| 
SOCIETY OF MARY
MARIST FATHERS
TO BE A MARIST.
To be a Marist
is to be called and chosen,
through a love freely bestowed on us,
to live the Gospel as Mary did,
in a Society which bears her name.
It was Mary
who brought into the world God's own son.
She was the first
to welcome the good news of the Father's love,
and to discern the Son's mission
as servant among men,
sharing his poverty
and his total gift of self to the Father.
It is from Mary that we learn
to serve the Church in a special way.
For Jean-Claude Colin and his companions,
inspired by God at a moment of history,
Mary, present when the Church was born,
was its strength and support.
Hidden in the midst of the Apostles
as a simple believer,
she is, in a unique way,
the figure of the Church.
At the end of time,
her presence would inspire the disciples
to carry out their mission.
This same intuition
Father Colin found expressed
in the mystery of nazareth.
"I place myself in the house of Nazareth
and, from there, I see what I have to do."
We, like the first Marists,
have made our own this intuition
born of meditation on Mary's role
in the early Church and at the end of time.
Thus the Society of Mary
is not characterized by any special work
not by a particular form of Marian devotion
but by the desire to draw inspiration
from the mystery of Mary's presence in the Church.
In the Society,
our prayer,
our community life,
the apostolates we choose,
flow from the one same concern:
to think, to judge, to feel, to act,
in all things as mary did.
The expression of this desire
will be the way we live and work in the Church
and our dealings with its members.
We shall cooperate with all, ready to stand aside,
if the work of Christ requires it.
Considering the unity of the people of god of prime importance,
we seek communion with all
who are our brothers and sisters
in their diverse cultures and situations,
and we affirm our fidelity to the Pope
and to all who lead the Church.
The insight of our Founder:
"Hidden and unknown in the world",
becomes the touchstone
for our apostolic action.
Far from preventing us
from undertaking great things for God,
these words tell us how they should be done
and challenge us to do them
in a way which finds its source in the Gospel.
Jesus, in the midst of men,
is attentive to their real needs,
and, if he draws all to himself,
he does this by giving the greatest proof of love
rather than by imposing himself.
And Mary in the midst of the apostles,
watchful yet unobtrusive,
teaches us this same evangelical attitude.
She helps us to bring to light
the longings and the signs of hope
which are in the hearts of all.
This spirit leads us to reject
all sham and false glamour.
It enables us to welcome and serve others with
simplicity.
It moves us to action
and is not content with mere theories.
It makes us sensitive to hidden values
and attunes us to the humble and the poor.
From Nazareth to Pentecost,
Mary experienced waiting in hope.
With her we advance in faith
towards the unforeseen.
Confident that God is guiding events we set out
in fidelity to the Holy Spirit
to bring about a renewal
of the face of the Church
which is constantly renewing herself.
Our communities witness to the Church's desire
to grow nearer its perfect image in Mary:
a Church which perseveres in its search for Jesus Christ,
a servant Church,
not wanting to domineer,
without place of privilege,
concerned only that He be proclaimed.
It is through our vows,
our life in community,
our rule of life,
our work for the Kingdom,
that this spirit is embodied for us today
and is passed on to others.
In all we undertake,
we, with all generations of Marists,
recognize that Mary remains for us today
"Foundress and first Superior"
Jean-Claude Colin had boundless hope
in this vision of life
which is not limited to his own age.
Our enduring relationship with Mary
whose name we bear
is our surest hope of being
now and always
what the Church expects of us
Artwork.- 'Solas' by Rita Scannell and pupils (As appeared on the cover of 'Spirituality' Number 46. Volume 9, January/February 2003. (Dominican Publications)
Additional Information
|
