her husband, Ennis]](http://campus.udayton.edu/mary/images2/GloriaDodd2.JPG "[Dr. Gloria Falcao Dodd with her husband, Ennis]")