Mary, the example for all to follow

When it comes time to reflect upon Mother’s Day, there is no greater example than the Mother of Jesus.

Pope Francis said to be a mother is a great treasure through an unconditional and sacrificial love for their children, which was shown so clearly when the Blessed Virgin Mary presented Jesus at Christmas, a gift to the world.

Mary’s example provides an opportunity for the Church to reflect on the role of all mothers in society and the Church, the Pope explained, noting how despite all of the “symbolic glorification” we give to motherhood, it is still under-valued.

To be a mother is a gift, the Pope said, and explained that through their sacrifices, mothers assist in helping society to overcome its self-centered tendencies, as well as its lack of openness, generosity and concern for others.

“In this sense motherhood is more than childbearing; it is a life choice entailing sacrifice, respect for life, and commitment to passing on those human and religious values which are essential for a healthy society,” he said.

Reflecting upon the motherhood of Mary, Bishop Frank J. Dewane recently devoted the April 2022 Relevant Radio show “Witnessing Faith with Bishop Dewane” to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

“We must look to the faith of Our Lady,” Bishop Dewane said. “Our Blessed Mother had to do some very difficult things to stay under the cross as her Son hung there. I don’t know what more can be asked of a mother than to have to observe the death of her child.”

It is appropriate that Mother’s Day falls in the month of May, many of the Marian apparitions are linked to the month, which is one of the reasons why the Catholic Church opted to dedicate the month to Mary.

Bishop Dewane stressed that the Faithful must look at radically changing their life, but with a certain zeal, or fire, welling up from within, similar to how the Blessed Virgin answered “Yes!” to the call of the Lord at the Annunciation.

“Our human nature doesn’t always drive us to do these things,” the Bishop continued. “But when we take the time to spiritually reflect and allow the Lord to enter in, and allow Our Lady to be our guide, we can make a big difference.”

During the radio show, Bishop Dewane and special guest Father Tom Carzon, Oblate of the Virgin Mary, Parochial Vicar at Epiphany Cathedral in Venice, reflected upon the different Marian apparitions.

“Our Lady is always calling us to repentance,” Father Carzon said. “She’s preparing us. She’s calling us back to the Gospel.  And in the midst of things – even when suffering comes – just as she was standing by Jesus at the Cross – she’s standing with us.”

Marian apparitions in the Ukraine, Rwanda and other places of conflict and oppression, serve as not just a warning, but a comfort that Our Lady is always present, Father added.

“It’s like these things, tragic as they are, they are not beyond God’s reach, or outside of God’s hands,” Father Carzon said. “Mary helps us by that presence. It is so powerful – she shows up as we need her.”

Bishop Dewane noted that some apparitions are witnessed by many or some are by a few, but the messages are clear, bringing comfort and healing. “When something brings people together in Faith, it has to be recognized that something good is happening.”

The Patroness of the Diocese of Venice is Our Lady of Perpetual Help, which is also the name of the Diocese’s primary retreat center in Venice. In addition, there are a dozen Parishes dedicated to Our Lady. In the coming weeks, there are two major celebrations of Mary, including the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima (May 13), as well as the newly instituted Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, on June 6, the Monday after Pentecost, which was recently created by Pope Francis.

If you would like to listen to the April “Witnessing Faith with Bishop Dewane” radio show, the program is available at https://dioceseofvenice.org/our-bishop/relevant-radio-podcasts.

The monthly radio program on Relevant Radio can be heard at 8:30 a.m. on the last Friday of each month (May 27, 2022), at 106.7 FM and 1410 AM in Fort Myers and 93.3 FM and 1660 AM in Naples.

USCCB leads country in prayer for reconsecration to Mary

The Diocese of Venice in Florida encourages the faithful to join the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) for a live stream of the Re-Consecration of our nation to the Protection of the Blessed Mother under the title of Mary, Mother of the Church.  This will give the Church the occasion to pray for Our Lady’s continued protection of the vulnerable, healing of the unwell, and wisdom for those who work to cure this terrible virus.

The live stream will take place at 3:00 p.m., May 1, 2020, on Facebook @USCCB, and will also be shared on the Diocese of Venice Facebook Page.  Prayer resources are available at www.dioceseofvenice.org.

In addition, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) will Consecrate the Nation of Canada on May 1, 2020.

 

May dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary

Bob Reddy – Florida Catholic

The Blessed Virgin Mary’s path of faith and hope serves as an example to all.

This is just one of the reasons that the Universal Church dedicates the Month of May to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The month serves as an opportunity to reflect upon the season of the Liturgical Year which largely corresponds with the fifty days of Easter. Therefore, time should be taken to reflect on Our Lady’s participation in the Paschal mystery and in Pentecost at which point the Church has its beginning.

Pope Francis said “the message of hope contained in God’s blessing was fully realized in a woman, Mary, who was destined to become the Mother of God, and it was fulfilled in her before any other creature.” The Holy Father added that “our journey of faith is the same as that of Mary, and so we feel that she is particularly close to us.”

For this month of May, Pope Francis has called for lay people to use their creativity for the good of others, especially the most disadvantaged. The Holy Father applauded laity who bravely provide “reasons for hope to the poorest, to the excluded, to the marginalized… Let us pray together this month that the lay faithful may fulfill their specific mission, the mission that they received in Baptism, putting their creativity at the service of the challenges of today’s world.”

May is also the time when young Catholics often receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion for the first time. Parishes and Catholic Schools in the Diocese have May Crowning ceremonies in which a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary is given a crown of flowers. On May 4, St. Martha Catholic School and St. Mary Academy in Sarasota joined together for a Mass and May Crowning which was a public commitment by the students to pray for the intercessions of the Blessed Virgin Mary throughout the month. As part of the crowning ceremony, bouquets of flowers gathered from each classroom were brought forward and placed in vases before the altar and statue of Mary. On May 7, Bishop Frank J. Dewane led a May Crowning prayer service for the staff of the Catholic Center in Venice.

To honor Our Lady in a special way in 2018, the Diocese of Venice Office of Evangelization invites everyone to the May 19 “Walk to Our Lady: A Marian Pilgrimage to the May Crowning.” This will be a 6.6-mile walk and public display of the faith from Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, 1301 Center Road, Venice, to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Retreat Center, 3989 South Moon Drive and will be followed by a May Crowning and lunch. (For more details, see information below.)

The Month of May should also be used as a time to renew a commitment to praying the Mysteries of the Rosary (Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious and Luminous). Our Lady has 117 titles but selected this title at Fatima: “I am the Lady of the Rosary.” St. Francis de Sales said the greatest method of praying is to “Pray the Rosary.”

On the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Dec. 24, 2017, Bishop Dewane, in unity with the priests and faithful of the Diocese of Venice, formally consecrated the Diocese to Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The consecration was the culmination of the structured 33-day “Diocesan Advent Journey to Jesus through Mary.” By this Act of Consecration, the faithful confided the Diocese and its good works to Our Lady so as to fulfill more readily the will of her Divine Son for His Church.

Our Lady is an important symbol throughout the Diocese. Our Lady of Mercy is the Patroness of the Diocese of Venice and is the name of a Parish in Boca Grande. In addition, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Retreat Center in Venice bears Her name, and numerous other parishes are named in honor Our Lady including: St. Mary, Star of the Sea, Longboat Key; Our Lady of the Angels, Lakewood Ranch; Our Lady of Grace, Avon Park; Our Lady of Guadalupe, Immokalee; Our Lady of Light, Fort Myers; Our Lady of Miraculous Medal, Bokeelia; Our Lady of Lourdes, Venice; Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Osprey; Our Lady Queen of Martyrs, Sarasota; and Our Lady Queen of Heaven, LaBelle.

Pope Paul VI wrote an encyclical in 1965 citing the Month of Mary devotion as a means of obtaining prayers for peace. May is the month during which the piety of the faithful has especially dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pope Paul VI wrote, and May is the time for a “moving tribute of faith and love which Catholics in every part of the world [pay] to the Queen of Heaven. During this month Christians, both in church and in the privacy of the home, offer up to Mary from their hearts an especially fervent and loving homage of prayer and veneration. In this month, too, the benefits of God’s mercy come down to us from her throne in greater abundance”

The Christian custom of dedicating the month of May to the Blessed Virgin arose at the end of the 13th century. In this way, the Church was able to Christianize the secular feasts which were to take place at that time. In the 16th century, books appeared and fostered this devotion.

Pope Francis notes the Blessed Virgin Mary has always been present in the hearts, the piety and above all the pilgrimage of faith of the Christian people. “Our pilgrimage of faith has been inseparably linked to Mary ever since Jesus, dying on the Cross, gave her to us as our Mother, saying: ‘Behold your Mother!’ These words serve as a testament, bequeathing to the world a Mother. From that moment on, the Mother of God also became our Mother! The “woman” became our Mother when she lost her divine Son. Her sorrowing heart was enlarged to make room for all men and women, whether good or bad, and she loves them as she loved Jesus.”

WALK DETAILS

Walk to Our Lady: A Marian Pilgrimage to the May Crowning: Saturday, May 19, 7:30 a.m. check-in, 8 a.m., walk, Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, 1301 Center Road, Venice. In a public display of Faith and Devotion to the Blessed Mother, participants will process while praying the rosary 6.6 miles to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Retreat Center, 3989 S. Moon Drive, Venice. Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office will escort. Water, granola bars and bathrooms along the way. May Crowning prayer service will take place at conclusion of walk. This will be immediately followed by lunch of hot dogs and hamburgers. A bus will be available to provide shuttle transportation back to Our Lady of Lourdes Parish. Free, but advanced registration is required at https://dioceseofvenice.org and click on the Upcoming Events link. Contact Gail Ardy, ardy@dioceseofvenice.org, or Susan Laielli, laielli@dioceseofvenice.org, 941-484-9543.

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