Quarterly Review December 2009 To Make the Whole World Marist · 2014. 5. 1. · Mary was “ full of grace” and Marist spirituality is a gift to those who seek and find it. In

What an audacious idea

“to make the whole world

Marist”. Yet this was the

original idea as envisaged by

Jean Claude Colin and those

who planned the Marist pro-

ject – the Society of Mary.

This Society “a tree with

many branches” encom-

passed the Marist Fathers,

one of whom was Marcellin

Champagnat who developed

the Marist Teaching Broth-

ers. Jeanne-Marie Chavoin,

who through her support of

Jean Claude Colin and his

brother priest, formed the

Marist Sisters.

The fourth branch went

beyond religious men and

women to include people

who “live in secular society”.

Many years later a fifth

branch, the Missionary

Sisters, came into being

when women of the Third

Order of Mary followed

Francoise Perroton to the

missions of Oceania.

Recently, I heard the startling

findings of a study into the differ-

ences of the cries of newborn ba-

bies. Sometime during the third

trimester, the baby picks up the

rhythm and tone of its mother’s

mother-tongue. It is learning in

utero. The same study suggested

that a pregnant woman “avoid

anger, listen to soft, gentle music”

and generally be in a “lovely envi-

ronment”. How vitally important

is the role of the father/spouse for

both mother and child!

Science is beginning to reveal

what most of us already know –

deeply, intuitively, bodily, spiritu-

ally- the interconnectedness of all

life. I wonder what other qualities a

baby, hidden in the womb, absorbs

from its mother? Gentleness?

Mercy? Justice? Love?

With Advent and Christmas fast

approaching, we see Mary pregnant

with child. I hear Mary, speaking in

her mother-tongue, the words of the

Magnificat, words of joy, humility,

self-knowledge, other-centredness,

mercy and justice.

May we too, speak with Mary’s

voice as we wait for the birth of

the Messiah. - Maria Baden

December 2009 Volume 2 Issue 5 Quarterly Review

Editor: Barbara Ashwell

Email: [email protected]

Maria’s Musings—East Timor Marist Leadership

2

A Child is Born—Andrew & Bo Dumas share their feelings on Parenthood

3

Marist Fathers’ Generalate Marist Brothers’ Generalate Comments from Readers

4

Cerdon 40th Reunion Blessing of Montbel

5

Come Share a Liveable Spirit News from New Caledonia

6

Holy Name of Mary Feastday 7

Reflection Day Bexley Marists’ Generosity Expectant Parents Calendar of Events Marists in need of Prayer Happy Christmas Marists

8

Editor: Barbara Ashwell

To Make the Whole World Marist Thoughts from “Like a Bridge” by Duffy & Girard

Awaiting Birth

Sub Maria Nomine

FAITH

Faith is a gentle flow

That floods the terrain of the

body and soul

As water sweeping down,

a cleansing cataract

Finding its way into every

niche and crevice

Subduing all with its

irresistible force

Softening hard places

moistening infertile earth

Drowning persistent weeds

that stifle true growth,

The life-giving gift of

renewed abundance.

How can we deserve this gift

Of all powerful divine love

Which bestows such blessing

Shows such infinite mercy?

We cannot be worthy,

we are too flawed

But humbly accept saying

“Thank you, Lord.”

Shelagh Goonewardene

This all inclusive Society of

Mary was open to the People

of God – all who living

Mary’s spirit shared in the

universal mission of reveal-

ing to the world the hope and

salvation of her son Jesus.

Many diocesan priests like St

John Marie Vianney (the

Cure of Ars) became mem-

bers of the secular branch, the

Third Order of Mary.

Fr Colin did not wish this lay

branch to be known as the

Third Order as only religious

Orders who take solemn

vows can have a “Third

Order”. Marist Congrega-

tions take simple vows as

members of a Society not an

Order. Fr Colin saw this

“confraternity of lay people

living in the world” as the

principal means for extending

the Marist way throughout

the world, for making “the

whole world Marist.” Yet for

many years this branch went

under the name of Third

Order as it was a common

term at that

time to

differenti-

ate laity

from reli-

gious.

The Church’s second Vati-

can Council finally caught

up with the vision of Fr

Colin, by giving dignity to

the status of the lay person,

affirming the universal call

to holiness and the co-equal

discipleship of religious and

laity. We know today that

the term laity designates

more than 98% of the peo-

ple of God and that the

names Lay Marists or Marist

Laity are used worldwide.

This does not negate the

discipleship of Third Order

groups who still adhere to

that name. Rather it empha-

sizes the diversity of “the all

inclusive Society of Mary”

as envisaged by Fr Jean

Claude Colin.

When you finally raise your eyes from this a p p a r e n t l y h o p e l e s s s i t u a t i o n , there, standing with arms outstretched in a gesture of welcome and protection, is the Christo Rei, the huge statue of Christ overlooking the capital. In the midst of the mess, struggle, poverty and suffering, hope abides! My trip to East Timor is one I will never forget, not because of the obvious material poverty and discom-fort I encountered, but rather, for the beauty of the place and its people, and the spirit of hope and hard work despite a long history of oppression. One of t h e g r e a t signs of f a i t h , h o p e and charity is the presence of lay volunteers and reli-gious, working on the ground with the people, giving them skills and education to lift them out of the cycle of pov-erty and oppression. I met Salesian sisters and priests, Christian Brothers,

Carmelites, Josephites and yes….Marists! The Marist Brothers run a Teachers’ College in Baucau, the second city of Timor Leste. It is the only tertiary institution outside of Dili. Marist Brothers Fonz, John Hor-gan and Tony Clarke are aiming to work them-selves out of a job as they prepare the East Timorese to eventually take over the college. Most of the teaching staff is now Timorese. There are 150 students study-ing for their Bachelor of Education and 11 stu-dents completing their Masters. Two women, Monica Morrison and Margie Beck, work with the Brothers getting the Masters students through the ACU accredited de-gree. Equal numbers of students are chosen from all the districts of East Timor with the expecta-tion that when they graduate they will return to their home districts to teach.

The Brothers have also set up a clinic and a crèche. Both are run by Timorese and are much needed facilities in Baucau.

We spent a wonderful evening at the Brothers’ house, enjoying their hospi-tality of local food, stimulat-ing conversation and a glass of gin-and-tonic to ward off malaria!

Despite the many difficul-ties this young nation faces, there is an energy and joy in living that we, in our affluent world, often don’t realise. No empty suburban streets with manicured lawns and im-pressive houses on this island! Instead, streets teem with goats, pigs, chooks, dogs and water buffalo….and children! So many children, compared to the aging face of Australia. - Maria Baden

Maria’s Musings — on her visit to Timor Leste

Page 2 Quarterly Review

The first thing you notice as you leave the airport and head into Dili is the people- people teeming every-where, going about the daily business of survival. Here at ground level, where your senses are overwhelmed, is life in a third world country. It is hot, dusty (August is the dry season) a n d sme l l y ! At every corner, it s eems , a mound of burnt garbage sits smoul-dering. Traffic is chaotic - old cars, 4WDs and a myr-iad of buzzing motor scoot-ers weaving carelessly around them. I notice a se-ries of open channels where the city’s “grey” water lies stagnant, and wonder how easy it must be to “catch something”, or, how easy for a young child to fall in and drown. Buildings are in a bad state: gutted, burnt, crumbling, roofless – a ‘gift’ from the Indonesian troops as they grudgingly left East Timor in 1999.

Leadership in the Marist Way

This year, Marist Laity AustraliaMarist Laity AustraliaMarist Laity AustraliaMarist Laity Australia has taken some positive steps in the area of succession planning that will, hopefully, guide our asso-

ciation into the future.. We are laying the groundwork for new leadership which is imperative for Marist Laity AustraliaMarist Laity AustraliaMarist Laity AustraliaMarist Laity Australia to grow and

adapt to meet the needs of a constantly increasing membership. People, both young and old, are realising that mere materialism and

self-fulfillment is an illusion that leaves one feeling empty. Mary was “full of grace” and Marist spirituality is a gift to those who seek

and find it.

In October, Paul Dolan, Dennis Doherty and Helen Peters were invited to share, along with committee members, the stories of how we

became Marists and why this spirituality continues to nourish us. With Sr Vivienne’s gentle facilitation, the afternoon brought a won-

derful sense of intimacy, a genuine listening and being-listened-to. It was a sacred time together where people spoke from the heart. In

these sacred times and spaces, we become ‘whole’ as we see ourselves woven together in this simple, beautiful Marist tapestry.

Many thanks to Helen, Dennis and Paul for coming along and enriching our understanding of being Marist. We hold you in our prayers

as you discern your future links with Marist Laity AustraliaMarist Laity AustraliaMarist Laity AustraliaMarist Laity Australia

Andrew I’m writing this at 1.32am in the

morning on October 30th. It is now 3

weeks since Raphael was born and he

has been crying consistently since Bo

finished feeding him after 11 pm. To

listen to your baby crying at a high

pitched, pleading, and suffering tone

is hard to bear. What an incredible

experience it is to create a new

person - one so fragile and one who

has never existed before. Sure there

are painful times having kids, but

also there are blissful times. Such as

when Michelle, now 18 months,

plays peek-a-boo or when Raphael

will stare at you with those big gaz-

ing eyes and unexpectedly, give a big

grin. We are co-creators with God.

What an awesome gift parents have.

We are images of God and our

children are images of ourselves.

When Bo went into pre-labour Bo’s

mum came to take care of Michelle. I

supported Bo with lots of massages,

encouraging her to relax and breathe

and just by being there. Bo, while

focusing on the pain, remembered

how countless generations of women

had given birth before her. We ar-

rived at the hospital at 11 pm only to

be sent home at 12.30 am. I fell

asleep at 1.30 am, while Bo perse-

vered all night. By the morning the

contractions had slowed right down

to Bo’s disappointment. She was

exhausted having not slept properly

for the last three nights. By midday,

the contractions had progressed to

three in ten minutes again. We

jumped in the car a bit after 1 pm.

When I had to suddenly brake in

order not to run through a red light,

Bo in the back on all fours got

thrown into the back of the front seat.

We arrived at the hospital at 1.30 pm

and the baby was born at 2.00 pm on

Saturday 10 October. Bo was really

glad not to have had the baby in the

car. The clean up would have been

terrible!

Since having children my “personal-time”

has undergone a major change. Instead of

spending night times and weekends doing

my own thing, like surfing the web,

watching TV or reading a book, I now

give time to playing and caring for my

children. During the third school trimes-

ter, prior to Raphael’s birth, I fell into the

trap of working all the time. I was teach-

ing, staying back at school with meetings

and coming home marking and preparing

for the next day until 10 or 11 pm at

night. We needed to do something about

it.

One Saturday afternoon, while

Michelle was sleeping we pulled two

chairs and a table into the backyard. For

two hours we had a real head to head

chat. No holding back. At the end of the

conversation it was as though something

had lifted. Bo felt she had been heard and

I realised that time with Bo and Michelle

is more important than work time. I had to

grow and change to allow time for this.

Page 3 Volume 2 Issue 5

Bo I think there are a lot of negative

messages in western society these days

about having children. I think in a way,

people are almost scared of becoming

parents. I think there is a fear of not being

in control. I certainly have a greater sense

of my mortality. I know it’s probably

abnormal but I think and fear about dying

a lot. I can almost not accept the concept

of not existing and most of all not being

there to see my children grow up. My

other fear is having my children to grow

into “bad” people. These are my greatest

fears since having my own children.

It is amazing to hold a little thing that

relies on you to survive every day. My 18

month old is now in a phase where she

copies whatever we say or do. It reminds

me of how, as a parent, I am a big part of

moulding the type of person my children

are growing up to be. Giving birth to a

child brings back a sense of awe in me.

How such an insignificant person as me

can be a part of such an awesome thing as

giving life to someone. This life stems

from a love that I have for my husband.

This love extends out to my children to

want them to reach their full potential.

This love mirrors the love between God

and His people (Church).

Despite all the fears I have in bringing

children into this world and despite all the

fears about what can go wrong, there is no

greater thing I want to do. The joy they

bring into my life resonates in me the

calling of God to be a mother. No matter

what happens, I trust that God will take

care of things and there is a glorious

goodness in the lives that I have helped to

bring into existence.

A Child is Born - Andrew & Bo share their deepest feelings as they welcome Raphael – a brother for Michelle – into their family

Andrew, Bo & baby Raphael and Michelle greets her little brother

Hello Mum

I’m Raphael

"I want to thank you for the beautiful Marist Australia June newsletter. I enjoyed every piece of it… it calls all of us Marists to shape our world of today in a distinc-tively Marian way, which has many implications. Your newsletter with the many colourful and beautiful photo-graphs gives us also a lot of information on so many aspects of the life of our Marist family in Australia and beyond. It is a marvelous way to remain connected in spite of distances." (Jan Hulshof)

"Thank you for the very attrac-tive and informative newsletter and even more, the commit-ment and work behind it! I had a look this morning and was struck by the courage which comes through in a time when life with the church is not al-ways easy. I noticed you use the image of the tree with sev-eral branches on your news-letter. Colin used it and it ech-oes the plan for the Society of Mary right from the start. God bless you. (Alois Greiler SM)

Wow! What a wonderful newslet-ter!!! (Christine Colomban, USA)

May Mary, our Good Mother and our first Superior, with Marcellin and all the Marist saints accompany them in the animation and government of the Institute in the coming years

Quarterly Review Page 4

Thank you for the newsletter and the photos. Many Marist Laity outside of Australia have heard about St Joseph's College Hunters Hill and I was happy to see some of the build-ings of this famous college. Your story about Theresa Khun and Ki-ribati is touching. We pray that the Marist spirit blossoms in that coun-try." (William Tagis PhD, PNG) Congratulations and thanks for the very wonderful and comprehensive newsletter you produced. It is just so creatively presented, beautiful and interesting." (Veronica Lum SM Philippines)

Marist Fathers’ New General Administration

Frs Kevin Duffy, Lote Raiwalui, John Hanan—Superior General, Larry Duffy—Vicar General & Aledjandro Munoz

We congratulate the new administrations and look forward to future collaboration

Members of the Marist Brothers New General Council

Antonio Ramalho Ernesto Sánchez Brasil Centro-Norte México Occidental

Eugène Kaban-guka

John Klein United States

Josep Soteras L'Hermitage

Michael De Wass South Asia

Emili Turu Rofes & Joseph McKee Superior General Vicar General

from Marist Brothers’ website

Comments from Newsletter Readers

"I really enjoy reading the latest edition of the Marist Laity in Australia. It is won-derful to see what is happening." (Mary Jane Kenny SMSM, USA) "Loved your newslet-ter. Our Marist Family Laity Service Commit-tee is wanting to do a newsletter. Could we use your format? (Ann Brown USA) Wonderful production!

This beautiful building reflects

the years of ministry and service

of the many Marists who cur-

rently live in the picturesque,

historic setting of Villa Maria.

T h e

C h a p e l

s h a p e d

like the

prow of

a ship

with an

outs ide

w a t e r

f ea t u r e

is a sig-

nificant

reminder of the early Marists

who left from Hunters Hill to

sail to the Pacific Missions.

On November 15 1875 Fr

Colin died and was buried in

his beloved La Neyliere,

where he had spent his twi-

light years producing his

finest work - the Constitu-

tions of the Society of Mary.

One hundred and thirty-four

years later on this same date,

Montbel was blessed and

opened by the Provincial, Fr

Paul Cooney sm, to provide

rest, reflection and retire-

ment for today’s generation

of Australian senior Marists.

Various members of the Marist

Family joined Fr Larry

Duffy—the Vicar General who

came from Rome, Fr Phil

Cody—the Vicar General of

the New Zealand Province and

Fr Bill Ryder, the previous

Provincial, from Melbourne

along with Marist Fathers from

near and far, for this joyous

celebration.

Fr Gary Reynolds sm, who

headed the building committee,

outlined the many planning

meetings since 2004 with

SARM the Architects and how

BCE Constructions made this a

visible reality over the past

year, with special mention of

the happy, hardworking

builder-boss, John Cristo.

In 1969, the very first 6th Form

(Year 12) class of Cerdon College, Merrylands, sat for their HSC. There were just thirty of us in that first group! So it was most fit-ting that, 40 years on, we cele-brated together at the home of Kerry Hamer (nee Macinante). Many were unable to come but those of us who did re-lived the happy times of our school life with the Marist Sisters. We were blessed to have Sisters Carmel Murray and Joan McBride with us again. Sr Joan (Aquinas) was prin-cipal at Cerdon from 1967-1979 and taught us Modern and Ancient History. Sr Carmel (Marie-Benedict) taught us English from Year 7 through to Year 12. One of our cohort, Noelene Simmons, be-came a Marist Sister several years after leaving school. The strength of the Marist spirit was evident at

the gathering as we looked back at those vital, formative years un-der the gentle and wise care of the Sisters. Cerdon is the name of the little village in France where Jeanne-Marie Chavoin, the foundress of the Marist Sisters, first came to find out about the Marist project from Fr Jean-Claude Colin who was convinced that Mary wanted a Society which bore her name.

Volume 2 Issue 5 Page 5

In 2010, CERDON COLLEGE is celebrating its

50th ANNIVERSARY.

The first event will be a

Dinner on 26th June 2010 at Rosehill Racecourse

Contact: Michelle Hanna

on 9632 8759

Blessing and Opening of Montbel at Hunters Hill 15 November 2009

L-R: Margaret Reynolds, Maria Baden, Sue Woolnough , Noelene Simmons sm, Kerry Hamer, Carmel Murray sm, Luisa Severi, Joan McBride sm, Nelly Seba

Cerdon Students

40th Reunion

Fr Jim Bishop sm

A number of years ago,

in the face of the decline

of the number of Marist

Sisters available for the

education ministry, Sr

Fidelis initiated a pro-

gramme for lay staff called “A Liveable

Spirit”. Sr Ann-Marie Webb (RIP) collabo-

rated with her in developing the idea and,

in consultation with a team of teachers,

they designed a two-day workshop to be

conducted at a venue conducive to reflec-

tion – “The Cottage” on the Marist Sisters’

Woolwich property.

Up until her untimely death last year, Sr

Ann-Marie presented it several times every

year for staff members of Marist Sisters’

College Woolwich and Cerdon College

Merrylands and even beyond.

This year Sr Vivienne Goldstein has con-

tinued to conduct the programme. She has

found it a very rewarding and privileged

task. Five workshops have taken place dur-

ing 2009 with all 30 participants expressing

appreciation for the opportunity.

The purpose of the programme is to enable

participants to imbibe the Marist spirit and

to approach their task as educators with the

values which underpin the activities of all

Marists – whether they be priests, sisters,

brothers or lay people.

Participants readily recognise the relevance

of these values modelled by Mary, the

mother of Jesus. The Wedding Feast of

Cana, central to the Marist Sisters’ General

Chapter 2008, appeals to many. They iden-

tify easily with the woman who notices a

need and, wanting to spare others embar-

rassment, goes to the rescue – but not in a

way that draws attention to herself; she

works in the background, setting the scene,

linking together those who can help, then

stepping back and letting it all happen – the

focus is never on her.

The Marist Sisters treasure the charism of

their congregation and that of the wider

Marist Family. This programme is one way

of sharing it with others and inviting them to

respond to the challenge of living the Gos-

pel in the here and now as Mary would do.

Quarterly Review Page 6

Come, Share a Liveable Spirit by Sr Vivienne Goldstein sm

Dear Maria, Many thanks for sending me the last MLA Bulletin, Sept 2009. Very well done ! I forwarded it to the NC Region Eng-lish-speaking confreres, for their own information. Thank you also for the material you sent me before. Excuse me for not acknowleding it each time..., but I did appreciate. Our ML Conference on July 11th went well, in spite of bad weather conditions. About 100 people turned up, mainly lay people from all the various lay branches, including the traditional Third-Order. Our new provincial councillor for the Marist laity, Fr Milio Vasirovoka sm, from Suva, also attended the meeting and preached at the concluding Mass. Yesterday again around 100 people came and celebrated the Holy Name of Mary in a newly-built church of Nouméa called "L'Espérance" (Hope), but without the TOM members who were having their annual 3-day retreat with Fr Soane Malia Pulotu sm. Sosefo must have been with them. I didn't see Sébastien either, but he underwent surgery on his hip recently and he must still be recuperating. The next meeting of the Board will be on Sept 25th. I will share with them some of the news contained in your bulletin. Let's keep praying for the 2 General Chapters in Rome, and for peace in the world. Fraternally in Mary, Mother of mercy and Queen of peace ! Fr François Grossin sm Bishop of Noumea, New Caledonia

News from New Caledonian Lay Marists

parishioners to attend the

5.30am prayers before

6.00am Mass. This was a

daily ritual which continued

until the death of my grand-

father when I was 11 years

old. Just imagine a 5 year

old being sent to a dark

church with no electricity or

candles and you have to

open doors and windows all

by yourself. We wouldn't

do that to a 5 yr old today.

I guess it is the seed that

was planted a long time ago

and just needs to be nur-

tured, whether it be through

praying together with

others, or by myself. It is a

feeling that I find I am un-

able to shake off, along with

tears, whenever I am deep

in prayer. Could be tears of

guilt, as I know I haven't

always been on the right

track when it comes to pray-

ing. Our lives get tangled up

in all sorts of disruptions,

and yet God never fails us,

he is always by my side

through the good and bad.

This day "The Launching of

the International Prayer" on

Mother Mary’s feastday will

always be a day that I will

remember and how I experi-

enced the presence of God

in unity with my fellow

Marist Laity members.

- Sosefina (Sose) Felise

C a t h y

Larkin,

o u r

l i t u r -

g i s t ,

w e l -

comed

us and

b e g a n

by ask-

ing us

to re-

flect on

how we

came to

be given our particular name.

She then talked about the

‘other’ name that we have been

given – Marist - and what this

means for us.

The liturgy was also an oppor-

tunity to launch the second year

of the International Marist Fam-

ily Year of Prayer, Mary,

Mother of Peace. Cathy used the beautiful prayers and inten-

tions of this initiative which the

New Zealand Marists produced.

The celebration was given a

distinctly ‘pacific’ flavour with

Barbara Ashwell, Sosie Felise

and Sosie’s sister Sapina pray-

ing a beautiful Samoan dance

expressing love for God,

followed by them singing to

Our Lady “Si ou alofa oe”. Af-

ter the liturgy we celebrated

with a morning tea and a con-

tinuation of song and dance. It

was another great opportunity

for Marists to come together to

celebrate our namesake – Mary!

The bookmark, Mary Mother

of Peace is available from Marist laity AustraliaMarist laity AustraliaMarist laity AustraliaMarist laity Australia email:

[email protected]

or 0408 245 212

Holy Name of Mary – Mother of Peace

Page 7 Volume 2 Issue 5

When I was asked for a little

Polynesian input into the Lit-

urgy I was not sure what

was expected. I quietly

pondered and asked Mother

Mary for help. I immediately

thought of a hymn honour-

ing Mother Mary on her

name day and a reflective

hymn with some actions in-

corporated into it. I only

had one afternoon to organ-

ize this and Barbara readily

agreed to join me as she will

always have a special place

for Samoa in her heart. In a

couple of hours we had

achieved what we wanted

and what you all witnessed

on that morning. I invited

my sister Sapina to come

and she had no idea she was

part of it until she arrived at

the Church The experience for me was

very emotional, as it was the

first time I had prayed in the

form of dance, let alone the

message delivered through

song and action. It was sim-

ply a personal conversation

with God, a submission of

one's whole self into God.

Then we sang the popular

Samoan hymn to Our Lady

“Si ou Alofa oe”.

It also brought back memo-

ries as a child of 5 yrs old

and growing up in Samoa.

My grandparents were Cate-

chists and it was my job to

open the village church to

toll the church bell to waken

Marist Laity Australia

hosted a liturgy to celebrate the patronal feast day of ALL Marists – The Holy Name

of Mary on the

12 September at the Holy Name of Mary Church,

Hunters Hill and to launch the year of

prayer Mother of Peace

Sose Felise & her sister Sapina Carter

EXPECTANT PARENTS

Does a Mother forget her baby or a woman the child within her womb? Yet even if these forget, I will never forget my own.

Marist Laity Australia

P O Box 1681

Castle Hill NSW 1765

+ Sr Lusia Tuimaivave smsm

who has incurable cancer

+ Tony Warren’s neice Noni

who has cancer

+ Ron Cramer USA - cancer

+ Maria Arana who’s mother

died in Kiribati

+ People in Pacific and

Asian Disaster areas

+ Hope for Refugees

+ People in war torn areas

+ Marist Family worldwide

Marist Family Reflection Day—St Patrick’s Crypt 28 November led by Sr Lindsay Janes smsm

Please Pray for

President: Maria Baden

Secretary: Val Norris

Treasurer: Margaret Walker

E-mail: [email protected]

www.maristlaityaustralia.com

CALENDAR

December 8: The Immaculate Conception December 25: The Birth of Jesus December 27: The Holy Family December 28: The Holy Innocents January 1 Mary, Mother of God January 6 The Epiphany February 2 The Presentation of the Lord February 11 Our Lady of Lourdes

Congratulations to all expectant

parents and to the mums and dads who already have their babies.

We continue to pray with you

and for you and your families.

A Blessed and Happy Christmas to the members of all branches of the Society of Mary family

Bexley Lay Marists, on hearing that every 20 seconds a child dies from dis-eases related to dirty drinking water in poor countries, collected $300 at their November meeting, for water filters to provide clean water for the Samaritan’s Purse Bio-Sand Water Filter Program. The weekly sewing group has made 4,000 garments throughout the year which they have sent to East Timor and to the flood-ravaged Philippines. Continuing Mary’s work……...

Sr Lindsay kept thirty three Marists enthralled with her vision of a proposed model of Marist Spirituality based on the Church’s Mission of incarnating in each one’s life NOW the Beatitudes of Jesus—the basileia of God... the mission given to his disciples to extend the basileia to all people– BECOMING - to the ends of the earth and in every age. The ongoing struggle—the NOT YET—that continues in every age as Jesus through his Spirit works in the lives of his followers. Sr Lindsay built her proposed model of Marist Spirituality using this diagram and challenged the various Marist family groups present to reflect individually and then in their own group on where they were placed on this model. After a period of silence lively discussions resulted in dynamic presentations reminding us of Fr Colin’s vision - a gracious choice, prayer, Mary’s presence in the Church, “as if hidden and unknown”, all inclusive. Each branch of the family has it’s own special charism and no one branch contains the Marist Spirit. Together all branches complete and live Marist Spirituality. The day ended with a beautiful reflective liturgy prepared by Cathy Larkin.

CONVENTUAL—”NOW”

Imitation & Asceticism

APOSTOLIC—

”BECOMING”

Assimilation & Mysticism

PROPHETIC—

”NOT YET

Challenge to the status quo Witness in faith

TOM

FMS

SM Frs

SM Srs

SMSM

Laity