Fi News #81 – Fr. Peter explains the significance of the Marian Symposium, Mary Mother of the Church ( 12min) >>> Play

Ave Maria!

We will be broadcasting our Marian Symposium live from La Crosse, Wisconsin tomorrow, Saturday, Aug 21st From 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM Central time which is 10-6:30 Eastern Time. The theme this year is Mary, Mother of the Church and our beloved Fr. Peter Fehlner tells us all about it. Come and view this grand spiritual and intellectual event in the beautiful new Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe at http://airmaria.com. Speakers include:

• His Eminence Luis Cardinal Aponte Martinez, Archbishop Emeritus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
• His Excellency Archbishop Raymond L. Burke, Prefect, Apostolic Signatura, Rome
• Msgr. Arthur B. Calkins, Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, Mariologist
• Dr. Mark I. Miravalle, Franciscan University of Steubenville, President, Vox Populi Mariae Mediatrici
• MC: Drew Mariani, Journalist and Talk Show Host, Relevant Radio

If you are in the area, registration is still being accepted including walk-ins on the day of the event, but there will be limited lunches at the church, (reduced cost for entry if there are not enough lunches and you can buy lunch at the Shrine Restaurant.) You can register at http://www.mariansymposium.com/

Ave Maria!

Audio (MP3)

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Ave Maria!  For the first time in history, today the Virgin Mary has been celebrated as Mother of the Church in an Obligatory Memorial throughout the Universal Church.  Pope Francis took the opportunity to reflect on the parallelism between the Church’s motherhood, Mary’s motherhood, and our souls’ femininity as spouses of Christ and spiritual mothers, citing the Church Fathers.  He reminded all Christians that the first duty of any mother is tenderness.

Interestingly, St. Francis of Assisi’s first biographers, Thomas of Celano and St. Bonaventure, both described St. Francis as a mother, and friars who knew him during his life also called him “mother.”  St. Francis said that a good friar should also be a mother, and in his extraordinary tenderness, Francis went blind because of shedding so many tears of love for Christ.  His tenderness also toward the Trinity, the Virgin Mary, his fellow friars (especially those who were most vulnerable or treated him badly), and even the animals and nature is also well documented by his first biographers.

The Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, was observed for the first time on Monday; the movable feast is set for the first day following Pentecost. In his homily during Mass at the Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis said the first virtue of a mom is tenderness.

“The Church is feminine,” Pope Francis said in his homily on Monday, “she is a mother.”

When this trait is lacking, the Pope continued, the Church resembles merely “a charitable organization, or a football team”; when it is “a masculine Church,” it sadly becomes “a church of old bachelors,” “incapable of love, incapable of fruitfulness.”

That was the reflection offered by Pope Francis during the Mass celebrated in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta for the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church. The feast is being celebrated this year for the first time, after the publication in March of the decree Ecclesia Mater (“Mother Church”) by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. Pope Francis himself decided the feast should be celebrated on the Monday immediately following Pentecost, in order “to encourage the growth of the maternal sense of the Church in the pastors, religious and faithful, as well as a growth of genuine Marian piety.”

Source: Pope Francis: The Church, like Mary, is woman and mother – Vatican News

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Fr John Lawrence gives the homily at Bloomington, IN, on May 20, 2024, feast of Mary, Mother of the Church, and how the fact that this feast occurs the day after Pentecost, the Church’s birthday, highlights Mary’s central, maternal role from the first novena to her intercession from heaven.

Pentecost is the birthday of the Church, born after nine days of prayer by Jesus’ disciples. St. Luke describes the Apostles and Mary praying together after the Ascension, forming the first novena. Mary is central to Pentecost, depicted as the mother of the Church, a title given by St. Paul VI and traced back to earlier writings. Mary is the mother of the Church because she is the mother of Jesus, and the Church is Christ’s mystical body. She gave birth to Jesus without pain but suffers to give birth to us in grace, as reflected in Revelation 12:2. Her greatest suffering occurred at the foot of the cross, where she became our mother through Jesus’ words. Every Christian, as another Christ, has Mary as their mother. The scene in Revelation 12 symbolizes Christ’s birth in us. The Church, born from Christ’s side, resembles Mary, the new Eve. Mary’s motherhood extends through Pentecost and her continued intercession from heaven. Let us value the graces won by her suffering.

00:00 – Introduction Pentecost, Birth of the Church
00:39 – Mary’s Role in Pentecost
00:52 – Mary, Mother of the Church
02:34 – Joyful Birth of Jesus
02:54 – Birth Pains for Us
03:57 – Mary at the Foot of the Cross
07:00 – Church Born from Christ’s Side

Ave Maria!

Mass: Mary, Mother of the Church (Opt 2) – Feast
Readings:  – http://usccb.org/bible/readings/052024.cfm
1st: act 1:12-14
Resp: psa 87:1-3, 5-7
Gsp: joh 19:25-34

More on the Readings: http://dev.airmaria.com/r?m=2234

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and YouTube: https://youtu.be/_022iVKFSgY

The post Pentecost and Mary, Mother of the Church – May 20 – Homily – Fr John Lawrence first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Ave Maria!

In this fourth talk on the Beauty and Wisdom of Vatican II, Deacon Ed Walker explores Lumen Gentium and Gaudium et Spes, emphasizing the Church’s nature, mission, and engagement with the modern world as outlined in these documents of Vatican II.

Dcn. Ed delves into Lumen Gentium and Gaudium et Spes, two pivotal Vatican II constitutions. Lumen Gentium, meaning “light of the nations” from Isaiah’s prophecy (Isaiah 42:6), articulates the Church’s identity as a mystery, a sacramental community, and the people of God, equal in dignity through baptism (LG 9). He explains its chapters, covering the Church’s divine mystery, hierarchical structure, and the universal call to holiness, emphasizing that all—laity, religious, and clergy—are called to live out Christ’s roles as priest, prophet, and king (LG 10-13). The inclusion of Mary as the Church’s mother, not a separate document, sparked debate but underscores her role as a model disciple (LG 53). He  addresses controversies, like the Church’s teaching on salvation, clarifying that while the Catholic Church is the ordinary means of salvation (CCC 846), God’s mercy extends beyond it, allowing non-Catholics to be saved through Christ’s work (LG 16).

Gaudium et Spes (GS), promulgated in 1965, shifts focus to the Church’s engagement with the modern world, addressing human dignity, social justice, and peace in a post-war context (GS 1). Inspired by St. John Paul II, it calls for dialogue with science, culture, and politics, rooted in social doctrines like Rerum Novarum (GS 4). Father notes its emphasis on the family as the domestic Church (GS 48) and the Church’s mission to serve all humanity (GS 3). Controversies include concerns about doctrinal dilution and excessive optimism regarding human progress (GS 12). Both documents, Father concludes, guide Catholics to live their faith actively, balancing tradition with modernity (CCC 748).

Handout: https://airmaria.s3.amazonaws.com/conf/conf0643_Beauty-of-Vat-II_Handout_2025.pdf

For Further Reading
Lumen Gentium – Vatican – Dogmatic Constitution on the Church – https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html
LG 1 – Church as divine mystery
LG 9 – People of God and baptismal dignity
LG 14 – Salvation through the Church
LG 22 – Collegiality of bishops with the Pope
LG 53 – Mary as mother of the Church
Gaudium et Spes – Vatican – Pastoral Constitution on the Church – https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651207_gaudium-et-spes_en.html
GS 1 – Church’s solidarity with human joys and sufferings
GS 3 – Church’s mission to all humanity
GS 4 – Church’s dialogue with the modern world
GS 12 – Dignity of the human person
GS 48 – Marriage and family as domestic Church
Isaiah 42:6 – NAB – Light to the Nations – https://bible.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/42?6
John 10:11 – NAB – Jesus the Good Shepherd – https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/10?11
Catechism of the Catholic Church #846 – Salvation Through the Church – http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p123a9p3.htm#846
Catechism of the Catholic Church #966 – Mary, Mother of the Church – http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p123a9p6.htm#966
Catechism of the Catholic Church #1257 – Baptism and Salvation – http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p2s2c1a1.htm#1257
Rerum Novarum – Vatican – On Capital and Labor – https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_15051891_rerum-novarum.html
Catholic Answers – Salvation Outside the Church – https://www.catholic.com/tract/salvation-outside-the-church

00:00 – Introduction to Lumen Gentium
02:04 – Church as Mystery
03:10 – People of God
05:43 – Role of the Laity
07:21 – Universal Call to Holiness
10:07 – Mary, Mother of Church
13:48 – Controversies in Lumen Gentium
23:20 – Gaudium et Spes Introduction
24:06 – Unity of Christian Churches
27:06 – Social Doctrines and Modernity
32:01 – Dignity of Human Person
39:06 – Church’s Dialogue with Society
40:04 – Political Freedom and Dignity
41:08 – Marriage as Domestic Church
41:35 – Peace and Environmental Stewardship
43:02 – Controversies of Modernity Engagement
47:15 – Church’s Mission in World

Books used in preparation:
The Word on Fire Vatican II Collection: Constitutions – https://bookstore.wordonfire.org/products/vatican-ii
The Second Vatican Council – The Four Constitutions – https://ignatius.com/the-second-vatican-council-9svcp/
The Word of God at Vatican II – Exploring Dei Verbum – https://litpress.org/Products/3556/The-Word-of-God-at-Vatican-II
Keys to the Council – Unlocking the Teaching of Vatican II – https://litpress.org/Products/E3424/Keys-to-the-Council

All the Vatican II documents: https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/index.htm

Playlist for this Vatican II series with 4 talks and one homily: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLejh_e0-LN4yhASgRT7msLh4_vV-Cldv4

+++ – CONF 646

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