Planning for the Future of the Work of Mary.

Introduction I believe... Spiritual Formation Communication Collaboration Communion Multicultural Reality Our Task Final remarks

On July 23, 1816, on the hill of Fourviere above Lyons, a powerfully powerless spiritual movement was born. At that moment it was called the Congregation of Mary-ists. It has since developed into four distinct religious congregations and a multi-faceted lay branch associated with those congregations, all using the name "Marist".

I think it is vital that we understand that this movement does not exist because Jean-Claude Colin or Marcellin Champagnat, or Jean-Marie Chavoin, or any of the other early Marist had a strong devotion to the mother of Jesus. They did. But that is not why this movement exists. It exists because, as the founders said over and over, it is a work of God, not of human beings. This movement exists not because of devotion to Mary, but because of Mary's devotion to Christ and his work, because of her devotion to the people of God, especially the most vulnerable and the most forgotten.

This movement is a work of the Spirit of God. It is the Spirit who keeps alive among the people of God a love for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and a readiness to live by that Gospel. And so it is the Spirit who inspires men and women through the image of Mary. This image speaks challengingly to us of Gospel values such as humility, simplicity, and modesty; the rejection of wealth, prestige, and domination as both means and motive for ministry in the Church; action rooted in compassion, mercy, and an inclusive understanding of Church; the importance of working for unity and reconciliation among peoples, faiths, cultures; the readiness to live a life that is most active and effective but remains hidden and as it were unknown in this world: all of this was termed by our founders "the Work of Mary."

I believe that in a world such as ours at the beginning of the third millennium, so torn as it is by violence, by racism, by religious enmities, by cultural conflicts; in a world so caught up in the pursuit of material gain practically to the exclusion of all other values; in a world in which so many hunger for the bare necessities of life, and so many more hunger for depth and meaning in life: in this our world now entering the third millennium, the Gospel values we Marists particularly associate with Mary are more urgently needed than ever.

I believe that the Spirit of God is still wanting to inspire many people through the image of Mary to embrace these Gospel values.

I believe that many are being called today to live this Marist life, to participate in this Work of Mary, either as religious or as lay people.

I believe, therefore, that we here present have the grave but happy responsibility to live this Marist life to the full; to give the gift we have been given, i.e. to share our charism with the Church; and to help those who are being called to this work to discern the call in their lives

If you will grant me all that I have said until now, then I would like to suggest the following as the things we need to look at this afternoon in our table discussions.

First is spiritual formation. We must become more deeply aware of our own spiritual hungers and take the steps to nourish them. But more than that we must steep ourselves in the grace of our calling, and this means we must engage in a process of learning about the Marist spiritual tradition. That is why we have been offering many books on Marist spirituality at reduced prices here at the Conference. That is why we are encouraging all of the Marist lay groups to set up a library of books and other materials on Marist spirituality. That is why we are having the talks of this conference taped and that they will be available for purchase not only during the Conference, but we will be sending out an order blank to all the Marist lay groups so that they may purchase and listen to the talks back home. During our work session this afternoon, you will want to share at your table the things that have best helped you to be formed in the Marist spiritual tradition and what you need for your ongoing formation. And what sorts of materials and programs do we need to form new adherents to the Marist movement?

Now it is important for us to remember that a genuine Christian life is not focused on ourselves. And so, secondly we must consider how we can best communicate our spiritual tradition to others, and how we can invite others to participate with us in this movement. Again, it is not a question of increasing our numbers in order to feel good about ourselves. Rather it is a question of helping those whom God is calling to this way, either as religious or lay people, to know about the movement and to discern their vocation to it. How can we do this better in the future?

Thirdly, there are many different ways in which people connect with the Marist movement as lay persons. Some are members of third order groups; some are faculty members of our schools or parents or our students; some are involved with us in ministry in our parishes. One of the more recent developments has been the Marist Volunteer Program sponsored by all four Marist religious congregations in this country

[At this point Br. Summer Herrick FMS, director of the Marist Volunteer Program, gave a brief presentation of the Program.]

The Marist Volunteer Program is only one example of a contemporary form of Marist laity. Undoubtedly there can be many others. For instance, I have heard it suggested that maybe we need a Marist Senior Volunteer Program; that there are people who have reached a point of financial stability and sufficiency in their lives, and who still have sufficient health and energy, and who want to give a year or more to some sort of volunteer service. Perhaps you can suggest yet other new forms that could be developed for lay involvement in the work of Mary.

A fourth area we need to look at today is communion, that is, unity among ourselves and unity in the Church and world. Mary is for Marists an image of inclusiveness and of ecclesial communion. It is important that we pay attention to how we relate to one another within our Marist laity groups: such things as mutual respect, encouragement, support, the sharing and expanding of our Marist vision, and collaboration in the work of Mary are not optional accessories for Marists, but have to do with the very substance of our Marist calling. Our groups need to address the question of communion, work to develop it, and work toward conflict resolution where it arises.

It is important that we work at communication, communion, and collaboration among the various Marist lay groups. We must work at cross-fertilization, as it were across provincial and congregational boundaries. Perhaps we need some sort of structure or representative body in which people from the various Marist lay traditions can continue the conversation begun here this weekend. At the very least we need some vehicle for sharing news and information.

Finally, in the multicultural reality which is the world of this dawning millennium, our concern for communion must stretch us across the boundaries of race, ethnicity, and linguistic differences. I hope that the next time we hold such a national conference as this we will need and will use translation equipment that will reflect, much more than the group assembled here, the multicultural and multilingual condition of our country and our world. Meanwhile we need to develop a diversity among us that bespeaks Mary's concern for those marginalized from the mainstream and her desire to promote the unity of all the members of Christ.

[At this point, Ann Brown and Rosita Martinez gave a brief report on an intercultural, multi-lingual project of "Encuentro" among Marist religious and lay people from Brownsville in Texas, Santa Cruz in California, and Chipas in Mexico, that will take place in the summer of 2001 in Brownsville.]

Now, promotion of communion means promotion of peace in this world. And promotion of peace in this world requires justice, and a just sharing and sustaining of the ever-shrinking material resources of our world.

[At this point Thomas Ellerman gave a brief exhortation regarding working for peace, justice and sustainable living.]

Now it is time for me to shut up and for us all to get to work. We have heard a lot during this Conference from Larry Duffy, from the various speakers representing the Marist Family, from Rick McCord, and from the speakers this afternoon. What does it all mean, for you and for me? What does it mean for the Marist Lay movement? What does it mean for our world? Where is the Spirit of God trying to move us in all this? Where is Mary trying to lead us?

We are asking you to spend the next hour and a half working at your tables. The discussion questions that are intended to stimulate your work are before you. Here is what we are asking you to do:

First, let every person at the table share very briefly a) what difference if any this Conference is going to make in your life, and b) what you need to live better your Marist commitment.

Then, each table should choose one or two of the areas for consideration. What we are looking for are your ideas, insights, and suggestions for the future. But we are especially looking for you to develop some action plans. They could be suggestions for individual lay Marists to do, for local Marist lay groups to do, or for the Marist lay movement as a whole to undertake.

The Spirit is here with us. Mary is with us. There is wisdom in this group. We need to listen to each other. And we need to speak up and share our ideas and insights.

Each table should choose to take a break as needed. But make sure you get your work done. Each table should appoint someone to record all the suggestions and ideas. These will be collected at the end of the afternoon. At 4.45 we will gather again here. At that time we will ask one person from each table to take one minute at the microphone to tell us which issue the table feels most passionate about and considers the most important suggestions or idea for the entire assembly to hear.

**Rainbow Lotos, Mandala by Barry Stevens at www.mandalas.co.uk