Marian Brother JL
Sunday, June 29, 2003
The house I'm staying in has a number of copies of The Ave Maria Magazine. It was a weekly Catholic Magazine published between 1865 and 1970. It started out as a magazine to promote devotion to Mary. It became a magazine that rarely mentioned the Blessed Virgin, although it did come from Notre Dame, Indiana. I was born in 1970, so the magazine is not part of my Catholic experience. The cover of one issue drew my attention with the line: "Stark woodcuts show the beauty of ugliness" (Vol. 95, No. 23, June 9, 1962). They were right about the ugliness, but--correct me if I'm wrong--beauty is the opposite of ugliness. I think I learned that around age 4 or 5. Reading over the magazine, there's a lot of "bite" to it, a lot of discontent. If there is one thing that is shunned like the plague, it's devotion, and in particular devotion to Mary. As you know, the times they are a-changin'. Ok, maybe I'm picking on a particular magazine too much here. And, I am a big fan of the servant of God Fr. Patrick Peyton, C.S.C., who was part of the same community that put out the magazine. Of course, he had strong devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Anyhow, looking through issues from the '60s doesn't give me a sense of Catholicism reaching for the true and beautiful. They were trying to find the good, and maybe they would have found it if they had also concentrated on truth and beauty. The "stark modern" feel of the 60's issues is already ancient, as opposed to "ever ancient, ever new."
Devotion... it's good to be devoted to saints... friends in high places, you know. One of the saints that my province of the Marians particularly promotes is St. Maria Faustina of the Most Blessed Sacrament. She was just canonized in 2000. We're the guys that publish her diary in English. We also maintain the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy. One cool way to learn more about St. Faustina is to watch some video clips (Real Video only) from a movie about her life. There's also a new musical setting of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy you can watch a clip from. If you haven't heard much about this stuff, learn now and avoid the rush.
Saturday, June 28, 2003
Posting a lot today. I must say, I'm quite impressed with Splurf. It's a blogging community of teens and young adults that are serious about their faith. An example post from one of the bloggers gives you a sense of what this blogging community is about. Yes, there's a lot of Steubenville connections there. Hey, listen to some samples from the Matt Maher CD while you are at it. Wait... is that my name on Splurf??... Well, the Lord works in mysterious ways.
I've started a counter and a guestbook. By the way, my Congregation has an international website called Padri Mariani (Italian for Marian Fathers). It has lots of historical facts about the Marians. My Congregation started in 1673--a young group to some but old to others.
Since today is the Obligatory Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, it seems appropriate to me to promote immaculateheart.com, which has some beautiful wallpaper you can use for your computer. Have you talked to your Mother today?
Just what is the status of devotion to St. Philomena? Dr. Mark Miravalle has written an article on the status. Years ago, there were articles that said veneration of Philomena was no longer allowed by the Catholic Church. This is not true. Her feast day was removed from the Church calendar, but one can still have devotion to her and visit her shrine in Mugnano, Italy (and other shrines around the world dedicated to her). The Holy See has not forbidden a person to have devotion to St. Philomena, and Dr. Miravalle does a good job of answering various objections to such devotion.
Tuesday, June 24, 2003
I feel compelled to write once again about Charles Untz. He's a young man who died in the year 2000, but people around the country claim he is watching out for them, his intercession is powerful, and, yes, some say he is appearing to them. Read about it in this newletter followup. Yes, it's quite amazing. I don't know why his story isn't better known.
Tuesday, June 17, 2003
Looking around blogs brings up things that I never would have run into otherwise. I present for your discerning opinion a preview description of a TV show set to start in Sept., 2003: Joan of Arcadia. Following Touched by an Angel's success, here is the latest attempt to keep God in prime-time. Maybe it will be worth checking out...
Sunday, June 15, 2003
Just finished watching the 1961 film Bernadette of Lourdes. There have been a few films here and there on her life and the apparitions. This one wasn't all that great, but it had some classic scenes. It was more accurate than Song of Bernadette, but less than the 1987 Bernadette. For anyone who wants to be a Lourdes expert, here's another movie to help in the quest.
Saturday, June 14, 2003
The Marian apparition of Our Lady of Siluva, Lithuania, is a most interesting one. I would recommend the site explaining the Shrine and the story.
A busy week here.... starting as a chaplain intern at a hospital. Lots to learn. My religious community? The Marians of the Immaculate Conception. Check out the site: www.marian.org.
Sunday, June 08, 2003
My retreat was quite refreshing, and since it was just before Pentecost, the focus was on the Holy Spirit. I was "waiting in the upper room" so-to-speak. And of course Mary, the Mother of Jesus, was there. I read up again on some of St. Louis de Monfort's writing on her and renewed my consecration to Mary.
Now, a new chapter...
Monday, June 02, 2003
Sunday, June 01, 2003
Culture of life websites... there are so many! Yes, there's a list of culture of life websites at hli.org. So many resources, so much to pray for... You can do your little part too.
