St. Mary Parish’s annual Feast of the Assumption in Marion will feature the return of beloved Christian singer, songwriter and speaker Danielle Rose. Feast organizers say that Rose, whose music is best described as Christian folk music, is memorable for her voice of expressive, crystalline clarity, as well as her original guitar and piano compositions. She has performed at St. Mary twice in the past, as recently as seven years ago.
The upcoming concert will be Saturday, August 18, at 7:30 pm at St. Mary Church. It is free and open to the public.
“Danielle Rose has one of the most beautiful voices I have ever heard and is a total inspiration,” said Lori Stevenson, youth minister at St. Mary. “She is also one of the sweetest people you will ever meet. We greatly look forward to her return and to sharing a great concert with the Marion community.”
Rose’s concert at St. Mary is part of the parish’s larger celebration of the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, a Catholic holy day which falls on August 15 and is being celebrated locally over the following weekend, August 18-19. Prior to the Saturday concert, the members of St. Mary Church will celebrate Mass and hold a potluck dinner in the parish hall. Rose’s concert will be in the main sanctuary of the church, 251 N. Main St., beginning at 7:30 p.m.
The following day, August 19, will include a Mass at 10:30 a.m., followed by a formal Marian procession and praying of the rosary on the grounds of the church, as well as a chicken BBQ dinner in the parish hall.
The Feast of the Assumption of Mary celebrates the Catholic belief that Mary, mother of Jesus, was assumed body and soul into heaven at the time of her death, in acknowledgment of her unique role in human salvation. Catholics believe that Mary has received special graces from God, having been chosen from among all women to be the mother of Jesus, and is therefore worthy of special recognition. The Catholic Church interprets chapter 12 of the Book of Revelation as referring to the assumption event. The Feast was pronounced by Pope Pius XII and has been formally celebrated in Catholic Churches the world over since 1950.
St. Mary Church has been a North Main Street landmark in Marion since 1898. It is located at 251 N. Main St. and serves as the worship home to more than 850 families. The pastor is Father Dwayne McNew.
Additional information on the church and the upcoming Feast is available by calling 382-2118.
About Rose
Rose is a 2002 graduate of the University of Notre Dame, where she received bachelor degrees in music and theology. At the age of 17, she traveled to Delhi, India to volunteer with Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity. This experience gave her a desire to serve the poorest of the poor by offering her gift of music as a means of alleviating the spiritual poverty of America. Her debut album, Defining Beauty, was released in 2001 by World Library Publications.
After graduating from Notre Dame, Rose began traveling the globe as a music missionary in order to “spread the Gospel through a joyful witness of story and song.” Whether she was ministering to one million people at World Youth Day in Toronto, or twenty teenagers in her hometown of Duluth, Minnesota, Rose encourages and challenges every soul to form a relationship with Jesus.
In 2004, Rose received the personal blessing of Pope John Paul II when she presented him with her second album, Mysteries, a collection of meditations upon the twenty mysteries of the rosary. She promised the Holy Father, "I am your messenger to the young people to take up the rosary once again." She received a Unity Award from the United Catholic Music and Video Association (UCMVA) as Female Vocalist of the Year in 2005.
One year later she recorded her third album, I Thirst, a musical tribute to the life and work of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.
In August 2007, Rose says she accepted Jesus' invitation to enter a convent to discern a religious vocation. Immediately before her entrance, she recorded her fourth album, Pursue Me, which describes the journey of accepting the call to discernment. After more than two years of formation in the convent (it's a six to ten-year process of discernment before final vows), Rose says she came to a successful discernment with her community: the Lord was calling her to follow Him in a different way. Seeking at every turn only to heed His voice and to do His will, she left the convent in November 2009.
“This journey of surrender and obedience taught me more deeply than ever that loving God and doing His will is more important than anything else,” she said. “I have joyfully accepted Jesus' invitation to continue sharing His song for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.”
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