St Josephs Academy - Academia Yearbook (Portland, ME)

Page 9 text:

REVEREND PETER J. FLANAGAN We consider ourselves very fortunate to have had Father Flanagan as chaplain during our four years. The door of his study is always open, and a knock at the door is answered by a cheery Come in. There is no problem that he cannot solve and, at the time, he seems to have nothing to do but attend to that problem. However, we have some idea of the many things he has to do, and, all the more, therefore, we appreciate his kind counsel and guidance. Father always attends our parties and contributes greatly to the fun on these occasions, which would not be complete without him. We are most grateful, too, for remembrance in his prayers.

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y The Marian Year The dogma of the Immaculate Conception was solemnly defined on the eighth of December, 1854, by Pope Pius IX. In commemoration of this proclamation, Pope Pius XII wrote an Encyclical entitled Fulgens Corona Qkadiant Crownj, in which he proclaimed the year 1954 as a Marian Year. The Annus Marianus began on December 8, 1953, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, and will end on the same date of the year 1954. This Holy Year is being marked by special ser- mons, devotions and pilgrimages to many shrines and churches dedicated to Mary. Our Lady appeared to a fourteen-year old girl, Bernadette Soubirous, at Lourdes, France, on February ll, 1858. After this first apparition, the Blessed Mother appeared to Saint Bernadette seventeen more times. During one of her apparitions, she said to the girl, I am the Immaculate Conception. At the An- nunciation the Angel Gabriel addressed Mary as full of grace. Our Lady's Im- maculate Conception, her freedom from the stain of original sin, was an extra- ordinary and special grace never granted to any other human being. Our Lady was also free from all actual sin. Christ loved His mother so much that He made her holy and pure that she might be an ideal for all His children. Through our Catholic education at Saint Joseph's Academy, we have learned to live in imitation of Mary. We can benefit by this Marian Year by not only conforming to a more perfect pattern of life this year, but also by resolving to follow this pattern throughout our lives. In imita- tion of our heavenly Mother during the Marian Year, we shall strive to remain free from- sin, filling our own souls with grace. We shall pray more frequently and fer- vently, performing the daily spiritual exercises of the Sodality morenfaithfully. May we always live up to the high standards of Saint Joseph's Academy by remain- ing close to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, setting an example for our associates in the world as women strong in the Catholic faith. ELAINE BonnuAs, '54

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The Year of Gm Lady The slogan given by Our Holy Father, Pope Pius XII, for the Marian Year is: The family that prays is the family that lives. The following is an excerpt from the Holy Father's Encyclical Letter Fulgens Corona - QRadiant Crownj. We desire that, during this Marian Year, the faith of the people may be in- creased and their devotion to the Virgin Mother of God may be made daily more ardent, and so that henceforth all may resolve to follow in the footsteps of our Heavenly Mother willingly and with promptitude. Wherever there is a sanctuary, or at least an altar, in which the sacred image of the Blessed Virgin Mary is en- shrined for the devotion of Christian people, we desire that the faithful shall throng thither in great numbers, and shall offer to our most sweet Mother not only private, but also public supplications, with one voice and with one mind. Let them flock together in great numbers and publicly and in the open give glori- ous expression to their common faith and their common love for the Holy Virgin. In the first place, let them ask that, with the assistance of divine grace, the way of life of each one may be made more conformable to the Christian command- ments, since nobody can do anything befittingly for the common good unless he himself first shines as an example of virtue before others. Let them also pray that there may grow up a generous and promising new generation, and that the beautiful flower of youth may not suffer itself to be infect- ed by the corrupt breath of this world and grow up in sin. We desire in a special way that in the prayers which will be offered to God during the celebration of the coming Marian Year supplication may be made, through the intercession of the Mother of the Divine Redeemer and our most sweet Mother, that finally the Catholic Church throughout the world may be al- lowed to enjoy the freedom that is hers by right. May the same Blessed Virgin look down on all those who are proud to call themselves Christians, and who, being united at least by the bond of charity, hum- bly raise to her their eyes, their minds and their prayers, imploring that light which illumines the mind with heavenly rays, and begging for that unity in which at last there may be One Fold and One Shepherd.