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Reflection delivered at the Mass of Thanksgiving
marking 125 years of Marist life and mission in the United States
Church of St. Jean Baptiste, New York
October 8th, 2011
Seán D. Sammon, FMS
On December 1st, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, a woman by the name
of Rosa Parks broke the law to win release from the prison in which she
found herself. An African-American, Parks sat down in one of the seats on a
city bus reserved for whites only. Hers was a courageous act, and one not
without its risks.
Legend has it that years later, a student asked Ms. Parks what had caused
her to take that seat. Her answer,“I sat down because I was tired”. Now,
surely it was not just her feet that were tired. No, what ate at the soul and
sapped the energy of this middle aged woman were the years of empty
promises that she had heard; promises made with only one intention in
mind: the desire to keep some people “in their place.”
But on that December day in 1955, Parks made a life-changing decision. In
an act, stunning in its simplicity, she told all who would listen that
henceforth she would no longer live in a way that contradicted her deeply
held convictions. And in so doing, she set into motion a civil rights
movement that changed the face of the nation and the law of this land.
Now what is the relationship between this story and the anniversary we
celebrate today? For after all, Marcellin Champagnat was dead for more
than a century before Rosa Parks ever set foot on that bus and to the best
of my knowledge the Marist Brothers have never had a presence in
Montgomery, Alabama.
I tell the story for this reason: while fatigue may have burdened Rosa Parks
that fateful December day, something much more significant caused her to
sit down on that bus. She did so because she had a dream, a dream of
freedom and of justice, and more importantly, was willing to pay whatever
price was necessary to make that dream a reality.
And didn´t Marcellin Champagnat do much the same? Here was a man in
love with God who at age 27 brought to life a dream that he had carried in
his heart ever since the time he and some fellow seminarians made a
promise at the chapel at Fourvière in Lyons, France. They vowed to
establish a movement made up of sisters and priests, brothers and lay men
6/29/2021
Reflections by Sean Sammon
https://academic2.marist.edu/foy/maristsall/essays/reflections_brother sean sammon.html
2/4
and women, a movement aimed at giving a Marian face to the Church of
post-revolutionary 19th Europe and teaching the true meaning of the Jesus
Christ´s Good News.
As part of this larger vision, Marcellin was intent on establishing a
community of brothers whose sole task would be to tell children and young
people just how much Jesus Christ loved them. How did he begin?
Modestly, to say the least. He had an old house, two uneducated recruits,
and no money. And yet the dream of this simple country priest and saint
has grown so that today there are just shy of 4000 brothers and
approximately 40,000 lay men and women working with 650,000 young
people each year in 79 countries. Yes, with hard work and the will to do so,
dreams do come true, giving us the hope that we can change our world.
That very same dream took root here in this country in 1886 at St. Pierre
School in Lewiston, Maine in the persons of Brothers Come and Ferdinand
who came from Iberville and Brothers Généralis and Henri-Gabriel who
traveled from France. Unfortunately, our tenure in that hamlet was short-
lived, a mere seven years. A dispute between the principal and the pastor
was the reason given for our departure. Some things never change! For
years after, however, vocations continued to come from Lewiston, Maine.
Among them: Brothers Marie-Petrus who died in 1964, John of the Cross
who died in 1984, Charles Raymond, better known as “the Frère”, Etienne
Emile or B.E.E. and Paul Forgues.
Many other names mark this time of beginning: Cécidius who served as
Director General and Visitor; Zéphiriny, a Provincial and the man who
purchased the McPherson and Bech properties in Poughkeepsie that today
make up part of the campus of Marist College; Ptolémeus who was the last
Provincial of the Province of North America and the first of the Province of
the United States and later served as Director of Saint Ann's Academy;
Florentius the first Master of Scholastics and later the founder of Mount
Saint Michael Academy and Central Catholic High School, to name but a
few.
While there is a tendency to romanticize the past, to imagine a time when
all lived and worked together in harmony, gladly and unquestioningly
accepting exiting structures and the decisions of those in charge, the truth
of the matter is that such an age never really existed. Beginnings are rarely
easy and ours was no exception. Between 1886 and 1911, 69 brothers
died, their average age was 23. There were conflicts too between some
brothers from France and others born in this new world. These wounds
healed slowly, if at all.
6/29/2021
Reflections by Sean Sammon
https://academic2.marist.edu/foy/maristsall/essays/reflections_brother sean sammon.html
3/4
And yet during the years that followed, many new ministries were
established: in New York and New Jersey, Washington, DC and Florida, in
Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, California, Oregon,
Massachusetts, Mississippi, Texas, South Dakota, Louisiana, Connecticut,
Maine, New Hampshire, Georgia, Japan, Liberia, the Philippines, and so
many other places. To some, in retrospect, it seems like a glorious age,
one marked by success in human terms, but—let us be honest—like every
age it had its challenges.
Which brings us to today. Some insist that the present moment in religious
life in this country is marked by diminishment more than anything else.
Fewer members and ever advancing age. I see it differently and believe
that the dream of Marcellin Champagnat continues to unfold in new and
surprising ways. First of all, recent years have given us the great gift of lay
partnership and we are so much richer for it. Lay partnership has always
been there and perhaps we have been late to recognize its presence but
these post-Vatican II years have taught us all that the charism that came
into our world through Marcellin Champagnat belongs to the Church at
large and not solely to the Marist Brothers. So many lay men and women
share the dream of that gave life and breath to the founder and his
mission.
Second, today the process of renewal invites us once again to become
involved with the Holy Spirit. In taking up that challenge, though, let us not
forget that Marcellin's troubles began when he allowed himself to be caught
up in the Spirit of God. For taking God seriously is never easy and
depending upon what the Almighty has in mind, it can change our lives.
Nevertheless, the founder gave God free reign and in time the indwelling of
the Spirit of God became his charism, and he began to do things that
surprised everyone. For example, he built the Hermitage when he had no
money and few recruits. More than a few wondered if he had gone mad.
Today, unfortunately some of us who publicly profess our firm resolve to
live radically the gospel message as the aim and purpose of our lives cite
prudence, counsel caution, discretion, good sense; we call attention to
economic realities, and we worry about retirement. One must wonder: who
has gone mad! And so, this afternoon we need to ask ourselves this
question: Do we really believe that the Spirit of God so active and alive in
Marcellin Champagnat longs to live and breathe in you and me today? And
if we do believe it, are we willing to give God´s Spirit free reign?
Marcellin founded his Little Brothers to make Jesus known and loved among
poor children and young people in particular. Having experienced first-hand
6/29/2021
Reflections by Sean Sammon
https://academic2.marist.edu/foy/maristsall/essays/reflections_brother sean sammon.html
4/4
the love of Jesus and Mary, the founder wanted to give that gift to all whom
he met but especially those beginning the journey of life.
And his approach to education was revolutionary. Wanting his early
brothers to make a significant difference in the lives of the young people
entrusted to them, he encouraged them to form a type of relationship with
those entrusted to their care that was uncommon in early 19th century
France. “Love your students”, he said, “pray for them, and work to earn
their respect.”
This afternoon, these same challenges go out to all of us associated with
the Institute, brothers and lay partners alike. And so, we must ask
ourselves: are the institutions and other works in which we serve
committed to helping young men and women to make Jesus the center and
passion of their lives? We can only achieve this end if we are in the midst of
young people, willing to give them our time without counting the cost, and
doing it in the Marian way: with simplicity.
The qualities of zeal, a spirit of faith, endurance, and the absolute audacity
to take on great challenges were surely evident in the life of Marcellin
Champagnat and during the founding days of the Marist project on this
continent. They need to be equally visible in each of us today: brothers and
lay partners alike.
For the last 40 years, we have used one human means after another in our
attempts to renew our way of life. But facilitation, pastoral plans and
feasibility studies are but means to an end. For it is a profound revolution
of the heart and faith alone that is needed to get the job done. Religious
life was never meant to be balanced, professional, with regular hours, clear
job descriptions, and all sorts of guarantees. Rather it was meant to entail
enough sacrifice to be worth the gift of our lives.
And so today as we mark these 125 years of Marist life and mission in the
United States, let us pray that the Spirit of God lights in us the fire of
renewal. Let us pray, too, for the courage to be as bold, as daring, and as
in love with God as was simple country pastor and son of Mary named
Marcellin Champagnat. May we, like him, be fire upon this earth making
Jesus known and loved among poor children and young people. Amen.
Posted 20 November 2011
Reflections by Sean Sammon
https://academic2.marist.edu/foy/maristsall/essays/reflections_brother sean sammon.html
1/4
ff
Reflection delivered at the Mass of Thanksgiving
marking 125 years of Marist life and mission in the United States
Church of St. Jean Baptiste, New York
October 8th, 2011
Seán D. Sammon, FMS
On December 1st, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, a woman by the name
of Rosa Parks broke the law to win release from the prison in which she
found herself. An African-American, Parks sat down in one of the seats on a
city bus reserved for whites only. Hers was a courageous act, and one not
without its risks.
Legend has it that years later, a student asked Ms. Parks what had caused
her to take that seat. Her answer,“I sat down because I was tired”. Now,
surely it was not just her feet that were tired. No, what ate at the soul and
sapped the energy of this middle aged woman were the years of empty
promises that she had heard; promises made with only one intention in
mind: the desire to keep some people “in their place.”
But on that December day in 1955, Parks made a life-changing decision. In
an act, stunning in its simplicity, she told all who would listen that
henceforth she would no longer live in a way that contradicted her deeply
held convictions. And in so doing, she set into motion a civil rights
movement that changed the face of the nation and the law of this land.
Now what is the relationship between this story and the anniversary we
celebrate today? For after all, Marcellin Champagnat was dead for more
than a century before Rosa Parks ever set foot on that bus and to the best
of my knowledge the Marist Brothers have never had a presence in
Montgomery, Alabama.
I tell the story for this reason: while fatigue may have burdened Rosa Parks
that fateful December day, something much more significant caused her to
sit down on that bus. She did so because she had a dream, a dream of
freedom and of justice, and more importantly, was willing to pay whatever
price was necessary to make that dream a reality.
And didn´t Marcellin Champagnat do much the same? Here was a man in
love with God who at age 27 brought to life a dream that he had carried in
his heart ever since the time he and some fellow seminarians made a
promise at the chapel at Fourvière in Lyons, France. They vowed to
establish a movement made up of sisters and priests, brothers and lay men
6/29/2021
Reflections by Sean Sammon
https://academic2.marist.edu/foy/maristsall/essays/reflections_brother sean sammon.html
2/4
and women, a movement aimed at giving a Marian face to the Church of
post-revolutionary 19th Europe and teaching the true meaning of the Jesus
Christ´s Good News.
As part of this larger vision, Marcellin was intent on establishing a
community of brothers whose sole task would be to tell children and young
people just how much Jesus Christ loved them. How did he begin?
Modestly, to say the least. He had an old house, two uneducated recruits,
and no money. And yet the dream of this simple country priest and saint
has grown so that today there are just shy of 4000 brothers and
approximately 40,000 lay men and women working with 650,000 young
people each year in 79 countries. Yes, with hard work and the will to do so,
dreams do come true, giving us the hope that we can change our world.
That very same dream took root here in this country in 1886 at St. Pierre
School in Lewiston, Maine in the persons of Brothers Come and Ferdinand
who came from Iberville and Brothers Généralis and Henri-Gabriel who
traveled from France. Unfortunately, our tenure in that hamlet was short-
lived, a mere seven years. A dispute between the principal and the pastor
was the reason given for our departure. Some things never change! For
years after, however, vocations continued to come from Lewiston, Maine.
Among them: Brothers Marie-Petrus who died in 1964, John of the Cross
who died in 1984, Charles Raymond, better known as “the Frère”, Etienne
Emile or B.E.E. and Paul Forgues.
Many other names mark this time of beginning: Cécidius who served as
Director General and Visitor; Zéphiriny, a Provincial and the man who
purchased the McPherson and Bech properties in Poughkeepsie that today
make up part of the campus of Marist College; Ptolémeus who was the last
Provincial of the Province of North America and the first of the Province of
the United States and later served as Director of Saint Ann's Academy;
Florentius the first Master of Scholastics and later the founder of Mount
Saint Michael Academy and Central Catholic High School, to name but a
few.
While there is a tendency to romanticize the past, to imagine a time when
all lived and worked together in harmony, gladly and unquestioningly
accepting exiting structures and the decisions of those in charge, the truth
of the matter is that such an age never really existed. Beginnings are rarely
easy and ours was no exception. Between 1886 and 1911, 69 brothers
died, their average age was 23. There were conflicts too between some
brothers from France and others born in this new world. These wounds
healed slowly, if at all.
6/29/2021
Reflections by Sean Sammon
https://academic2.marist.edu/foy/maristsall/essays/reflections_brother sean sammon.html
3/4
And yet during the years that followed, many new ministries were
established: in New York and New Jersey, Washington, DC and Florida, in
Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, California, Oregon,
Massachusetts, Mississippi, Texas, South Dakota, Louisiana, Connecticut,
Maine, New Hampshire, Georgia, Japan, Liberia, the Philippines, and so
many other places. To some, in retrospect, it seems like a glorious age,
one marked by success in human terms, but—let us be honest—like every
age it had its challenges.
Which brings us to today. Some insist that the present moment in religious
life in this country is marked by diminishment more than anything else.
Fewer members and ever advancing age. I see it differently and believe
that the dream of Marcellin Champagnat continues to unfold in new and
surprising ways. First of all, recent years have given us the great gift of lay
partnership and we are so much richer for it. Lay partnership has always
been there and perhaps we have been late to recognize its presence but
these post-Vatican II years have taught us all that the charism that came
into our world through Marcellin Champagnat belongs to the Church at
large and not solely to the Marist Brothers. So many lay men and women
share the dream of that gave life and breath to the founder and his
mission.
Second, today the process of renewal invites us once again to become
involved with the Holy Spirit. In taking up that challenge, though, let us not
forget that Marcellin's troubles began when he allowed himself to be caught
up in the Spirit of God. For taking God seriously is never easy and
depending upon what the Almighty has in mind, it can change our lives.
Nevertheless, the founder gave God free reign and in time the indwelling of
the Spirit of God became his charism, and he began to do things that
surprised everyone. For example, he built the Hermitage when he had no
money and few recruits. More than a few wondered if he had gone mad.
Today, unfortunately some of us who publicly profess our firm resolve to
live radically the gospel message as the aim and purpose of our lives cite
prudence, counsel caution, discretion, good sense; we call attention to
economic realities, and we worry about retirement. One must wonder: who
has gone mad! And so, this afternoon we need to ask ourselves this
question: Do we really believe that the Spirit of God so active and alive in
Marcellin Champagnat longs to live and breathe in you and me today? And
if we do believe it, are we willing to give God´s Spirit free reign?
Marcellin founded his Little Brothers to make Jesus known and loved among
poor children and young people in particular. Having experienced first-hand
6/29/2021
Reflections by Sean Sammon
https://academic2.marist.edu/foy/maristsall/essays/reflections_brother sean sammon.html
4/4
the love of Jesus and Mary, the founder wanted to give that gift to all whom
he met but especially those beginning the journey of life.
And his approach to education was revolutionary. Wanting his early
brothers to make a significant difference in the lives of the young people
entrusted to them, he encouraged them to form a type of relationship with
those entrusted to their care that was uncommon in early 19th century
France. “Love your students”, he said, “pray for them, and work to earn
their respect.”
This afternoon, these same challenges go out to all of us associated with
the Institute, brothers and lay partners alike. And so, we must ask
ourselves: are the institutions and other works in which we serve
committed to helping young men and women to make Jesus the center and
passion of their lives? We can only achieve this end if we are in the midst of
young people, willing to give them our time without counting the cost, and
doing it in the Marian way: with simplicity.
The qualities of zeal, a spirit of faith, endurance, and the absolute audacity
to take on great challenges were surely evident in the life of Marcellin
Champagnat and during the founding days of the Marist project on this
continent. They need to be equally visible in each of us today: brothers and
lay partners alike.
For the last 40 years, we have used one human means after another in our
attempts to renew our way of life. But facilitation, pastoral plans and
feasibility studies are but means to an end. For it is a profound revolution
of the heart and faith alone that is needed to get the job done. Religious
life was never meant to be balanced, professional, with regular hours, clear
job descriptions, and all sorts of guarantees. Rather it was meant to entail
enough sacrifice to be worth the gift of our lives.
And so today as we mark these 125 years of Marist life and mission in the
United States, let us pray that the Spirit of God lights in us the fire of
renewal. Let us pray, too, for the courage to be as bold, as daring, and as
in love with God as was simple country pastor and son of Mary named
Marcellin Champagnat. May we, like him, be fire upon this earth making
Jesus known and loved among poor children and young people. Amen.
Posted 20 November 2011