DOCSLIB.ORG

The Cosmic Mystery of Mary and the Action of the Holy Spirit: a Study of Marian Apparitions and Manifestations and Their Significance for the Pilgrim People of God

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Cosmic Mystery of Mary and the Action of the Holy Spirit: a Study of Marian Apparitions and Manifestations and Their Significance for the Pilgrim People of God The Cosmic Mystery of Mary and the Action of the Holy Spirit: A Study of Marian Apparitions and Manifestations and Their Significance for the Pilgrim People of God Author: Flynn M. Fernandes Persistent link: http://hdl.handle.net/2345/bc-ir:108625 This work is posted on eScholarship@BC, Boston College University Libraries. Boston College Electronic Thesis or Dissertation, 2019 Copyright is held by the author. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). The Cosmic Mystery of Mary and the Action of the Holy Spirit: A Study of Marian Apparitions and Manifestations and Their Significance for the Pilgrim People of God A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Ecclesiastical Faculty of the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirments for the Degree of Doctor of Sacred Theology By Flynn M. Fernandes Dissertation Committee Margaret E. Guider, O.S.F., director André Brouillette, S.J., reader O. Ernesto Valiente, Ph.D., reader Mary E. Hines, Ph.D., external reader Brighton, Massachusetts August 29, 2019 Copyright © 2019 by Flynn M. Fernandes. All rights reserved. The Cosmic Mystery of Mary and the Action of the Holy Spirit: A Study of Marian Apparitions and Manifestations and Their Significance for the Pilgrim People of God Flynn M. Fernandes ABSTRACT The cosmic mystery of Mary draws attention to what the Roman Catholic Church celebrates as her heavenly reign, an aspect of which is the proliferation of Marian apparitions and manifestations around the world particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries. This dissertation underscores that these historical interventions are manifestations of the action of the Holy Spirit in the particular figure of Mary and is attentive to the different ways God’s graces flow to the whole people of God without conflating the person of Mary with the Person of the Spirit. The instrumental nature of Mary’s relation to the Spirit in carrying out Christ’s salvific work is the centerpiece of this study. A key aspect of this work is the mutual recognition of non-Christians in that Mary’s appearances to a number of seers is not contingent on their being or becoming Christian. A number of modern apparitions have assumed political significance because of the social turmoil of the periods when they occurred. Of interest here, is an understanding of the Spirit’s implementation in Mary’s intellect and will, and the reception of her apparition messages in ways that are transformative for ecclesial life and all God’s people. This work includes an exposition of some of the scriptural, ecumenical, interreligious, and ecclesiastical foundations for understanding the Spirit’s action in Mary, and their influence on contemporary mariological discourse since the Second Vatican Council. It reviews some of the key insights from the two-thousand year history of Marian apparitions, the complexity of the phenomenon, and the trends observed during the modern period. Vailankanni (India), Zeitoun (Egypt), and Kibeho (Rwanda) are three case studies included based on the persistence of a Marian cult, pilgrim growth, and contemporary sociopolitical and religious concerns. The rise in Hindu nationalism in India, political tensions and growth of pan-Islamism in North Africa and the Middle East, and the 1994 genocide in Rwanda are studied using the historical- critical method and comparative studies of religion within the scope of apparitions, drawing attention to the marginalization of particular demographics based on religious or ethnic origin. Understanding the Spirit’s implementation in Mary enhances the analysis of the implications of these phenomena. The Spirit’s work through Mary’s cosmic mystery has profound, far-reaching significance for the world church and all God’s people. The three cases reveal how Marian apparitions evolve from obscure events in insignificant places to global centers of Christian spirituality. They make known the hidden potential of the gospel to apply Christian revelation to localized, particular challenges in new situations with permanent, prophetic, and eschatological implications. The permanent examines how the repetitive or apocalyptic nature of Mary’s appeals mobilizes the sensus fidelium through the transforming power of pilgrimage, its impact on Marian devotion, and the emergence of new ecclesial movements. The prophetic addresses Christian and interreligious unity through dialogical encounter, equality for all, God’s justice, and the preferential option for the poor. The global reach of Marian apparitions expresses the oneness of Mary operating under the power of the Spirit, accompanying a global humanity-in-pilgrimage towards the eschatological reign of God. i DEDICATION In loving memory of Donaclara Fernandes (1941 – 2017) My mother and first teacher of the Catholic faith, who made Jesus Christ known to all she encountered through her love of the Holy Eucharist and her devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A dissertation is the culmination of the insights, feedback, and tangible as well as intangible support of many individuals over the years to whom I owe much gratitude. I am indebted to my dissertation committee at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry headed by Margaret E. Guider, O.S.F. Sister Guider has been my mentor, guide, and constant source of support. Her expertise and counsel proved invaluable to my work, keeping me focused and on track. I am grateful to my readers, André Brouillette, S.J., and O. Ernesto Valiente, Ph.D., whose critical feedback transformed each draft into a better revision than the one before. I appreciate and thank Professor Mary E. Hines of Emmanuel College for her time fulfilling the roles of external reader and examiner. In addition, I am grateful to my colleagues, Anil Dalmeida, S.J., for reviewing and providing feedback on Chapter 3 (Vailankanni), and Marcel Uwineza, S.J., for reading and commenting on Chapter 5 (Kibeho), despite their busy schedules. My gratitude extends to all the professors at the School of Theology and Ministry with whom I have taken a course. I thank the staff of all the libraries at Boston College, especially the Theology and Ministry Library, and Interlibrary Loan that procured a number of resources from across the United States, and as far as Ireland and India. I also acknowledge the support of the staff at the libraries of Harvard Divinity School and Boston University School of Theology. Closer home, there are no words to express my gratitude to my parents, Sebastian and Donaclara, my first teachers of the Catholic faith who instilled in me Christian values and ethics. At the start of this dissertation journey, I experienced the heartbreak of losing my mother. Her abiding love of Christ and her devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary have inspired me to dedicate this work to her loving memory. Lastly, I can never repay two remarkable people in my life—my wife Gladys and my son Aaron—for their love, tireless patience, and enduring support without which this work might have remained unfinished. iii PREFACE This study draws attention to what is transpiring at the sites of the Virgin Mary’s apparitions and manifestations particularly those in modern and postmodern times. Previously, these phenomena were thought to be the sole jurisdiction of the Catholic Church and that Mary appeared only in Catholic contexts, but as Frank Jacobs comments on a 2015 article of the National Geographic,1 “she met mere mortals with and without the Vatican’s approval.”2 As an Indian Catholic, I think of the example of Vailankanni where centuries ago, Mary allegedly appeared in a non-Christian context to two Hindu boys on separate occasions; a Catholic dimension was later added with a third manifestation, this time to Portuguese sailors. Since these events in the 16th and 17th centuries, Vailankanni has transcended religious boundaries drawing more Hindus than Christians in pilgrimage to visit the Mother of Health. Making the case that Marian apparitions are manifestations of the action of the Holy Spirit, this work takes on vital contemporary significance because of the persecution of Christians in many parts of the world owing to their religious identity, a visible aspect of which is their devotion to Mary. The growth of Christianity in the Global South has simultaneously increased the encounter of Christians with followers of other religions as well as led to situations in which their lives and property are threatened. I find alarming that in India some political parties elected to safeguard the fundamental rights of all Indian citizens propagate a nationalist brand of Hinduism that is alien to the common Hindu, and marginalizes Christians and Muslims because of the foreign origins of their faith. Increasing reports of killings of these minorities, desecration of churches and mosques, and new restrictions on the public profession 1 National Geographic, “500 Years of Virgin Mary Sightings on One Map,” November 13, 2015, https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/11/151113-virgin-mary-sightings-map/ (accessed July 10, 2019). 2 Frank Jacobs, “A world map of Virgin Mary apparitions,” January 10, 2019, https://bigthink.com/strange- maps/world-map-marian-apparitions (accessed July 10, 2019). iv of these faiths has replaced the interreligious tolerance and communal ethos that once characterized Indian society, as well as violates one of the country’s constitutionally guaranteed freedoms. Despite these threats, the devout continue to risk their lives. My concern, however, is not limited to the Indian Catholic context. I write for the world church and the pilgrim people of God that includes adherents of all religions. Another case I include draws attention to the interreligious witness in the reported manifestations of Mary at Zeitoun in Egypt where Copts live in fear of persecution by Islamic fundamentalists. In a third example that follows the pattern of typical seers, some of the visionaries of the Kibeho apparitions experienced physical and emotional abuse at the hands of their dissenters, as well as became victims of genocide because of their ethnic identity.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Shakespeare's Ghosts Live
    Shakespeare’s Ghosts Live “Gradually, but surely, modern neuroscience is transitioning to a perspective that includes consciousness as a fundamental element in our worldview and not an incidental by-product of the brain. Along with this shift is a new appreciation of the complexity of the psyche, and the realization that many of our forebears understood aspects of consciousness that we unfortunately have shunned. Dr Annekatrin Puhle and Dr Adrian Parker-Reed have combed Shakespeareana and modern consciousness research for evidence of the richness of the psyche in the form of ghosts, spirits, and psychical phenomena. They show that these happenings remain an essential part of who we are, and are manifestations of healthy human function. This wonderfully illustrated, eloquent book is a reclamation project for the human psyche, an effort to take back what we have forfeited in our modern era. After reading Shakespeare’s Ghosts Live, you will never think of Shakespeare, ghosts, or yourself in the same way.” —Larry Dossey, MD, author, One Mind: How Our Individual Mind Is Part of a Greater Consciousness and Why It Matters “Talking about psychic phenomena in academia is still not regarded as politically ‘correct’, say the authors of this meticulously researched and engagingly written study of a long neglected area of Shakespeare’s vast survey of the totality of the human condition. This attitude, they add, amounts to ‘wilful disregard of current interest in exploring altered states of consciousness’. It has led to attempts to replace the term ‘parapsychology’ by ‘anomalistic psychology’, implying this to be no more than a ‘deviant belief’.
    [Show full text]
  • The Charismatic Movement and Lutheran Theology [1972]
    THE CHARISMATIC MOVEMENT AND LUTHERAN THEOLOGY Pre/ace One of the significant developments in American church life during the past decade has been the rapid spread of the neo-Pentecostal or charis­ matic movement within the mainline churches. In the early sixties, experi­ ences and practices usually associated only with Pentecostal denominations began co appear with increasing frequency also in such churches as the Roman Catholic, Episcopalian, and Lutheran. By the mid-nineteen-sixties, it was apparent that this movement had also spread co some pascors and congregations of The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. In cerrain areas of the Synod, tensions and even divisions had arisen over such neo-Pente­ costal practices as speaking in tongues, miraculous healings, prophecy, and the claimed possession of a special "baptism in the Holy Spirit." At the request of the president of the Synod, the Commission on Theology and Church Relations in 1968 began a study of the charismatic movement with special reference co the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The 1969 synodical convention specifically directed the commission co "make a comprehensive study of the charismatic movement with special emphasis on its exegetical aspects and theological implications." Ie was further suggested that "the Commission on Theology and Church Relations be encouraged co involve in its study brethren who claim to have received the baptism of the Spirit and related gifts." (Resolution 2-23, 1969 Pro­ ceedings. p. 90) Since that time, the commission has sought in every practical way co acquaint itself with the theology of the charismatic movement. The com­ mission has proceeded on the supposition that Lutherans involved in the charismatic movement do not share all the views of neo-Pentecostalism in general.
    [Show full text]
  • Psychic Phenomena and the Mind–Body Problem: Historical Notes on a Neglected Conceptual Tradition
    Chapter 3 Psychic Phenomena and the Mind–Body Problem: Historical Notes on a Neglected Conceptual Tradition Carlos S. Alvarado Abstract Although there is a long tradition of philosophical and historical discussions of the mind–body problem, most of them make no mention of psychic phenomena as having implications for such an issue. This chapter is an overview of selected writings published in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries literatures of mesmerism, spiritualism, and psychical research whose authors have discussed apparitions, telepathy, clairvoyance, out-of-body experiences, and other parapsy- chological phenomena as evidence for the existence of a principle separate from the body and responsible for consciousness. Some writers discussed here include indi- viduals from different time periods. Among them are John Beloff, J.C. Colquhoun, Carl du Prel, Camille Flammarion, J.H. Jung-Stilling, Frederic W.H. Myers, and J.B. Rhine. Rather than defend the validity of their position, my purpose is to docu- ment the existence of an intellectual and conceptual tradition that has been neglected by philosophers and others in their discussions of the mind–body problem and aspects of its history. “The paramount importance of psychical research lies in its demonstration of the fact that the physical plane is not the whole of Nature” English physicist William F. Barrett ( 1918 , p. 179) 3.1 Introduction In his book Body and Mind , the British psychologist William McDougall (1871–1938) referred to the “psychophysical-problem” as “the problem of the rela- tion between body and mind” (McDougall 1911 , p. vii). Echoing many before him, C. S. Alvarado , PhD (*) Atlantic University , 215 67th Street , Virginia Beach , VA 23451 , USA e-mail: [email protected] A.
    [Show full text]
  • Awkward Objects: Relics, the Making of Religious Meaning, and The
    Awkward Objects: Relics, the Making of Religious Meaning, and the Limits of Control in the Information Age Jan W Geisbusch University College London Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor in Anthropology. 15 September 2008 UMI Number: U591518 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U591518 Published by ProQuest LLC 2013. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Declaration of authorship: I, Jan W Geisbusch, confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. Signature: London, 15.09.2008 Acknowledgments A thesis involving several years of research will always be indebted to the input and advise of numerous people, not all of whom the author will be able to recall. However, my thanks must go, firstly, to my supervisor, Prof Michael Rowlands, who patiently and smoothly steered the thesis round a fair few cliffs, and, secondly, to my informants in Rome and on the Internet. Research was made possible by a grant from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).
    [Show full text]
  • Appeals of Our Lady 1
    GUIDE FOR PARISHES AND ORGANIZATIONS Published May 2018 VATICAN INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION – THE APPEALS OF OUR LADY 1 Table of Contents About the Exhibit .......................................................................................................................................... 4 About Mary ................................................................................................................................................... 5 Bring the Exhibit to Your Group ................................................................................................................... 5 Marian Apparitions Included in the Exhibit ................................................................................................. 6 Exhibit is Free to View .................................................................................................................................. 7 Invite the Knights of the Holy Eucharist to Speak at Your Exhibition Event ............................................... 7 Promote Your Exhibition Event .................................................................................................................... 8 Bulletin and/or Pulpit Announcements ................................................................................................... 8 8 ½ x 11 Flyer ............................................................................................................................................ 8 Free Online Events Calendar ...................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • The Impact of Pilgrimage Upon the Faith and Faith-Based Practice of Catholic Educators
    The University of Notre Dame Australia ResearchOnline@ND Theses 2018 The impact of pilgrimage upon the faith and faith-based practice of Catholic educators Rachel Capets The University of Notre Dame Australia Follow this and additional works at: https://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theses Part of the Religion Commons COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA Copyright Regulations 1969 WARNING The material in this communication may be subject to copyright under the Act. Any further copying or communication of this material by you may be the subject of copyright protection under the Act. Do not remove this notice. Publication Details Capets, R. (2018). The impact of pilgrimage upon the faith and faith-based practice of Catholic educators (Doctor of Philosophy (College of Education)). University of Notre Dame Australia. https://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theses/219 This dissertation/thesis is brought to you by ResearchOnline@ND. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses by an authorized administrator of ResearchOnline@ND. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE IMPACT OF PILGRIMAGE UPON THE FAITH AND FAITH-BASED PRACTICE OF CATHOLIC EDUCATORS A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy, Education The University of Notre Dame, Australia Sister Mary Rachel Capets, O.P. 23 August 2018 THE IMPACT OF PILGRIMAGE UPON THE CATHOLIC EDUCATOR Declaration of Authorship I, Sister Mary Rachel Capets, O.P., declare that this thesis, submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy, in the Faculty of Education, University of Notre Dame Australia, is wholly my own work unless otherwise referenced or acknowledged. The document has not been submitted for qualifications at any other academic institution.
    [Show full text]
  • Kenneth A. Merique Genealogical and Historical Collection BOOK NO
    Kenneth A. Merique Genealogical and Historical Collection SUBJECT OR SUB-HEADING OF SOURCE OF BOOK NO. DATE TITLE OF DOCUMENT DOCUMENT DOCUMENT BG no date Merique Family Documents Prayer Cards, Poem by Christopher Merique Ken Merique Family BG 10-Jan-1981 Polish Genealogical Society sets Jan 17 program Genealogical Reflections Lark Lemanski Merique Polish Daily News BG 15-Jan-1981 Merique speaks on genealogy Jan 17 2pm Explorers Room Detroit Public Library Grosse Pointe News BG 12-Feb-1981 How One Man Traced His Ancestry Kenneth Merique's mission for 23 years NE Detroiter HW Herald BG 16-Apr-1982 One the Macomb Scene Polish Queen Miss Polish Festival 1982 contest Macomb Daily BG no date Publications on Parental Responsibilities of Raising Children Responsibilities of a Sunday School E.T.T.A. BG 1976 1981 General Outline of the New Testament Rulers of Palestine during Jesus Life, Times Acts Moody Bible Inst. Chicago BG 15-29 May 1982 In Memory of Assumption Grotto Church 150th Anniversary Pilgrimage to Italy Joannes Paulus PP II BG Spring 1985 Edmund Szoka Memorial Card unknown BG no date Copy of Genesis 3.21 - 4.6 Adam Eve Cain Abel Holy Bible BG no date Copy of Genesis 4.7- 4.25 First Civilization Holy Bible BG no date Copy of Genesis 4.26 - 5.30 Family of Seth Holy Bible BG no date Copy of Genesis 5.31 - 6.14 Flood Cainites Sethites antediluvian civilization Holy Bible BG no date Copy of Genesis 9.8 - 10.2 Noah, Shem, Ham, Japheth, Ham father of Canaan Holy Bible BG no date Copy of Genesis 10.3 - 11.3 Sons of Gomer, Sons of Javan, Sons
    [Show full text]
  • Jnanadeepa Pune Journal of Religious Studies
    Jnanadeepa Pune Journal of Religious Studies Contents Editorial: Reflections on Reformation ......................................5 The Causes of the Reformation Isaac Padinjarekuttu ........................................13 The Distance from Reformation to Counter-Reformation James Puliurumpil ............................................35 From Condemnation and Rejection to Appreciation and Acceptance Leonard Fernando, S.J. ....................................53 The Reformation and the Laity’s Role in Church’s Mission Today Jacob Kavunkal SVD ........................................69 Impact of the Reformaton on Mission Julian Saldanha ................................................89 The Brave Soloist: The Indian Significance of Martin Luther Subhash Anand ...............................................101 The Challenge of Martin Luther’s Reformation: The Response of Vatican II Kurien Kunnumpuram, S.J. ............................127 Editorial 3 Reading Martin Luther’s The Freedom of a Christian as Roman Catholics and Protestants Together Muthuraj Swamy ............................................145 Towards New Definitions of Jesus: The Contemporary Significance of Reformation, Dialogue and Pope Francis Kuruvilla Pandikattu, S.J. ..............................163 Book Review .........................................................181 The Contributors ...................................................183 4 Jnanadeepa 21/2 July-December 2017 JNANADEEPA PJRS ISSN 0972-33315 21/2 Jul-Dec 2017: 5-12 Editorial: Reflections on Reformation
    [Show full text]
  • ·Voters to Elect Two for School Board Po~\Ao
    (1'1 trl :x:: ~ 0 0 "".......0 IIIltt. ::J • ltt.o:lRo '0'- o::J(J'l "" C. 0 rt-I\)::J • "" CI' '< Z.- • mItt Nnt~<-~ 't 1Rttnrb WAYNE COUNTY'S OLDEST WEEKLY NEWSPAPER ... ESTABLISHED 1869 PubUeaUon Num)e, USPS 3968tlO Vol. 114, No. 48, Three sections, 36 Pages, Plus Supplements WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8,I983-NORTHVILLE, MICHIGAN , CENTS ·Voters to elect two for school board pO~\a-o Voters heading to the polls In Mon- Patrick Coyne - both making their se- percent of Northville's registerd voters has offered the community an op- contributions can you bring to it? (2) Do cept, Whitaker also said he believes the day'S school board election will be cond bid for the board - and elected Incumbents Karen Wilkinson portunity to hear the candidates face you support a bond Issue for the renova- district will have to take a stronger look casting ballots from a slate of six can- newcomers James Petrie, Robert Blan- and Glenna Davis to four-year terms. the Issues. tion of Northville High SChool? If so, at the community education program. didates. ton, II, and Robert Bondy. Coupled with the customary low voter In interviews conducted by The what reasons would you give the com- "From now until Fall, 1985, we have a Those seeking election to the two If past elections are any indication, turnout Is this year's absence of a Record, candidates were asked to ad- munity for supporting that bond Issue? chance to see how real the need for four-year board seats are Incumbent voter turnout will be light.
    [Show full text]
  • 2018 May – June
    the Chalice Volume 47 May – June 2018 Issue No. 3 “One must meditate on the Passion of Jesus, and on the deep sorrows of His Mother. One must recite the Rosary every day, and also the Rosary of the Seven PRESIDENT’S Sorrows of Mary, to obtain the favor of repentance.” In his decree on the apparitions COLUMN issued on June 29th, 2001, Bishop Augustin Misago By Bruce G. of Gikongoro, Rwanda, in part states: “It was the visionary Marie Claire Mukangango who brought it back again as she received the mission to teach the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows by the Blessed Virgin Unity of Hearts Devotion Mary of Kibeho. After an intensive research the ad “You must contemplate the Heart of My Mother, as hoc commissions have still not found any evidence you contemplate My own; live in that Heart as you that Marie Claire knew this rosary before the wish to live in Mine; give yourself to that Heart as you beginning of the apparitions. This rosary deserves to give yourself to Mine; spread the love of Her Heart be renewed and spread in the Church. However, this which is wholly united to Mine.” – Jesus, to Venerable prayer does not replace the Holy Rosary. It is one Bertha Petit, Franciscan Tertiary and Belgian mystic, among many exercises of piety admitted in the February 7, 1910 Church.” Known under the title of Our Lady of Kibeho, this apparition has worldwide approval of Dear Calix Family, the Church. In the last edition of The Chalice, I wrote about meditating on the Sorrowful Mysteries while praying The Rosary of the Seven Sorrows recalls the sorrows the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and how this prayer and the Virgin Mother of God endured during Her life, meditation is an effective means of coming to know particularly Her compassion for the suffering and the burning love Jesus has for us in His Heart.
    [Show full text]
  • I MARY for TODAY: RENEWING CATHOLIC MARIAN DEVOTION
    MARY FOR TODAY: RENEWING CATHOLIC MARIAN DEVOTION AFTER THE SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL THROUGH ST. LOUIS-MARIE DE MONTFORT’S TRUE DEVOTION TO MARY Thesis Submitted to The College of Arts and Sciences of the UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Degree of Master of Arts in Theological Studies By Mary Olivia Seeger, B.A. UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON Dayton, Ohio August 2019 i MARY FOR TODAY: RENEWING CATHOLIC MARIAN DEVOTION AFTER THE SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL THROUGH ST. LOUIS-MARIE DE MONTFORT’S TRUE DEVOTION TO MARY Name: Seeger, Mary Olivia APPROVED BY: Elizabeth Groppe, Ph.D. Faculty Advisor Dennis Doyle, Ph.D. Reader Naomi D. DeAnda, Ph.D. Reader Daniel S. Thompson, Ph.D. Department Chair ii © Copyright by Mary Olivia Seeger All rights reserved 2019 iii ABSTRACT MARY FOR TODAY: RENEWING CATHOLIC MARIAN DEVOTION AFTER THE SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL THROUGH ST. LOUIS-MARIE DE MONTFORT’S TRUE DEVOTION TO MARY Name: Seeger, Mary Olivia University of Dayton Advisor: Dr. Elizabeth Groppe The purpose and content of my thesis is to investigate and assess how St. Louis- Marie de Montfort’s True Devotion to Mary contributes to a renewal of Marian devotion in the Catholic Church after the Second Vatican Council. My thesis focuses on a close reading of the primary texts of St. Louis-Marie de Montfort (True Devotion to Mary), the Second Vatican Council (Lumen Gentium, the Constitution on the Church), and St. John Paul II (Redemptoris Mater). As part of my theological method, I renewed my Marian consecration and interviewed four other people who currently practice Marian devotion.
    [Show full text]
  • Mary As Disciple of Jesus Four Marian Doctrines Devotion to Mary
    Page 1 MARY, THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD A January 1, 2017 abandoned stable, then fleeing with her husband from the murderous threats of Herod, living as an immigrant in a foreign country and, finally, accompanying Jesus through his passion and death. We can only imagine how painful these events are for Mary. During her life, Mary, among other things, has had to cope with the experience of being an unwed mother, a refugee, a widow and single parent, and the mother of an innocent son who will be executed as a criminal. Meditating on the Mary as disciple of Jesus trials and tribulations of Mary should bring her closer to us. Four Marian doctrines When we consider that Mary, from among all women, is the one chosen to be the Mother of Jesus, and when we Devotion to Mary consider the completeness of her ‘Yes’ to God, we should have no problem honoring her. On our parish website, I have 28 articles on the Cate- chism of the Catholic Church. On this feast of Mary, the Mother of God, I share with you my article on Mary. In the Pause: What strikes you most about the trials and suffer- article, the letter “C” refers to the Universal Catechism of ings of Mary? the Catholic Church and the numbers refer to paragraphs. The letters “USC” refer to the United States Catechism (a much easier read than the Universal Catechism). “Woman of Faith” and “Model Disciple” In this article, we will look at: Over the centuries, many titles have been given to de- scribe Mary’s role in Christianity.
    [Show full text]