Mariathon 2014: a success of generosity Year II – Issue 6 – May-June 2014
Periodical of the World Family of Radio Maria Association
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Millions of listeners involved in our worldwide race of solidarity
he second edition of theworldwideMariathon of Radio Maria ended just a few weeks ago. Our radio stations, with a special programming schedule organized over two or three days in May, wanted to share
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with their listeners the needs and emergencies of several Radio Maria stations throughout the five continents, with a special focus on the Africancountries.Socialsituations, special bureaucratic practices, economic difficulties,culturalandreligiousfrontiers are the issues which encourage a Radio Maria station to tackle evangelisation as a real challenge. We are still reaping the fruits of this important and demanding work. Many results, not just econo-
mic but above all spiritual, will be visible as the months go by andwearesurethattheprayers of many people will be welcomed by the Blessed Virgin whohasneverstoppedaccompanying the humble service of Radio Maria. Photos, videos and information on Mariathon 2014 are always available in the official website www.mariathon.org. It is necessary to keep the fire of this event burning in people's heart. Let us keep the spirit of brotherly communion alive which has
Communication, Gift and Mission
he month of Mary is preparing us for the special moments in the life of faith of the Church which will take place in June. Communication at the service of an authentic culture of meeting is the issue chosen by H.H. Pope Francis on the occasion of the World Day of Social Communication, the feast day of the Ascension of the Lord. Thanks to the ability to succeed in communicating clearly, which is the gift given by the Spirit to Peter's successor, Francis provides us with several interpretations for the use of communication media, re-
membering the parable of the Good Samaritan, which the Pope calls “parableofthecommunicator”, to respond to the queries which technology poses to today’s man. In communication the values at stake are proximity, taking on the responsibility of another, the ability to make oneself similar to the other. The roads which the Church must travel are those “of the world where people live, where they can be effectively and emotionally reached”. We must not be afraid, stresses Fran-
cis, to be citizens of the digital environment. To be able to exploit the potential of communication as “proximity” we need the Holy Spirit who has transformed the apostolic college into missionary community which has opened its doors, it has gone out from itself and, speaking the different languages of the multicultural world, it has fearlessly announced the Good News. With Pentecost all of us who share the mission of Radio Maria renew ourselves putting ourselves at the service of an authentic culture of meeting, to be near to all our listeners, and trying, at the same time, to reach the people who are not yet able to tune in to this beautiful gift of Mary. Fr. Francisco Palacios
accompanied us during the May days through a sincere thankyoutothebenefactors,to the volunteers and to all those who have believed in the generosity of who love Radio Maria. This is our true “success” in the context of the undertaken sacrifices and the energy spent for the good result of the Mariathon. Thanks to each and every one of you and…always remember: Let us help Our Lady to help us! Raffaele Galati
CANONISATION RM correspondentsinRomefor ahistoricevent
MARIATHON The experience lived in 5 continents
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SITE OF THE MONTH The presence of RM in the social networks
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The day of the Popes Saints
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Many link-ups from the WFRM office with the radios on the occasion of the Canonisation of the Popes
he historical event of the Canonisation of John XXIII and John Paul II attracted numerous Radio Maria correspondents to the “Eternal City”. Already, in early April, the WFRM office situated just a stone's throw from St. Peter's Square had begun the work of organising and coordinating the various correspondents who would inform their listeners a short time later with link-ups and interviews on the event of the two Popes Saints. Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Switzerland, France, Togo, Malta, Spain, India, Tanzania, Cameroon, Gabon, Austria, United States are only a few of the names of the countries which personally visited this event of great importance for the Church. To prepare ourselves at the best for the event a prayer vigil was also held in the chapel of the World Family with a rosary recited in many languages to entrust our work to the Virgin Mary. On the day of the canonization four studios reported on what was happening live from the Square. Sandra from RM France and Christian from RM Togo com-
mented on the celebration for all the French radio stations, as did Juan José and Father Manuel (Costa Rica) together with Jovanny (Santo Domingo) for the Spanish radio stations. A particular live link-up was also done with RM Malta, in the local language, highly appreciated by all the listeners of the island, who were very thankful for this opportunity offered to them, as it was the first time they were in Rome to comment on an
event of the Pope. To complete the studios the live link-up with Radio Maria Spain with Angela and Father Mario. Many friends and volunteers were also present in St. Peter's Square
www.mariathon.org
Mariathon website 100% available
to make the Pope feel the warmth which Radio Maria has always felt towards its Shepherd. A magnificent Pentecostal experience, which also removed the fati-
gue of agitated days. A Holy Mass, celebrated on the Sunday evening, concluded this event of such great importance. Daniele Trenca
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ariathon 2014 has formally ended, but the charitable spirit in Radio Maria goes on. Continue to promote the official website: w w w. m a r i a t h o n . o rg . Each month there are updates for you in 5 languages with testimonies, news, images… and many great novelties! Have you seen the videos made by RM Guatemala and RM Venezuela showing the projects to support in the world? Don’t miss out! You can find them in the site’s homepage and in the section entitled “11 projects”.. in addition to the WFRM’s YouTube channel. You can share them in the website, in the social networks or in your newsletter. Maybe some other Radio Maria station, following the example of Latin America, could decide to give one of their videos on Mariathon to all the World Family. The Mariathon site is always available for you!
An important solidarity race
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From Latin America to Europe passing through Asia and Africa: the experience of the worldwide Mariathon EUROPE
In Europe, too, Mariathon has become a true missionary celebration. On the two days dedicated to Mariathon 2014 in our continent, everything increased compared with last year: the programmes, the calls, the testimonies, the prayers, the sacrifices and the offerings. And the true value of the offerings consisting of love and generosity with which they were donated. This is precisely what the thousands of phone calls witness during the Mariathon in all countries: children who gave some of their pocket money, men who gave up small investments for their car or home, women who gave up from a mere coffee to a pilgrimage to Medjugorje to be able to give the money to Radio Maria; a woman even wanted to suspend surgery to give what she saved to Radio Maria. Each offering has its own story of love, and this touches each small donation with the grace of God: this is the true capital which is entrusted to us, this is the true success of Mariathon, which will lead to an important harvest for the Radio Maria mission worldwide. Bernhard Mitterrutzner
AMERICA
Awareness of the charisma of Radio Maria, which is more evident each time, is the eloquent response that reached us from every country and therefore the generous response received through offers of prayer, testimonies and economic support, which show without any doubt the umpteenth manifestation of Divine Providence. America knows that we are a World Family and in this perspective we want to implement the project of the Virgin in all the countries named above and all the new projects of the future, which are mission lands for all. The link-ups coordinated by RM Guatemala, with the participation of all the active radios in America, have allowed us to gather the enthusiasm of the volunteers which resulted in missionary commitment. From North America to the Tierra del Fuego the message which invites us to participate in each meeting reached our ears and our hearts. Like flowers in Mary’s garden testimonies of conversion blossomed together with the generous aid of the elderly, children, the sick, prisoners and families. The “widow’s mite” reached the local administration through different means and it is the global contribution which the WF will channel to give life to the new projects. Alicia Del Cid
AFRICA
Mariathon also enjoyed great success in Africa. This year, we even exceeded the goal we had set ourselves. All the countries worked better than last year. The majority of the funds were collected on the territory, in parishes, even if a good part of donations were made via mobile. Before Mariathon started, many radios entrusted this event to the Virgin Mary, with the prayer of the Rosary. The majority of the radios in Africa will conclude this important event at the end of May, the month dedicated to Our Lady. Many countries have decided to end the event with a religious concert. In the meantime this year there will be three new radios in Africa: Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Guinea and Madagascar. In recent times this continent is growing in terms of religious vocations and the presence of Christians. For this reason the Africans have wanted to manifest their gratitude for the radio stations which are outside their continent. Thanks to their contribution Radio Maria has set up in many African countries. Jean Paul Kayihura
ASIA - OCEANIA
We cannot speak of a Mariathon which is already finished. In all three countries: Indonesia, India and Philippines, it is continuing for about a month. Money is collected from door to door, using a large number of volunteers. In Indonesia, every Sunday, a mass is celebrated from a different parish broadcast by radio. The results are good, but we hope for better things. The spirit is strong thanks to the experience of last year, which amazed them. They are also concentrated on national needs, like that of widening the frequencies to all Christians. In India web radio is finding it a little difficult, since it is not listened to with the transistor radios, but the Mariathon phenomenon presents a special feature: even in parishes where Radio Maria is not listened to there are people who love the project. In the Philippines the worldwide link-ups have been successful. The people have been encouraged above all by the parish priests who phoned into the radio to speak on air and motivate their parishioners to help the project. In Oceania, in Papua New Guinea, Mariathon will be inserted into a great event of fund collection which shall occur in late May. Joseph Nassar
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Website of the month: RM Spain
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hen a family is liter a l l y “worldwide”, the web allows to cancel the distances and get to know each other better, tightening evermore the bond of unity between the 70 RM. Each time we will choose a website for you to visit… and perhaps copy some good ideas for the RM website in your country!
(podcast), which is essential above all in the case of web radio.
ning to) without difficulty; - all the methods for listening to us (frequencies, satellites, pc, tablet, etc); - all the ways for helping us (voluntary work, do-
nations); - a photo gallery to tell who we are and what we do - the social network keys - a good RM will also allow not only to listen to but also to re-listen to
We recall that our listeners need little to surf well: - Identification elements of RM and WF (to know who they are listening to); - must find listening in streaming and the online programme schedule (to know what they are liste-
Today we go to Spain and invite you to visit w w w. r a d i o m a r i a . e s , where you can find these and other elements, and which is characterised by ongoing updates, with plenty of information on the life of the Church and of RM, images and a good description of the educational programmes. Stefano Chiappalone
Radio Maria and the social networks
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n the “digital continent” Radio Maria pays special attention to social networks (Facebook first and foremost), a precious opportunity to make the radio known and keep in constant contact with our listeners. Below we list a few criteria to make good use of it: - The Fan page, is most
suitable for officially representing an association, therefore it is preferable to the personal or group account. - It must represent Radio Maria from the profile image (with the official logo) and from the cover, which will show important images of Radio Maria in your country. It is the same
for the contents: our posts will express the identity and activities of Radio Maria, avoiding contents which are too personal (for the same reason only the editorial team can publish posts, while the comments area is reserved to our listeners). - Take great care in managing the images, in the albums and in the single posts: the text is more appealing if it is matched with an attractive image. Don’t forget that our listeners also want to see a little of what goes on at the radio station.
- Last but not least, social networks need to be continuously updated (at least 4 to 6 posts a week) better if daily, since a non-updated page will soon be forgotten. Stefano Chiappalone
Direct link to the file
WF INTRANET: DID YOU KNOW THAT…
Have you uploaded a document, photo, audio recording to the intranet and do you want let others know about it? For each single file it is possible, in the detail screen of the same file,
to click on GET URL and obtain the specific link. It is enough to copy the URL to an e-mail or Skype, for example, to give direct access to your collaborators to immediately download the content shared in intranet.
Volunteers in Burundi
Mariathon in Congo
Mariathon in Albania MARIATHÓN 2014
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Collection in Mexico
Volunteer group of Radio Maria Philippines
WORLD FAMILY RADIO MARIA news periodical of the World Family of Radio Maria association a pag. 18 Editorial office: P. Francisco Palacios;
Stefano Chiappalone; Raffaele Galati; Daniele Trenca
Send us your photos of “Mariathon 2014” so we can share with the world how this great initiative is unfolding throughout the five continents. Write to: roma.wf@radiomaria.org
MAY-JUNE 2014
Via Rusticucci, 13 - 00193 Rome mail: roma.wf@radiomaria.org skype: wf.daniele.trenca The contents of this periodical (texts and photos) may be used in full or partially on the
websites, newsletters, social networks of RM. Always mention the source “WFRM News”
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