Mary Page News

December 21, 1999

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.

Features Resources: Mary and the Christmas Season ROSARY FOR THE MILLENNIUM Litany to Jesus in the Womb of Mary Family Rosary Marian Award Scouts Visit the Marian Library Mary in the News Virgin of the Great Sign Mary Movie Release Calendar of Marian Events Prayer Corner Requests

Items Re-visited Exhibits: Crèches International Night of Peace in Bethlehem Call for Papers: Mary and Pilgrimage Archive: News 1995-96 Archive: News 1997 Archive: News 1998 Our Christmas Greetings Our Christmas Prayer A Greeting From All of Us

Our Christmas Prayer

The Nativity Henry C. Meier Henry C. Meier anticipated our Christmas greeting and forwarded the watercolor jpg above as a gift to be used on our site. Mr. Meier retains copyright permission, 1999. The masterpiece is currently in the private collection of Mary O'Neill, who has also given permission for its use on Mary Page.

The Director and Staff of The Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute wishes you a Blessed Christmas. May the Light of the ages be your guide into the new millennium and Mary the star that shines on your way. Blessed Christmas Season!

Resources: Mary and the Christmas Season

• Christmas Poems
  
  Christmas remains an inexhaustible source of poetic inspiration, deep religious feelings, and tender but persistent invitation to open our minds and hearts to the mystery of God incarnate. See the wide variety at: Poetry for Christmas

  Looking for the words to Christmas songs with Mary as part of the text?
  

  See our Christmas collection at: Marian Music During the Christmas Season

  Christmas Meditation
  

  Christmas is a time of pausing and pondering, at least that is what it is meant to be. See the Mary Page mediation at Meditation

  Crèches International
  

  Take time to ponder the Christchild in many nativity scenes at: Christmas Exhibits

  Christmas Novena
  

  Father Charles Vachetta, pastor of the Church of the Immaculate in Turin, Italy, wanted to give his parishioners something special for the Advent of 1721. See this novena at: Christmas Novena

  Quotes from Magisterial Documents for the Christmas theme
  

  Are you looking for direct quotes from magisterial documents for Christmas themes?
  

  See: Mary's Life: Nativity, Epiphany, Flight to Egypt

ROSARY FOR THE MILLENNIUM

Greet the New Millennium with a Rosary Prayed from the Heart!

9 pm - 12 mn.
Dec. 31, New Year's Eve
Celebrate 2000!

Mary Page received the following email which we pass on to our readers:

We would like to solicit your support for our project, "ROSARY FOR THE MILLENNIUM."It is a call to action for Roman Catholics all over the world to pray the rosary from the heart on New Year's Eve as a way of imploring our Blessed Mother's intercession in mitigating the effects of the millennium bug. Imagine, the rosary being prayed as the millennium crosses the timeline of each country.

In this regard, your support by way of disseminating information and encouraging your friends, relatives and members to send in their rosary pledges will be greatly appreciated.

We have received several pledges of support from local and international catholic organizations which we reached through email. Rosary time slot pledges (i.e., from 9pm to 9:15pm, 9:15-9:30 pm and so on) are received via email at hws@pworld.net.ph and telephone nos. (632) 934-0437 and 645-4817.

We look forward to joining millions of the faithful around the world on their knees this New Year's Eve.

Maraming salamat po, or, thank you very much (as we say here in Manila, Philippines).

When you respond, kindly advise your parish, city and country, merely for purposes of geographical mapping.

To Jesus through Mary,
For His Watchful Servants Foundation, Inc.

Litany to Jesus in the Womb of Mary

Response to each invocation: Have mercy on us.

Jesus, knit so wonderfully in the womb of Mary,
Jesus, conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary,
Jesus, uniquely human from the moment of conception in the womb of Mary,
Jesus, present at creation, created in the womb of Mary,
Jesus, word made flesh, taking on a human body in the womb of Mary,
Jesus, subject to human development in the womb of Mary,
Jesus, whose Precious Blood first flowed through tiny arteries and veins in the womb of Mary,
Jesus, hidden nine months in the womb of Mary,
Jesus, begotten by God, nourished by the substance and blood of His Most Holy Mother in the womb of Mary,
Jesus, leaping from eternity into time, in the womb of Mary
Jesus, revealing with His Father and the Holy Spirit all wisdom and knowledge to His Most Holy Mother, in the womb of Mary,
Jesus, aware of His role as Redeemer in the womb of Mary,
Jesus, Sanctifier of His Precursor from the womb of Mary,
Jesus, Eternal Word, Divine Child, embraced by the Father, in the womb of Mary,
Jesus, raising His Mother to the heights of sanctification, in the womb of Mary,
Jesus, everlasting delight of heaven, in the womb of Mary,
Jesus, manifesting His Incarnation to His Holy Mother, in the womb of Mary,
Jesus, adored and contemplated by His Mother in the sanctuary of her womb Jesus, before whom the angels prostrated themselves, in the womb of Mary,
Jesus, in whom the very angels beheld the humanity of the Infant God and the union of the two natures of the Word in the virginal womb of Mary,
Jesus, whose Holy Limbs first budded in the womb of Mary,
Jesus, whose Godhead the world cannot contain, weighing only a few grams in the womb of Mary,
Jesus, Divine Immensity, once meaning only tenths of an inch in the womb of Mary,
Jesus, Sacrificial Lamb, Docile Infant in the womb of Mary,
Jesus, who was to suffer the agony and passion of death, accepting the human capacity for pain ad grief, in the womb of Mary,
Jesus, Lamb of God in the womb of Mary Spare us, O Lord.
Jesus, Holy Innocent in the womb of Mary Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Jesus, Son of God and Messiah in the womb of Mary Have mercy on us, O Lord.

God, our creator, you formed us as women and men,
equal partners in the stewardship of your world:
joined forever as sisters and brothers,
yet within each of us lives a rich diversity of different gifts,
different hopes and different limitations.
In Jesus, your word born fully in our flesh,
you have seen and loved in us all that you have made us to be.
Though graced, we are limited and often weak.
But our weaknesses themselves are no obstacle to your passion for us.
Teach us to see in ourselves what you have seen in each of us from birth.
Teach us to know our gifts and limits.
Keep us confidently on the path of self-knowledge,
fullness of wisdom, and joy in being your children.
We ask this through Christ and the Holy Spirit, with you,
One God, forever and ever. Amen

Family Rosary

We recommend to you the Family Rosary site at: http://www.familyrosary.org. This site offers excellent material for seasonal reflection. We received permission to pass on to you this nativity reflection from Joseph's point of view:

Reflections on the Nativity
By Fr. Thomas Feeley, CSC,
National Director of The Family Rosary

What thoughts must have crossed Joseph's mind as he and Mary approached Bethlehem? He knew the time for the birth of the baby was near. He knew he had to find a quiet, safe shelter where Mary could have her baby in peace and in privacy. The inn or caravansary with all its noise and confusion was no place for them. He found a cave where shepherds might on occasion keep their sheep. It was the best he could do. He got fresh hay and they waited for the child to be born.

Joseph had been told that the child had been conceived by the Holy Spirit. He had been entrusted by God to care for Mary, his spouse, and the child. Most husbands have homes for their wives and the couple make careful preparations for the birth of their children. Entrusted with the child of the promises made to Israel and foretold by the prophets, he could only provide a shepherd's cave and some clean straw.

Would Joseph have been embarrassed? Would he have berated himself? Would he have wanted more comfortable accomodations? Or would he have seen God's providence at work? Would he not have been chosen to be foster father of the Son of God because he knew that the poor are truly blessed? After all, the birth of the Son of God was a time for deep reflection and quiet contemplation.

For profound thoughts simple surroundings are best. Great rooms and lavish appointments are for entertaining - for displaying one's wealth, refinement, elegance, wit, beauty and style. Great and elegantly appointed rooms are for excited chatter, light banter and clever remarks, but not for serious conversation. Certainly not for serious reflection and contemplation. For these activities we must distance oneself from our surroundings and enter into the silence of our own souls.

Joseph knew he was in the right place for the birth of the Son of God. The surroundings were utterly simple. They could hear the rustle of the straw as they made Mary comfortable. They could feel the fresh breeze blowing into the cave. They could see the fields outside in the soft glow of the moon and the stars in the night sky. Inside the flickering lamp cast moving shadows on the walls. The only distinct sounds were the words that Joseph and Mary spoke to each other as he tried to make her comfortable and she tried to reassure him. This place of utter simplicity was the best place to be at this sacred moment.

Joseph had no regrets. He and Mary knew the value of silence and simplicity. These were hallmarks of their life. Mary had waited in silence for God to make known the secret of her divine maternity. Joseph had waited in silence trying to figure out what he should do. He knew Mary so well he could never doubt her chastity and fidelity but he couldn't deny what he saw. God broke through their silence and all became clear. God would soon break the silence of the manger in the first cries of the baby, the Son of God, the Word made flesh.

In the silence and simplicity of this manger cave the great significance of this event was placed in stark relief. The God who created this vast universe and to whom everything good belongs had emptied himself and had taken a human nature. Now Mary and Joseph could look upon the face of God. For this was God's child... and Mary's. If ever there was a time for simplicity and silence it was now, at this moment when the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And Mary and Joseph knew it as they knelt in awe and gazed upon the face of God, Mary's child.

When the first cries of the newborn baby were heard, their hearts overflowed with joy. Their eyes and smiles said more than words could express. They examined the baby's little body, his face, his ears, his delicate fingers and tiny fingernails. Like parents of all times and places they admired the beauty of their newborn baby. And when the baby had been prepared, nursed and wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid on the manger straw they gazed in silence on their child and loved him. And they wondered. Yes, the simplicity and silence of the manger cave was the perfect place for the Christ child to be born.

He can be born in our hearts, too, only when they are stripped of all that is superfluous. Then we can be free to gaze in silence on the face of God made man and wonder at the love of God who so loved the world that he sent us his Son to show us the way to eternal life with him.

Marian Award Scouts Visit the Marian Library

During December, the Marian Library received many visitors who specially wished to visit the exhibits and tour the library. The photos here are from a Marian Award troop from Cincinnati which visited on December 1, 1999. The troop is viewing the Marian Library video, All Generations Will Call Her Blessed. If you would like to borrow/purchase this video for your organization to learn of the identity and work of The Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute, please contact us via the following email address: Johann.Roten@udayton.edu

Mary in the News

The following list of items are taken from various sources. If you have access to LEXIS-NEXIS (http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/), you will be able to read the entire article.

• Headline: Virgin Mary's burial site flooded
  The first century burial site in Jerusalem, located under the Church of the Dormition, thought by some to be the burial place of the Blessed Virgin Mary, experienced flooding up to its chandeliers, according to an article in The Ottawa Citizen, Dec 15, 1999. Important artifacts, including an icon of Mary were destroyed. Five persons were trapped and rescued.

• The Ottawa Citizen, Dec 14, 1999 also noted the following item under Quote of the Day:
  "In Mexico City the other day, rocker Carlos Santana announced that he has had a chat with Our Lady of Guadalupe, a manifestation of the Virgin Mary seen by the devout as the patroness of Mexico. "My heart was transformed into a bird of fire that only wanted to fly and go toward her. I started to cry I'd never cried before and she said: 'Clam down, breathe, I am very proud and happy with you.'" Mind you, in the same press conference Santana argued at some length that marijuana is not a drug.

• The Independent (London) presented a major length column, December 13, 1999, on Lourdes by John Lichfield. The author is fascinated with devotional aspects of pilgrimages to Lourdes, especially the massive use of candles, "nearly two tonnes a day." He writes: "Lourdes, a small, ugly town in a pleasant valley in the foothills of the Pyrenees, has more visitors than Egypt. It has more pilgrims than Mecca - something like 6 million people a year..." For 2000, 7 million people are expected to visit the town, which has a population of 15,000.

  Lichfield notes the lack of regular church attendance, the closing of parish churches, and the contrast of this with the flourishing pilgrimages, "especially by young French people." He also notes that he is "a non-practising, non-believing, half-Jewish Catholic." He adds, "As a non- believing person, I confess that I found Lourdes mostly bewildering and occasionally offensive."

  This thought-provoking article takes a critical look at the kitch and commercialism that developed at Lourdes, the attempts of the shrine authorities to keep sacred the religious experience there, and to ever distinguish between the two. Definitely worth reading for believer and non-believer alike.

• Another "must" is an article written by Margaret Ramirez of the Los Angeles Times, Dec 12, 1999. Ramirez reports on the celebration in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, attended by 50,000 people at the Los Angelus Memorial Coliseum. Dec 12th marked the 468th anniversary of the Guadalupe apparition. According to Ramirez, "The turnout Saturday was a testament to how the powerful image has become embedded in the life of polyglot Los Angelus. Theologians and church leaders said the circle of those devoted to the Virgin of Guadalupe has expanded from its Mexican origins to assume international, interfaith dimensions."

  The celebration included hundreds of Aztec dancers, processions "reminiscent of Olympics opening ceremonies", fireworks, and the celebration of the Mass. Ramirez stated, "This year also marks the first time in church history that the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is being celebrated by all bishops and priests in the Western Hemisphere. In an apostolic exhortation delivered during his visit to Mexico in January, Pope John Paul II elevated Dec 12 to a holy day for the Catholic Church across the hemisphere and emphasized the Virgin of Guadalupe's role as evangelizer and patroness o f the Americas."

  During the celebration, at the recitation of the rosary prayer, 50 languages could be heard throughout the coliseum.

• Yet another exhibit will challenge Christians. Princess Diana, dressed in the robes of the Virgin Mary, is a theme which is meant to explore the "the relationship between religious fervour and modern culture" according to curator Doreet Levitte Harten, Tate Gallery, Liverpool. The exhibit is titled, "An Exhibition That Will Break Your Heart." Source: The Daily Telegraph (London), Dec 9, 1999.

• The Cleveland Museum of Art offers a Nativity Tour through the museum's permanent collection through Dec 31. Images of the Christ Child and the Virgin Mary located throughout the museum are pointed out. Guided tours for groups of 15 to 20 people can be arranged by calling 1-888-CMA-7175. The cost per participant is $3.50.

• The historic drama, "Black Nativity," was presented in the Cleveland Jelliffe Theatre. The drama was sponsored by the Holy Trinity Baptist Church and was a biblical portrayal of Christ through song, dance and music.

• An Associated Press article by Megan K. Stack, Dec 16, 1999, speak of stolen statues of the Virgin Mary. Stack states, "Statues of the Virgin Mary have been disappearing without a trace from lawns and cemeteries in and around the storied Texas port city of Galveston since late summer." The article cites several examples; among them: "Rubie Huvar regards the theft of her 80-pound Mary from a nativity scene an anti-Catholic hate crime. 'I feel like they've invaded my religion,' she said. 'They came into my yard and took the thing that shows I'm a Catholic. I could see once, somebody being silly, but this has happened time after time."

• For ten years, a youth group at St. Mark's in Wilmington, North Carolina, under the sponsorship of Kerri Ann Wiegand, has performed a live nativity scene ritual at the parish. Among others, 40 high school students participate yearly. Nancy Parra-Ash, Star-News Correspondent, writes, "Over the years, Ms. Wiegand has seen the nativity presentation progress from just a contemplative manger scene to a narrated story that displays: the Annunciation of the Angel Gabriel to Mary, the seeking of shelter by Joseph and Mary, the journey of Joseph and pregnant Mary to the stable, and the birth of Jesus in the manger scene." The narrative, performed every half hour on the evenings of a weekend, draw ca 150 people per performance.

• Several articles speak about this year's celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe across the country, be it Houston, Omaha, Seattle, Chicago, Salt Lake City, Atlanta. National Public Radio also featured the Guadalupe story and cultural development on Weekend Edition Sunday, Dec 12, 1999 at 1 pm. A note in The Ledger of Lakeland, Florida struck our attention: "The Rev. Robert Markunan, director of Hispanic ministries for the Diocese of Orlando, said devotion to the Virgin of Guadalupe is spreading among English-speaking parishes. ... Mary's message didn't have anything to do with one country or another. It's a universal message," he said. However, Cruz acknowledged that many parishes still need to be educated about the vision of Guadalupe. 'I got a call from a priest in Canada recently. He said, We're celebrating Guadalupe, but we don't know who she is.'"

• In Tulsa, Dana Sterling reported on Dec 4, 1999, that Sonia Gorospe Martinez would be erecting a rosary prayer garden (dedicated Dec 12 next to the church of Saint Francis-Our Lady of Guadalupe). The garden features 15 painted carvings, each mounted in a roofed case, linked by a path. The public is encouraged to use the garden.

• The Birmingham Repertory Theatre is performing a new play entitled, "The Nativity". The play runs through December 30 and takes poetic license is drawing together the ghost of Cleopatra and the Virgin Mary. Terry Grimley of the Birmingham Post, Dec 6, 1999, interviews the authors, one of whom "thinks audiences may be surprised to discover how little they know the story" of the nativity and its historical context. Grimley concludes, "The odd thing is that while primary schools around the country will presumably be doing their usual Nativity plays this Christmas, the Rep seems to be almost the only professional theatre in the country which has seized on what you might have thought was a rather obvious way of marking the Millennium, by reviewing the event from which we have counted 2000 years.

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  Virgin of the Great Sign

  The Carmel of Terre Haute regularly sends its mailings to The Marian Library. This year they included a prayer card with icon written in their own convent. The greeting cards, 4 « x 6 1/8 ", come with matching envelopes and have an explanation of the icon on the back. Holy Cards, 3 1/8x 4 5/8" are black on the back. If you are interested in ordering these cards after January 2000, please write: Carmelite Monastery 59 Allendale Terre Haute, IN 47802 Or Call: 812-299-1410 Or Fax: 812-299-5820

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  Mary Movie Release

  Mary Mother of Jesus Video

  As collaborators in the production of the video, we have been asked where the video, Mary Mother of Jesus can be purchased. The release date is February 15, 2000. The cost on amazon.com is $13.99. The item requisition number is ASIN: B00003IPFL. See http://www.amonzon.com for more information.

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  Night of Peace in Bethlehem

  We received the following letter which we in turn make available to you:

  Dear brothers and sisters in Jesus,

  In order to mark the extraordinary anniversary of the 2000th Christmas, that most of the Churches will celebrate on 24th and 25th December 1999, the City of Bethlehem will welcome this year a great vigil of prayer and peace, in the great and magnificent place of the Shepherds' Field, at the very scene where the angels announced the coming of Christ.

  Few days before the beginning of the year 2000, this "Night of Peace" will gather all Christians and all men of good will who would like to particularly pay homage to Christ and to renew their commitments of peace and fraternity before entering the III Millennium after Christ's birth.

  We propose to all the Christian Churches to take an active part in this vigil of prayer and fraternity which would like to show to the world the universal and Christian dimension of this exceptional anniversary.

  The civil authorities (Bethlehem 2000 project, the Town Council and the Governor of Bethlehem) told us their enthusiasm concerning this project which will witness delegations of all countries coming to bring before the crib, as the Magi did, the most beautiful presents and gifts produced in all the cultures and peoples in the world in order to celebrate the Holy Nativity of our Lord.

  These offerings will then be placed in the Museum of Mary and in the Museum of the Nativity, that the towns of Nazareth and Bethlehem will create in their two cities, with the UNESCO, for the year 2000.

  The "Night of Peace" will also be the occasion for the heads of state, the religious authorities and the civil personalities of all nations to address their wishes, on the spot or through the medium of TV, and to take commitments of peace for the III Millennium, which will alternate with songs, prayers and long moments of silence and adoration.

  These testimonies, as well as the opening of the Holy Door by the Pope in Rome, the Midnight Mass in the Basilica of the Nativity and our entire vigil, will be shown on two giant screens in the Shepherds' field and should be broadcast worldwide on television in more than 40 countries.

  In order to give a full meaning to this "Night of Peace", which will take place on the very scenes of Christ's birth, we wish representatives of all Christian Churches to be present. Because this very privileged moment and place are really the unique occasion to fraternally gather all the different Christian traditions in a common prayer.

  There will be different parts in this vigil, so that the representatives of the Churches could address, one after the other, accompanied with faithful or choir, to all people gathered words of welcome and of peace, in order to pray and sing to the Lord according to the richness of their tradition, and to bring as offerings before the Crib, as the Magi did, documents or pieces of art which will represent the particular testimony of their church sensibility.

  We are of course at your disposal to explain these projects further and to adjust all the details you will find necessary to guarantee the good progress of things, hoping to have the joy to see the involvement of your particular Church.

  ... We intensely pray to the Lord and his Mother so that they allow this fraternal meeting, "for the world to believe", and we assure you, dear brothers and sisters, of our very respectful sentiments and of our fervent prayers.

  Signed: Edmond Fricoteaux and Olivier Bonnassies.at Notre-Dame de France
  Email: olbns@easynet.fr
  Internet: http://www.vierge-pelerine.org

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  Call for Papers: Mary and Pilgrimage

  The Mariological Society of America will hold its annual meeting in Belleville, IL, at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows, May 24-26, 2000. The theme of the meeting will be related to Mary and pilgrimage. The Society is issuing a "call for papers" on topics related to the meeting's theme: Mary's pilgrimage of faith, the Christian's pilgrimage of faith relating to Mary, the role of Marian shrines, the Marian "geography of faith." Those wishing to present a paper at the meeting (for publication in Marian Studies), should submit a precis by January 15, 2000, to the MSA Secretariat (at the Marian Library).

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  A Greeting From All of Us

  The Director and Staff of The Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute wishes you a Blessed Christmas.

  This photograph was taken at the celebration recognizing the achievements of Bro. William Fackovec, SM as outstanding alumni of the University of Dayton. Bro. Bill is 4th from the right. To his left are his nephews, William and Thomas Depaso; to his right are his sister, Margaret Depaso and cousin, Rosemarie Borg. Other persons pictured top row, left to right: Fr. Thomas A. Thompson, SM, Director of the Marian Library, Fr. Theodore Koehler, SM, Professor and Director Emeritus of the International Marian Research Institute, Patricia Phipps, Cecilia Mushenheim, Marjorie Yefchak, Clare Jones, Michael Duricy, Fr. Roten, SM Director of The Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute. (See picture to the right.)

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  Prayer Corner Requests

  You are invited to help us pray for our prayer corner intentions.

  Prayer Corner

  The intentions of the Holy Father for December 1999:

  • General Intentions:"A Savior has been born to us; he is Christ the Lord"
    That in the Year 2000 the proclamation of the Gospel Good News: "A Savior has been born to us; he is Christ the Lord", ring out with renewed strength.
  • Mission Intentions: Diocesan priests called to missionary service
    That diocesan priests welcome the ever-insistent call to Fidei donum missionary service.

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