Mary and the sacraments is topic of planned Mariological conference to be held at Schoenstatt center

The Mariological Society of America will hold a conference at the Schoenstatt Center in Lamar on May 16–19, 2017. The theme of the conference will be the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Sacraments and will study the Blessed Virgin’s relationship to the sacraments of Christian initiation, including baptism, confirmation and the Eucharist.
 
The Society has issued a call for papers for the conference. Abstracts of proposed papers are due by Oct. 15, to Father Frederick Miller at [email protected] and Dr. Robert Fastiggi at [email protected]. Abstracts should be about 350-500 words and should include sources and an explanation of how the proposal relates to the theme of the conference.
 
Topics for the 2017 conference could include the following—though other topics related to Mary and the Sacraments of Initiation might be appropriate:
 

•  scriptural allegories/imageries pointing to Mary and the sacraments;
•  historical, theological and artistic perspectives on Mary’s possible reception of the
• sacraments;
•  patristic intuitions of Mary’s spiritual motherhood in the sacramental life of the Church;
•  Marian traditions connected to the sacraments of initiation;
•  Mary as the model of docility to the Holy Spirit relative to the sacraments of initiation;
•  Mary as Mother of the Faithful in relation to the sacramental life;
•  Mary as the Model of the Priesthood of the Faithful with respect to the sacramental life;
•  Mary's spiritual maternity relative to the sacramental initiation of the faithful;
•  the roles of Mary and the Church in the generation and nurturing of Christ’s life in the souls of the faithful;
•  spiritual motherhood in the French School of Spirituality in relation to the sacramental life;
•  consecration to Mary as the perfect way to live out one's baptismal promises;
•  the sacramental correspondence of Mary’s Immaculate Conception to the newly baptized person;
•  devotion to Mary and more fruitful reception of Holy Communion;
•  Mary as the mother of the Eucharist;
•  St. John Paul II, Mary and the Eucharist (e.g. chapter six of Ecclesia de Eucharistia);
•  Mary's presence at the Mass;
•  Mary and the Eucharistic expressions of Epiclesis, Anamnesis and Agape;
•  Mary and the Mass as sacrifice: the Sorrowful Mother and the Eucharist;
•  Mary in the Eucharistic Liturgies of the Eastern Churches;
•  How devotion to Mary helps us to love the Eucharist more;
•  the harmony of Marian devotion with Eucharistic Adoration;
•  the Marian devotion of communities of the consecrated life dedicated to the Eucharist;
•  Mary, the Holy Spirit and Confirmation;
•  Mary as the Model of the theological virtues and the gifts of the Holy Spirit in relation to the sacrament of confirmation;
•  Catechetical aspects of including Mary in sacramental preparation; and
•  Catechesis on Mary in Preparation for the Sacraments of Initiation (and in the
• Catechumenate).

The Mariological Society of America is recognized by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and by the Pontifical International Mariological Association as the academic Mariological society of the Catholic Church in the United States.