Our faith
May 13, 2022 | catholicnewsherald.com CATHOLIC NEWS HERALDI
3
Blessed is the name of Mary Multitude of titles expresses love for the Mother of God “Ineffabilis Deus.” This also gave rise to the title “Queen Conceived Without Original Sin.” n “Our Lady of the Assumption” comes from the belief that CHARLOTTE — A hallmark of Catholicism is love for Jesus’ Mary was assumed body and soul into heaven when her earthly mother, Mary. life ended. The Assumption was declared a dogma in 1950 by Catholics love her, honor her and venerate her image in Pope Pius XII in the apostolic constitution “Munificentissimus thanksgiving for her “yes” to God, for her role as the Theotokos Deus.” The title “Queen Assumed Into Heaven” also derived (“God-bearer”) and as a powerful intercessor for all of God’s from this. children. It is important to note that Catholics do not worship Some of her titles are associated with Church-approved Mary, but revere her pivotal role in apparitions: Our Lady of salvation history. Guadalupe (1531), Our Lady of Mary is known by dozens of titles around the Miraculous Medal (1830), the world – dogmatic titles, devotional Our Lady of Lourdes (1858), titles and titles adopted by religious orders. Our Lady of Knock (1879) and There are also some titles that popes over Our Lady of Fatima (1917). the centuries have addressed in encyclicals Religious orders under her and invocations, and titles expressing their patronage include: Carmelites, filial affection for her during their papacies. who look to Our Lady of Mt. The Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Carmel; the Marians of the also known as the Litany of Loreto, Immaculate Conception; invokes more than 50 titles of Our Lady. Sisters of Mary, Mother of the This supplication sprang from prayers for Eucharist; and the Daughters protection during the Battle of Lepanto of the Virgin Mother (Diocese in 1571, when Mary’s help was enlisted of Charlotte). through the recitation of the rosary to Many devotional titles speak defeat the fleet of the Ottoman Empire in to the love of the faithful for the Gulf of Patras. The feast of Our Lady of Mary and confidence in her the Rosary, or Our Lady of Victory, is still intercession: Queen of Peace, celebrated every Oct. 7. Our Lady of Mercy, Mother of Early titles in Church history besides Perpetual Help, Queen of the “Our Lady” (“Notre Dame” in French and Apostles, Ark of the Covenant, “Nuestra Señora” in Spanish) include: Refuge of Sinners and Mary, “The New Eve,” a title first mentioned by Undoer of Knots. St. Justin Martyr in the early half of the Some lesser known but first century and later expanded upon by equally beautiful titles for St. Iraneaus; “Mary Help of Christians,” Mary are: Tower of Ivory; Our first used by St. John Chrysostom in 345 Lady of Solitude; Our Lady, and also reverently used by St. John Bosco Gate of the Dawn; Mirror of in the 1800s; and “Stella Maris” (Our Justice; and Spiritual Vessel. Lady Star of the Sea), an ancient title that St. Louis de Montfort said, emphasized her role as a sign of hope and a “We never give more honor guiding star for Christians. It is attributed to Jesus than when we honor to St. Jerome, who lived in the mid-second His mother, and we honor her and early third centuries. “Madonna and Child” by Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato simply and solely to honor Him Four dogmatic titles for the Blessed (17th century) all the more perfectly.” Mother were declared by the Church: So why not take some time n “Mother of God” was decreed at during May, the month devoted the Council of Ephesus in 431, which acknowledged her as to Mary, to cultivate a personal devotion to the Blessed Mother “Theotokos” because her son, Jesus Christ, is both God and under a title that is meaningful to you in your faith journey? man. This name was translated in the West as “Mater Dei” or — www.wikipedia.org contributed. Mother of God. From this derives the title “Blessed Mother.” n “Virgin Mary” rises from the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary, taught by the early Church Fathers and The Benedictine monks of Belmont Abbey who came to North declared a dogma by the Lateran Council of 649. Carolina in 1876 built the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Belmont n “Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception” comes from in 1892. In the Diocese of Charlotte there are now 23 more churches the teaching that Mary was conceived without original sin, and missions that bear a name related to a title of Mary or her as defined in 1854 by Pope Pius IX’s apostolic constitution Immaculate Heart. SUEANN HOWELL SENIOR REPORTER
Churches under Mary’s patronage
Daily Scripture readings MAY 15-21
Sunday: Acts 14:21-27, Revelation 21:1-5a, John 13:31-33a, 34-35; Monday: Acts 14:5-18, John 14:21-26; Tuesday: Acts 14:19-28, John 14:27-31a; Wednesday (St. John I): Acts 15:1-6, John 15:1-8; Thursday: Acts 15:7-21, John 15:9-11; Friday (St. Bernardine of Siena): Acts 15:22-31, John 15:12-17; Saturday (St. Christopher Magallanes and Companions): Acts 16:1-10, John 15:18-21
MAY 22-28
Sunday: Acts 15:1-2, 22-29, Revelation 21:10-14, 22-23, John 14:23-29; Monday: Acts 16:11-15, John 15:26-16:4a; Tuesday: Acts 16:22-34, John 16:5-11; Wednesday (St. Bede the Venerable, St. Gregory VII, St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi): Acts 17:15, 22-18:1, John 16:12-15; Thursday (The Ascension of the Lord): Acts 1:1-11, Ephesians 1:17-23, Luke 24:46-53; Friday (St. Augustine of Canterbury): Acts 18:918, John 16:20-23; Saturday: Acts 18:2328, John 16:23b-28
MAY 29-JUNE 4
Sunday: Acts 7:55-60, Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20, John 17:20-26; Monday: Acts 19:1-8, John 16:29-33; Tuesday (The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary): Zephaniah 3:14-18, Isaiah 12:2-6, Luke 1:39-56; Wednesday (St. Justin): Acts 20:28-38, John 17:11b-19; Thursday (Sts. Marcellinus and Peter): Acts 22:30, 23:6-11, John 17:20-26; Friday (St. Charles Lwanga and Companions): Acts 25:13b-21, John 21:15-19; Saturday: Acts 28:16-20, 30-31, John 21:20-25.
Pope Francis
Leave grandkids your legacy of wisdom
P
ope Francis told older people to use retirement as a time to serve others and to sow the seeds of their wisdom. When people retire, starting the new chapter in life requires “a creative attention, a new attention, a generous availability,” the pope said during his general audience May 11. “The previous skills of active life lose their constraint and become resources to be given away: teaching, advising, building, caring, listening ... preferably in favor of the most disadvantaged who cannot afford any learning or who are abandoned in their loneliness,” he said. Communities, he said, must understand “how to benefit from the talents and charisms of so many elderly people who are already retired, but who are a wealth to be treasured.” The pope continued his series of talks dedicated to the meaning and value of “old age,” reflecting on the biblical figure of Judith, a pious widow, who, as a young woman, “had won the esteem of the community with her courage” in killing the commander-in-chief of the threatening armies of Nebuchadnezzar. With her heroism, she lived “to the fullest the mission the Lord had entrusted to her,” and then, as an older widow with no children, she saw “it was time for her to leave the good legacy of wisdom, tenderness and gifts for her family and her community.” When people retire, they usually can expect to have many years ahead of them. They may wonder what they should do and ask, “how can I grow in authority, in holiness, in wisdom?” If there are grandchildren, there will be “the task, joyful and tiring,” of looking after them. “The little ones learn the power of tenderness and respect for frailty” from their grandparents, and grandparents learn that “tenderness and frailty are not solely signs of decline: for young people, they are conditions that humanize the future.” But sometimes family members live far apart, there are fewer children, and employment and housing conditions may be “unfavorable” to an intergenerational family. With so many new demands on today’s families, they must learn to “reshape the traditional connection between the generations.” “When we think of a legacy, at times we think of goods, and not of the goodness that is done in old age, and that has been sown, that goodness that is the best legacy we can leave,” not just goods or assets. The pope encouraged people to read the Book of Judith to be inspired by her example. “Judith is not a pensioner who lives the emptiness it brings melancholically: she is a passionate mature woman who fills the time God gives her with gifts.” “This is how I would like all our grandmothers to be: courageous, wise and who bequeath to us not money, but the legacy of wisdom, sown in their grandchildren.”
