The Theotokos Thread

[Biff]

So, this is the first Mary thread of the new CPS.

*sigh* ... who left the door open?

[Del]

So, this is the first Mary thread of the new CPS.

Welcome!

[Wosbald]

+JMJ+

Papal academy launches study center to evaluate Marian apparitions

Women walk at the Marian shrine of Fatima in central Portugal March 30, ahead of Holy Week celebrations. (OSV News/Reuters/Pedro Nunes)

Rome — The Pontifical International Marian Academy has created a commission to study and monitor cases of alleged Marian apparitions and other mystical phenomena.

The new "observatory" or monitoring body was officially inaugurated at the academy in Rome April 15 and will study cases that have not yet received an official church pronouncement regarding their authenticity.

Its purpose is "to provide concrete support to the study, authentication and correct disclosure of such events, always in harmony with church teaching, relevant authorities and applicable norms of the Holy See," Franciscan Fr. Stefano Cecchin, president of the Marian academy, said April 13. It will specialize in cases such as alleged Marian apparitions, "weeping" statues of Mary, private revelations and stigmata.

"It is important to provide clarity because often presumed messages generate confusion, spread anxiety-inducing apocalyptic scenarios or even accusations against the pope and the church," he said in a written press release.

"How could Mary, mother of the church, undermine (the church's) integrity or sow fear and conflict, she who is mother of mercy and queen of peace?" he asked.

"At the same time, it is important to provide formative support because facing certain cases requires adequate preparation," Cecchin added.

The observatory will be made up of experts from different fields, including a lawyer specializing in safeguarding people who are susceptible to criminal manipulation, fraud or deceit.

Cecchin said the body will set up commissions on the national and international level to "evaluate and study apparitions and mystical phenomena reported in various parts of the world" and to promote opportunities for keeping people updated and educated about the events and their "spiritual and cultural significance." The local commissions will also serve the local church and its bishops by acting as consultants and providing accurate information.

The new monitoring body was inaugurated just as an alleged visionary in a town 30 miles from Rome faced increased scrutiny by law enforcement and the local bishop.

Gisella Cardia, who claims she receives messages from Mary on the third day of every month, is currently under investigation by the district attorney's office of Civitavecchia for "abuse of public credulity" or trust. A commission set up by the local bishop is also conducting its own investigation.

[…]

Cardia had been found guilty and convicted of bankruptcy fraud in a business she used to run before moving to Trevignano Romano and claiming to receive messages from Mary. Hundreds of people flock to the site the third of each month to hear the alleged messages.

[Biff]

+JMJ+

Papal academy launches study center to evaluate Marian apparitions

Women walk at the Marian shrine of Fatima in central Portugal March 30, ahead of Holy Week celebrations. (OSV News/Reuters/Pedro Nunes)

Rome — The Pontifical International Marian Academy has created a commission to study and monitor cases of alleged Marian apparitions and other mystical phenomena.

The new "observatory" or monitoring body was officially inaugurated at the academy in Rome April 15 and will study cases that have not yet received an official church pronouncement regarding their authenticity.

Its purpose is "to provide concrete support to the study, authentication and correct disclosure of such events, always in harmony with church teaching, relevant authorities and applicable norms of the Holy See," Franciscan Fr. Stefano Cecchin, president of the Marian academy, said April 13. It will specialize in cases such as alleged Marian apparitions, "weeping" statues of Mary, private revelations and stigmata.

"It is important to provide clarity because often presumed messages generate confusion, spread anxiety-inducing apocalyptic scenarios or even accusations against the pope and the church," he said in a written press release.

"How could Mary, mother of the church, undermine (the church's) integrity or sow fear and conflict, she who is mother of mercy and queen of peace?" he asked.

"At the same time, it is important to provide formative support because facing certain cases requires adequate preparation," Cecchin added.

The observatory will be made up of experts from different fields, including a lawyer specializing in safeguarding people who are susceptible to criminal manipulation, fraud or deceit.

Cecchin said the body will set up commissions on the national and international level to "evaluate and study apparitions and mystical phenomena reported in various parts of the world" and to promote opportunities for keeping people updated and educated about the events and their "spiritual and cultural significance." The local commissions will also serve the local church and its bishops by acting as consultants and providing accurate information.

The new monitoring body was inaugurated just as an alleged visionary in a town 30 miles from Rome faced increased scrutiny by law enforcement and the local bishop.

Gisella Cardia, who claims she receives messages from Mary on the third day of every month, is currently under investigation by the district attorney's office of Civitavecchia for "abuse of public credulity" or trust. A commission set up by the local bishop is also conducting its own investigation.

[…]

Cardia had been found guilty and convicted of bankruptcy fraud in a business she used to run before moving to Trevignano Romano and claiming to receive messages from Mary. Hundreds of people flock to the site the third of each month to hear the alleged messages.

SCHTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP, JUST SCHTAP!

[Del]

This is surprising, in that I thought we already had an investigative body to evaluate Marian Apparitions, just as we evaluate claims of miracles and cases for the canonizations of saints. That's the modern way of things.

If an apparition of Mary is real, we want to know about it. We want to trust both the event and any messages that are shared. Mary has been especially active in the world during the last couple of centuries. Her apparitions at Lourdes and Fatima influenced the world as much as her great Apparition at Guadalupe. Mary ratified those events with miracles and prophecies.

On the other hand, charlatans and crazy people should be called out as such. We don't want anyone to dupe a following of faithful people. The long, ongoing apparitions at Medjugorje remain under scrutiny, even as millions of faithful make pilgrimages there. There have been some minor miracles (pilgrims' Rosary chains turning to gold appears to be a signature of this apparition), but nothing really big and undeniable as yet.

[FredS]

This is surprising, in that I thought we already had an investigative body to evaluate Marian Apparitions, just as we evaluate claims of miracles and cases for the canonizations of saints. That's the modern way of things.

The RCC is woke. The Department of Feminine Studies and Investigation.

[Wosbald]

+JMJ+

Source: Vatican News
Link: vaticannews DOT va/en/pope/news/2022-08/pope-francis-angelus-address-on-feast-of-assumption-of-mary.html

Pope on Assumption: Mary takes us by the hand, inviting us to rejoice

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During Angelus address on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pope Francis reminds faithful that the Blessed Mother takes each of us by the hand, and invites us to rejoice as we follow her trusting, faithful and 'radical' example.

August 15, 2023 — Mary, our Mother, takes us by the hand, accompanies us, and invites us to rejoice. Pope Francis gave this reassurance during his Angelus address on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Monday.

As the Church observes the Solemnity on 15 August, the Holy Father remembered that today's Gospel offers us the dialogue between her and her cousin Elizabeth, telling the faithful to recognize Mary's active role and presence in every moment of their lives.

In a special way, he encouraged us to learn from her example, and ask ourselves if we are capable of seeing God's closeness and letting it empower us.

Am I able to discern the work of God who, through gentleness and smallness, achieves great things?

On this Solemnity, the Pope encouraged, "Mary sings of hope and rekindles hope in us."

Mary holding our hand, inviting us to rejoice

Reflecting on Our Lady, the Holy Father reminded, "She is the first creature who, with her whole self, body and soul, victoriously crosses the finish line of Heaven."

She shows us that Heaven is within reach, if we too do not give in to sin, if we praise God in humility and serve others generously. She, our Mother, takes us by the hand, she accompanies us to glory, she invites us to rejoice as we think of heaven.

The power of reciting the beautiful, familiar 'Hail Mary'

The Pope recalled that when Mary enters the house and greets her cousin, Elizabeth says: 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb,' and how these words "full of faith, joy and wonder" have become part of the “Hail Mary.”

Every time we recite this prayer, so beautiful and familiar, we do as Elizabeth did: we greet Mary and we bless her, because she brings Jesus to us.

Mary, he said, not only accepts Elizabeth’s blessing and replies by giving us the Magnificat, she goes further, contemplating the work of God throughout history, highlighting that the Lord 'has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.'

As we listen to these words, the Pope said, we might ask ourselves: "is the Virgin not exaggerating, describing a world that does not exist," where "the poor and hungry remain so, while the rich continue to prosper."

Our Lady announces a radical change

Mary’s canticle, Pope Francis stressed, is not intended to chronicle time, but to tell us something "much more important," namely "that God, through her, has inaugurated a historical turning point, he has definitively established a new order of things."

She, small and humble, has been raised up and — we celebrate this today — brought to the glory of Heaven, while the powerful of the world are destined to remain empty-handed. Our Lady, in other words, announces a radical change, an overturning of values.

Mary, he said, 'prophesies,' in anticipating what her Son will say, inasmuch as He will proclaim blessed the poor and humble, and warn the rich and those who base themselves on their own self-sufficiency. He points out that she already understood that it will not be power, success and money that will prevail, but service, humility and love.

Mary's prophetic voice reveals road to Heaven

"Looking at her, in glory, we understand that the true power is service, and that to reign, means to love."

This, he said, is "the road to Heaven."

So, we might wonder: will this prophetic reversal announced by Mary affect my life? Do I believe that to love is to reign, and to serve is power? That the purpose of my life is Heaven, paradise? Or am I concerned only with worldly, material things?

Warning against becoming "entrapped by pessimism" and calling on us to trust in God, the Pope concluded, praying: "Let us bless Mary with our prayer, and let us ask her for a prophetic view, capable of glimpsing Heaven on earth."