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An adoration initiative is underway at Ave Maria University.
The Marines have landed at Ave Maria University in Florida — Mary’s Marines, that is.
Nearly 500 students of this praying force formally commit to spending 15 to 60 minutes each day before the Blessed Sacrament in the university’s eight chapels, whether in the Martha J. Burke Perpetual Adoration Chapel or the chapel in every dorm.
“I believe the time they give Our Lord in front of the Blessed Sacrament will fill their hearts with joy and have a profound impact on their lives, the culture at the university and the Church as a whole,” Ave Maria University President Mark Middendorf, who had the idea for forming Mary’s Marines, told the Register.
Middendorf credits the coinage of the name to Father Michael Gaitley of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception and author of the best-selling Marian consecration program 33 Days to Morning Glory.
Another inspiration came from Ave Maria founder and chancellor Tom Monaghan, who served in the Marine Corps. “It was in the Marine Corps that he got what he would call his five priorities of life,” Middendorf told the Register. He pointed out the university’s mascot is Jax the Gyrene, another nod to Monaghan because Marines are affectionately known as “gyrenes” to distinguish them from the “GIs” of the Army. “So we have an affiliation with them through Tom and his background,”
“Obviously,” Middendorf added, “Ave Maria University is named after our Blessed Mother. And so Mary’s Marines is how all this came about. But the concept, the program, is really what’s most important.”
Continued below.
www.ncregister.com
The Marines have landed at Ave Maria University in Florida — Mary’s Marines, that is.
Nearly 500 students of this praying force formally commit to spending 15 to 60 minutes each day before the Blessed Sacrament in the university’s eight chapels, whether in the Martha J. Burke Perpetual Adoration Chapel or the chapel in every dorm.
“I believe the time they give Our Lord in front of the Blessed Sacrament will fill their hearts with joy and have a profound impact on their lives, the culture at the university and the Church as a whole,” Ave Maria University President Mark Middendorf, who had the idea for forming Mary’s Marines, told the Register.
Middendorf credits the coinage of the name to Father Michael Gaitley of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception and author of the best-selling Marian consecration program 33 Days to Morning Glory.
Another inspiration came from Ave Maria founder and chancellor Tom Monaghan, who served in the Marine Corps. “It was in the Marine Corps that he got what he would call his five priorities of life,” Middendorf told the Register. He pointed out the university’s mascot is Jax the Gyrene, another nod to Monaghan because Marines are affectionately known as “gyrenes” to distinguish them from the “GIs” of the Army. “So we have an affiliation with them through Tom and his background,”
“Obviously,” Middendorf added, “Ave Maria University is named after our Blessed Mother. And so Mary’s Marines is how all this came about. But the concept, the program, is really what’s most important.”
Continued below.
Mary’s Marines Are ‘Always Faithful’
An adoration initiative is underway at Ave Maria University.
