WATER
FROM THE
ROCK




Editor-in-Chief:
Br. AMEstaún
Publications Commission:
Br. Emili Turú, Br. AMEstaún,
Br. Onorino Rota and Luiz Da Rosa.
Original: English
Redactors:
English: Sr. Marie Kraus, SND
Comunications Group:
Br. Joadir Foresti, Br. Jean Pierre Destombes,
Br. Federico Carpintero and Br. AMEstaún
Photography:
Br. AMEstaún.
Photographic Archives of the Institute of the Marist Brothers.
Photographic Archives of the “Fabbrica di San Pietro in Vaticano”.
Formatting and Photolithography:
TIPOCROM, s.r.l.
Via A. Meucci, 28 – 00012 Guidonia (Roma)
Production and Administrative Centre:
Piazzale Marcellino Champagnat, 2.
C.P. 10250 – 00144 ROMA
Tel. (39) 06 545 171
Fax (39) 06 54 517 217
E-mail: publica@fms.it
Web: www.champagnat.org
Publisher:
Institute of the Marist Brothers
General House – Rome
Printing:
C.S.C. GRAFICA, s.r.l.
Via A. Meucci, 28 – 00012 Guidonia (Roma)
June 2007








Flowing in the tradition of Marcellin Champagnat
WATER
FROM THE
ROCK
M
ARIST
S
PIRITUALITY









4
F
ORWARD
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
I
NTRODUCTION
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1. D
RAWING
FROM
S
TREAMS
OF
L
IVING
W
ATER
. . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2. W
E
J
OURNEY
IN
F
AITH
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
INDEX




WATER
FROM THE
ROCK
5
3. A
S
B
ROTHERS
AND
S
ISTERS
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
4. B
RINGING
G
OOD
N
EWS
TO THE
P
OOR
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
W
E
S
EE
N
EW
V
ISIONS
,
D
REAM
N
EW
D
REAMS
. . . . . . . . . 80
R
EFLECTION QUESTIONS
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
N
OTES
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
G
LOSSARY
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96








F
ORWARD
D
EAR
B
ROTHERS
AND
MEMBERS
OF
THE
M
ARIST
F
AMILY
...




6 June 2007
Feast of Saint Marcellin
Dear Brothers and members of the Marist Family,
Marcellin Champagnat’s first recruits loved him for the elder brother
and father that he was. That fact is not surprising since the young priest
and his charges shared a great deal in common.
First of all, like the founder himself, Jean-Marie Granjon, the Audras
brothers—Jean-Baptiste and Jean-Claude, Antoine Couturier, Barthéle-
my Badard, Gabriel Rivat, and Jean-Baptise Furet were unpretentious
country lads who lived by the work of their hands. Second, for the most
part they were initially unlettered. The founder himself had had his
share of academic difficulties, and struggled in the seminary due to his
lack of preparation.
But the loyalty and dedication of the young men that Marcellin gath-
ered round himself had roots that ran far deeper than similarities in
8
F
ORWARD


background or experience. For the founder was a man who had fallen in
love with God, and with his help his young recruits eventually did the
same. Yes, under his tutelage they grew ever more aware of God’s pres-
ence and began to rely on Providence.
He advised each of them also to model himself on Mary, knowing that
it was a sure way for them to center their lives on the Lord. And so they
strove to make her ways their own. Keenly aware of the founder’s apos-
tolic nature they mirrored his concern for God’s poor and competed with
one another to be of service to them.
In time their way of living the gospel became a reflection of the char-
acter and values of the person who inspired them. Years later so many of
them remembered this resolute and courageous man as enthusiastic and
practical, willing to take action, and blessed with a humble spirit. Here-
in lay the source of the simple and down-to-earth spirituality that he so
freely shared with them.
That spirituality had at its heart Marcellin’s own experience of be-
ing loved by Jesus and called by Mary. Along with the other early
Marists, he believed she was calling their Society to a renewed way of
being Church; at Fourvière they pledged themselves to make that
dream a reality.
The spirituality of Marcellin Champagnat and our early brothers has
been handed on to us as a precious heritage (C, 49). Made contemporary
by each generation it retains its Marial and apostolic dimensions. Our
task is to incarnate this spirituality in the many cultures and situations
in which the Institute finds itself at the moment.
9
WATER
FROM THE
ROCK



Our brothers gathered in Chapter in 2001 asked the new General Ad-
ministration to develop a guide that would make the Marist Apostolic
Spirituality of Marcellin Champagnat more accessible to a wider audi-
ence. They realized that since the Institute’s beginnings this spirituality
has had an appeal not only to Marcellin’s brothers but to his lay Marists
as well. It is my privilege to introduce to you Water from the Rock: Marist
spirituality – flowing in the tradition of Marcellin Champagnat.
This text is the work of many hands and the fruit of a great deal of
consultation. Aware also of the fact that any genuine spirituality is living
and dynamic, we need to keep in mind that what is written in these
pages is not meant to be the last word on the topic. Rather what appears
here is written for our age and time in history.
Though many played an important role in shaping this document and
its contents, one group in particular—an international body of brothers,
laymen and women, and other Marists—shepherded the project
throughout. My thanks to all involved and in a special way to the mem-
bers of that International Commission: Brother Benito Arbues, FMS,
Brother Bernard Beaudin, FMS, Brother Nicholas Fernando, FMS, Sister
Vivienne Goldstein, SM, Brother Maurice Goutagny, FMS, Brother
Lawrence Ndawala, FMS, Brother Spiridion Ndanga, FMS, Brother Gra-
ham Neist, FMS, Bernice Reintjens, Agnes Reyes, Vanderlei Soela, Broth-
er Miguel Angel Santos, FMS, Brother Luis Garcia Sobrado, FMS, and
particularly Brother Peter Rodney, FMS, a member of our General Coun-
cil, who oversaw the group’s work.
Marcellin’s Marist Apostolic Spirituality is a living and dynamic ex-
perience of God, contemplative and action oriented at the same time.
10
F
ORWARD


Transformed by the love of Jesus and called by Mary we are sent on mis-
sion, announcing God’s Good News to those children and young people
living on the margins of society.
Thus, the title of this text: Water from the Rock. Those who know well
the story of Marcellin will recall that he built the Hermitage by hand
with rock that he had hewn himself. The water from the Gier, a small riv-
er that runs through the Hermitage property, was an important second
source of life to the early community. Using the same two images, Water
from the Rock gives Marcellin’s Marist Apostolic Spirituality its central
and rightful place in the lives of each of us and all those who come to
know and love him as did those early recruits of his so many years ago.
May what you read here deepen your understanding and increase your
faith.
Blessings and affection,
Brother Seán D. Sammon, FMS
Superior General
11
WATER
FROM THE
ROCK





I
NTRODUCTION
Marist Spirituality.
Landmarks
of the development
of our spirituality.
How to approach
this document.




INTRODUCTION
Our mandate
In 2001, the XX
th
General Chapter of the
Marist Brothers requested that reflection on
the subject of our spirituality be encouraged
and that a document, along the lines of the
Marist education document of 1998, be pro-
duced.
1
In interpreting this mandate, the
General Council saw the text as helping us
to reflect upon and deepen our understand-
ing, appreciation and living of Marist spiri-
tuality. The text is not meant to be the final
word on this spirituality, but rather a state-
ment of how we understand it today. There-
fore, it is essential that the document tell the
story over time about how our Marist
search for God was born, took root, and
flourished. It would open up the richness of
this spirituality and so better enable us to
offer this gift to the Church and the world.
It would also promote the growth of our life
in faith both personally and in the different
human communities in which we find our-
selves. The document is intended to help
develop a spirituality that is apostolic and
Marial in our ministries.
Marist Spirituality
Throughout life, our inner spiritual real-
ity interacts dynamically with the experi-
ences we undergo. On the one hand, what
we term our spirituality is moulded as we
embrace the experiences of our lives. On
the other, this spirituality shapes the way
we understand and relate to the world, to
people and to God.
When we speak of Christian spirituality
we refer to that unquenchable fire that
burns within, filling us with passion for
the building of the Kingdom of God.
2
This
becomes the driving force of our lives as
we allow the Spirit of Christ to lead us.
14


WATER
FROM THE
ROCK
15
Any Christian living this way grows in
holiness.
3
We live out this Christian spirituality
in a distinctive Marial and apostolic way.
4
It is an incarnated spirituality springing
up in Marcellin Champagnat*.
5
It devel-
oped with the first Brothers who handed
it on to us as a precious heritage.
6
While we share common roots with
other Marist* ways of life, we have a par-
ticular spirituality. It is continuously re-
newed through the action of the Spirit,
coupled with our personal and commu-
nity efforts to incarnate it in changing sit-
uations and in different cultures.
7
This
spirituality strengthens our unity and is a
crucial element for the vitality of our life
and mission.
8
Therefore, in using the
term “Marist” in this document we speak
only of those whose spirituality is in the
tradition of Marcellin.
Landmarks
of the development
of our Spirituality
Marcellin was gifted with a profound
relationship with Jesus and Mary. Our
spirituality began with this gift. Begin-
ning with the early intuition instilled in
him by the Spirit, which was influenced
by his own personality and the events
of his life, he and the first community
shaped a charism*. Thanks to their cre-
ative fidelity, this charism began to ex-
press itself in a spirituality.
At the time of Marcellin’s death in
1840, the spirituality was well devel-
oped, but not systematised. Soon after,
his disciples began to build up a body
of texts to describe the spirituality. Sig-
nificant among them were: Life of Mar-


INTRODUCTION
cellin Champagnat (1856), Our Models in
Religion - Biographies of Some Brothers
(1868) Avis, Leçons, Sentences (1869) :
Chronicles of Br. Avit (1855).
In presenting a contemporary vision
of Marist spirituality we are following
the example of previous generations.
The Manuel de Piété (1855) was the first
text to crystallize an understanding of
the spirituality of Marcellin and of the
first generation of Brothers, particularly
their way of relating to Jesus and Mary. It
illustrated their spirituality with practi-
cal examples, focusing on those virtues
seen as characteristic of a Marist Brother
and necessary for “perfection.” Natural-
ly, this work reflected the somewhat aus-
tere spiritual climate of the times.
Subsequent Superiors General and
General Chapters continued to reflect
on how best to live out
these virtues in such changing circum-
stances as the secularization of 1903,
two world wars, and various revolu-
tions and persecutions. The signs of the
times prompted fresh reflection upon
our spirituality and its re-expression to
guide our life and mission.
During the XIX
th
century and the first
half of the XX
th
, an ascetic view of spiri-
tuality prevailed in the Church as a
whole, including our Institute. Such an
approach gave little prominence to the
experiential and mystical dimensions of
spirituality.
Vatican II* encouraged us to bring
these elements to the heart of our spiri-
tuality. With the universal call to holi-
ness, both religious and laity enter into
the mystery of God, and the mystery of
the Church. By doing so, the word
“mystical”* recovers its original mean-
16


WATER
FROM THE
ROCK
ing as a normal Christian way of relat-
ing to God. Our present text conscious-
ly seeks to incorporate and highlight
the mystical dimension in our spiritual-
ity. This Council also asked religious in-
stitutes to renew themselves according
to their founding charism. One conse-
quence of this was that it gave impetus
to the systematic study of our patrimo-
ny and spiritual heritage.
After the Manuel de Piété (1855) the
next official Marist text synthesizing our
view of spirituality was Prayer–Aposto-
late–Community, the fruit of the XVII
th
General Chapter (1976). This document
highlighted the integration of the differ-
ent dimensions of our life. The Superior-
General at this time (1967-1985), Br.
Basilio Rueda, through extensive and
profound writing, enriched our spiritual-
ity by re-expressing its charismatic ele-
ments within the theological and spiritu-
al currents that flowed from Vatican II. In
its revision of the Constitutions, the XVIII
th
General Chapter (1985) described our
spirituality as Marial and apostolic.
9
Since then, Superiors-General and the
XIX
th
and XX
th
General Chapters (1993
and 2001 respectively) have further de-
veloped the meaning and implications of
this Marial and apostolic spirituality.
10
How to approach
this document
What is new about this text is that it is
addressed to both Brothers and Lay
Marists. It reflects a belief that both
groups share in the common charism that
originated with Marcellin. They live out
of the same spirituality, though in differ-
ent life circumstances.


INTRODUCTION
Writing for these two groups poses
challenges in the use of language and
images that can apply to both. At the
same time, we feel the importance of
using familiar terms that are part of
our spiritual tradition and heritage.
Therefore, we use terms, such as “fra-
ternity” and “community,” with a
broad meaning. In using the term
“community” we have in mind all the
communities of which Marists are
part: families, religious communities,
different forms of educational commu-
nities, parishes, etc. Thus we are not
restricting this term only to those
readers who are Brothers. The terms
“brother” and “fraternity” are power-
ful symbols of a particular style of re-
lating. Generally, they are used, not to
apply only to professed Brothers, but
to be more inclusive and to describe
the relational style of all Marists.
Where words have an asterisk (*) you
are invited to check the Glossary at the
end of the document, where an expla-
nation is provided.
This document comprises five parts.
The first part presents the distinctive
elements of Marist Apostolic Spiritual-
ity, which have their origin in the expe-
rience and spirit of Marcellin and our
founding community. Using the image
of a journey or pilgrimage to describe
spiritual development, the subsequent
parts portray how our spirituality can
be lived out: in our search for God and
meaning in our lives (part 2), in our re-
lationships (part 3), and in our apos-
tolic life (part 4). They describe how
each of these key dimensions can en-
rich and develop our spiritual life. The
final part directs us to look to the fu-
ture in hope, inspired by Mary’s canti-
cle, the Magnificat.
11
Hope enables us to
face contemporary challenges with the
18


WATER
FROM THE
ROCK
courage of Marist saints who have
gone before us. We do so with the con-
viction of being the heirs of a rich spir-
itual tradition.
For us, the members of the Commis-
sion, putting our heritage into words
has been a spiritual journey that has
blessed each of us. We have spent many
hours together, and with other Marists,
reflecting on the essential elements of
our spirituality, the sources that nourish
it, and the ways it integrates the key el-
ements of our lives. We have learnt
from each other through reflection
grounded in prayer, passionate sharing
and respectful listening.
The document is intended, not so
much as a text to be read, but as a com-
panion for our spiritual journeys. It is
meant to be reflected upon and worked
with, not so much because it is a defini-
tive statement of our spirituality, but
rather as a point in the development of
that spirituality. We invite you to pray
with the text. May it help to point us to
the Marist way to God, to relationships
and mission.
Because of how we were blessed we
believe that prayerful reflection on the
text is best done with other Marists. At
the end of the document we provide
some questions to aid the reflection of
individuals or groups who might
choose to use them.
Our hope is that the document will
enrich prayer, provoke reflection and in-
spire action. May it truly become a path
leading us to streams of living water.
International Commission
of Marist Apostolic Spirituality,
Rome.





1
.
D
RAWING
OF
L
IVING


Let anyone who is thirsty
come to me and drink.
Streams of living water
will flow from
the believer’s heart.
We become
streams of living water.
G
FROM
S
TREAMS
W
ATER




1.
The story of our spirituality is one of passion and compassion, pas-
sion for God and compassion for people.
2.
Our beginnings were shaped by the caring relationship between a
young country priest and a group of young people, living in a time of
great social turmoil. The priest was Marcellin Champagnat*; the young
people were Jean-Marie Granjon, Jean-Baptiste Audras, Jean-Claude Au-
dras, Antoine Couturier, Barthélemy Badard, Gabriel Rivat, and Jean-
Baptiste Furet. They became our founding community at La Valla*.
3.
Simple and uneducated men, they lived with great simplicity and
unity. Their day was spent in learning how to write, read and
teach, and in manual work that sustained them economically. They
lived in the midst of the people and shared their lot.
4.
Ever more deeply they discovered the presence of God in their
midst, and learnt to rely upon Providence. Together they devel-
oped a thirst for Jesus and for following him in Mary’s way. They de-
veloped a love of Mary as a sure way of centring their hearts on Jesus.
They competed with each other to help someone in need.
5.
Like Mary setting out in haste to the hill country,
13
each week they
went out into the surrounding hamlets to make Jesus known and
loved. They cared for poor children and welcomed them into their home.
14
22
D
RAWING
FROM
S
TREAMS
OF
L
IVING
W
ATER
Let anyone who is thirsty
come to me and drink
12
1


6.
The group’s way of living the Gospel was a reflection of the charac-
ter, values, and spirituality of its leader, Marcellin Champagnat. His
spirituality was deeply influenced by his own personality. His first dis-
ciples remembered with affection the Marcellin they knew: open, frank,
resolute, courageous, enthusiastic, constant and equable.
15
His whole life
gave witness of a person with a practical disposition, a man of action,
and of humility. This enabled him to draw together from various
sources a simple and down-to-earth spirituality.
16
7.
Key among the formative influences that shaped his spirituality was
Marcellin’s personal experience of being loved intensely by Jesus
and called by Mary. An incident early in 1823 (“Memorare in the
Snow”*) was understood by Marcellin and his Brothers as highly signif-
icant. Marcellin and Stanislaus were lost in a snow storm. With his com-
panion unconscious at his feet, Marcellin believed that if Mary does not
come to our aid, we are lost.
17
Placing his life in God´s hands,
he prayed the Memorare. His
prayer to Mary was miracu-
lously answered. Marcellin
and his first Brothers saw in
this incident a deeper reality:
God ‘s choice of them to share
in the same mission that was
entrusted to Mary.
8.
Marcellin was also deeply
aware of the love of Jesus
and Mary for others. This in-
23
WATER
FROM THE
ROCK


spired in him the passion of an apostle.
He dedicated his life to sharing this
love. In Marcellin’s encounter with the
dying young man, Jean-Baptiste Mon-
tagne*, we see how disturbed Marcellin
was to meet a boy facing the end of his
life without knowing the love God had
for him.
9.
This event was for Marcellin a sum-
mons from God. His compassion
aroused him to immediately put into ac-
tion his foundational insight, We must
have Brothers!
18
The needs of young peo-
ple and his responding vision for a
group of dedicated evangelizers was
now confirmed. They would bring the
good news of Jesus to people on the
margins of church and society. He had
been a priest for just four months.
10.
Marcellin was responding with dedication and in effective practi-
cal ways to the needs that he saw around him. But his response to
the needs of his time was also formed by the Project* shared by the first
Marists who dreamed of a renewed way of being Church, to which they
pledged themselves at Fourviere*.
19
With Jean-Claude Colin*, Jeanne-
Marie Chavoin* and the other ‘founding Marists’*, Marcellin shared the
conviction that Mary was calling them together to respond to the needs
of post-Revolutionary France.
24
D
RAWING
FROM
S
TREAMS
OF
L
IVING
W
ATER
1


11.
The Marists understood their Project* to be a sharing in Mary’s
work of bringing Christ-life to birth and being with the Church as
it came to be born. It was a work which they hoped would touch every
diocese of the world, and would be structured like a multi-branched tree
by including lay people, priests, sisters and brothers.
12.
The Marist spirituality that originated with Marcellin and the
founding community has been enriched by the successive genera-
tions of Champagnat’s followers. It has now become a stream of living
water. Future generations will further enhance this spirituality. With
Marcellin, we know that Mary continues to guide its development.
20
13.
We believe the charism* of Marcellin is a gift given to the Church
and to the world, a gift which we are being invited to further de-
velop and live by progressively deepening our participation in this
25
WATER
FROM THE
ROCK




charism*. Our spirituality describes and expresses this charism* as it is
incarnated at any particular place and time in history. As with all authen-
tic charisms, it is a grace of the Holy Spirit entrusted to us for the pur-
pose of building and unifying the Church as the Body of Christ.
14.
In living our spirituality we find our thirst quenched at the streams
of “living water.” In turn we become “living water” for others.
15.
We are inspired by the vision and lives of Marcellin and his first
disciples as we journey to God. While we share such a pilgrimage
with many, we are conscious of our own distinctive style. We are gifted
to share in that transforming experience of being, with Mary, loved un-
conditionally by Jesus. From this flow the particular characteristics of
our manner of being followers of Champagnat.
God’s presence and love
16.
Today, those of us who follow in the
footsteps of Marcellin and his first
disciples are seized by the same inner dy-
namism. We develop a way of being, lov-
26
D
RAWING
FROM
S
TREAMS
OF
L
IVING
W
ATER
1
Streams of living water will flow
from the believer’s heart
21





ing and doing, in the spirit of our origins. Gradually, day
by day, we deepen our experience of the loving presence
of God within ourselves and in others. This presence of
God is a profound experience of being personally loved
by God, and the conviction that he is close to us in our
daily human experiences.
Trust
in
God
17.
Marcellin’s relationship with God, combined with
knowledge of his limitations, explains his unbound-
ed confidence in God. The depth of this trust amazed
those who worked with him, and scandalized some who
judged his actions as reckless. In his humble way, Mar-
cellin saw God at work, and so acted with courage and
commitment. Let us not offend God, asking him very little.
The bigger is our demand, the more we will be pleasing to God.
22
Marcellin’s oft-expressed invocations If the Lord does not
build the house
23
and You know my God
24
were the sponta-
neous expressions of this confident trust.
18.
We endeavour to develop our relationship with
God so that, just as for Marcellin, it is our daily
source of renewed spiritual and apostolic dynamism.
This vitality makes us daring, despite our short-comings
and limited resources. Drawing from Marcellin’s experi-
ence we embrace the mysteries of our life with confi-
dence, openness and self-giving.
27
WATER
FROM THE
ROCK



Love
of
Jesus
and
His gospel
19.
Marcellin taught the first Brothers: To make Jesus known and loved
is the aim of our vocation and the whole purpose of the Institute. If we
were to fail in this purpose, our congregation would be useless.
25
In saying
this, Marcellin clearly expressed his conviction, and a growing convic-
tion for Marists today – the centrality of Jesus in our life and mission.
26
20.
For us Jesus is the human face of God.
27
In a privileged way we
encounter him in the three special Marist places, where Jesus re-
veals God to us.
28
21.
At the Crib we find the innocence, simplicity, gentleness and even
weakness of a God who is capable of touching the hardest of hearts. ...
There is no room for fear of a God who became a child.
29
We come to know
a God who has pitched his tent in our midst, and whom we call
‘’brother.’’
28
D
RAWING
FROM
S
TREAMS
OF
L
IVING
W
ATER
1



22.
At the foot of the Cross, we are in awe of a God who loves us with-
out reserve. We find a God who shares the physical and psycho-
logical suffering, betrayal, abandonment and violence experienced by
humanity, and transforms these experiences. There we enter the mystery
of redemptive suffering and learn humble fidelity in love.
30
The crucified
Christ is the sign and deepest expression of a God who is love.
23.
At the Altar, the Eucharist, we find a privileged place to enter in-
to communion with the Body of Christ: to stand as one with all
who are members and to deepen our relationship with the living pres-
ence of Jesus in our lives. The celebration of the Eucharist, and prayer in
the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, were intense experiences of God
for Marcellin.
31
Experiencing the Eucharist as the source and summit of
the Christian life leads us to the heart of the Marist’s spirituality.
24.
These special Marist places, where we encounter the love of Jesus,
are also meeting spaces with the poor.
32
At the Crib, we are deeply
touched by the situation of poverty and fragility of children and young
people, especially the least favoured. At the Cross, we associate our-
selves with people affected by failure and suffering, and with those who
struggle for bread, justice and peace. At
the Altar, we enter into communion with
the love of Jesus, which leads us into a
deep relationship with the poor. Our
hearts go out to them and they become our
brothers and sisters, and truly our friends.
We open our homes to the poor and we
share with them our presence, time and re-
sources.
29
WATER
FROM THE
ROCK


D
RAWING
FROM
S
TREAMS
OF
L
IVING
W
ATER
In Mary’s way
25.
The relationship of Marcellin to Mary was deeply marked by
an affective and total trust in her, as the “Good Mother,’’* be-
cause it was her work that he undertook. He wrote once: Without
Mary we are nothing and with Mary we have everything, because Mary
always has her adorable Son within her arms or in her heart.
33
This be-
lief remained constant all through his life. Jesus and Mary
were the treasure on which Marcellin had learned to place
his own heart. This intimate relationship helped shape
the Marial dimension of our spirituality. In our tradi-
tion, the phrase “Ordinary Resource”* has come to en-
capsulate our constant reliance on Mary. The motto at-
tributed to Champagnat by his biographer, All to Jesus
through Mary, all to Mary for Jesus, captures this close
relationship between the Son and the Mother and
our Founder’s attitude of confidence in Mary,
which we are invited to live.
26.
We share in the spiritual motherhood of Mary
34
as we take our part in bringing Christ-life to
the world of those whose lives we share. We nur-
ture that life in the ecclesial community, whose
communion we strengthen through fervent prayer
and generous service.
27.
Our attitudes towards young people find their in-
spiration in Mary.
35
In contemplating Mary in
the Scriptures we impregnate ourselves with her



spirit. We go without delay into the “hill country”
of the lives of young people, bringing them news of
the justice and faithful mercy of God.
36
By relating
to young people in a Marial manner, we become the
face of Mary to them.
28.
Since the time of Marcellin, his disciples have
made Mary known and loved. Today we con-
tinue to be convinced that to follow Jesus in the
way of Mary is a privileged way of bringing our
Christian journey to fullness. With a heart filled
with compassion, we share this experience and conviction with children
and youth helping them to experience the maternal face of the Church.
29.
Since Marcellin’s time the Church has deepened its appreciation of
Mary as First Disciple. Marists therefore have a growing relation-
ship with Mary as our Sister in Faith, a woman with dust on her feet,
37
a
woman who was disturbed and puzzled by God, who was challenged to
trust and give without knowing all the answers, whose faith life was a
journey.
Family spirit
30.
Marcellin and the first Brothers were united in heart and mind.
Their relationships were marked by warmth and tenderness. In
their discussions about living together as Brothers they found it useful to
compare the spirit of their community life to that of a family. Like our
early communities, we are inspired by the home of Nazareth to develop
31
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32
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RAWING
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IVING
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ATER
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those attitudes that make family spirit a reality: love and forgiveness, sup-
port and help, forgetfulness of self, openness to others, and joy.
38
This style of
relating has become a characteristic of our way of being Marist.
31.
From our family spirit develops a spirituality that is strongly rela-
tional and affective. Marcellin’s preferred ways of relating to God
and to Mary were through familial terms: Jesus in his ‘’Sacred Heart,’’
Mary as ‘’Our Good Mother.’’ The relationships he encouraged among
the Brothers, and between the Brothers and their students were de-
scribed in similarly fraternal and loving ways. Among today’s Marists,
with the expanded presence of women, the image of sister has enriched
the ways Marists relate, and define their ministry. Essentially, our rela-
tionship to one another is being brother and sister.
32.
Wherever the followers of Marcellin are present, working togeth-
er in mission, this ‘‘family spirit’’ is the Marist way of communal
living. Its well-spring is the love that Jesus has for all his brothers and


sisters – all of humanity. Through this spirit we offer an experience of be-
longing and union in mission.
A spirituality
of
simplicity
33.
At the heart of Marist spirituality coming from Marcellin and the
first Brothers is humility. It expresses itself in simplicity of be-
haviour, most especially in our way of relating to God and to others.
We strive to be persons of integrity - truthful, open-hearted and trans-
parent in our relationships.
34.
This attitude grew from the experience of Marcellin and the first
Brothers. Marcellin’s formative environment was that of a loving
family in a small rural village. From his mother (Marie-Thérèse Chirat*)
he learned to trust in the providence of God; from his aunt (Louise Cham-
pagnat*) he learned filial abandonment into the arms of this God. From
his father (Jean-Baptiste Champagnat*) he
learned sincerity and honesty. Through the
joys and struggles of life he learned to be
humble and confident. Aware of his limita-
tions he experienced them as a grace when
he was able to dispose himself with confi-
dence to the will of God. The first genera-
tion of Brothers were young men from en-
vironments similar to that of Marcellin. All
these providential circumstances devel-
oped a spirituality that was uncomplicated
and down to earth.
39
33
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34
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RAWING
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IVING
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ATER
1
35.
Young people are attracted to this simple spir-
ituality. The images of God we offer them, and
the language, experiences and symbolism we use,
are accessible and touch the heart. The more our
evangelisation and catechesis are rooted in our dis-
tinctive Marist spirituality, the more effective they
become.
36.
This spirituality of simplicity shapes the whole
life of the disciples of Marcellin. In humility,
we seek to know ourselves in our strengths and
weaknesses and readily accept the help we may
need. We grow to be at peace with the person God
has created.
37.
Approaching others with openness and grati-
tude, we accept them as they are, and readily
listen to how they experience us. We willingly offer
forgiveness and take the first step toward reconcilia-
tion.
40
38.
This same spirit encourages us to develop a
simple style of life. This implies that we avoid
consumerism, with its accumulation of disposable
goods and wasteful use of resources. We choose to be
responsible for creation, a precious gift of God to hu-
manity. This attitude encourages us to join with oth-
ers in actions necessary to preserve our environment,
to enhance the harmony between humanity and na-


ture, and to collaborate with the Creator in
bringing creation to its fullness.
39.
Our desire to be in communion with
nature is expressed in a number of
ways. The Marist tradition places great
value on manual work because it brings
us into direct contact with creation, with oth-
er living beings, and with inanimate objects.
It involves … caring for nature, in conserving
and transforming it. It teaches … patience
and precision.
41
As well, such labour affirms both the value of working
with our hands and the example of indigenous peoples who live with
great respect in close relationship to their land.
40.
This love of manual
work reveals a wider at-
titude in the heart of the Marist
that encompasses the values of
making do, frugality, service,
industriousness, and devoted-
ness. In summary – a simple
lifestyle. This manner of living
comes from a Marist tradition
that seeks to live from the work
of our hands. This chosen sim-
plicity of life creates a greater
capacity to minister with the
poor.
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41.
All of this ensures that, like Marcellin, our journey with God is
also one of simplicity. We approach God with transparency,
honesty, openness and trust. We consciously seek uncomplicated ways
to help us in this journey.
42.
Our present age is characterized by a thirst for spirituality. We dis-
ciples of Marcellin believe that our way to God is a gift to be
shared with the Church and the world. We are invited to join with Mary
36
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RAWING
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IVING
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ATER
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We become streams of living water
42


in a journey of faith. If we are able to give witness in our daily lives to
the vitality of this spirituality, people - particularly youth and children -
will feel themselves attracted and invited to take it up as their own way
to become “living water.”
43.
The story of our spirituality is indeed a simple one. It is a story of
women and men who find within a thirst that only God can
quench. Having drunk deeply, they find themselves filled with Jesus’
own desire – to give flesh to God’s Good News. Moved by the Spirit,
urged by God’s own longing to bring life to the world, we become
streams of living water, flowing through the personal, communal, and
ministry aspects of our lives.
37
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2
.
W
E
J
OU R


The angel of the Lord
came to Mary.
Rejoice, full of grace,
the Lord is with you.
Do not fear, Mary,
the Lord has looked
kindly upon you.
The Holy Spirit
will come upon you.
Blessed are you
who believed.
I am the handmaid
of the Lord – let it be done
to me as you have said.
U RNEY
IN
F
AITH


44.
Life is a mystery that is revealed as it unfolds. Even after
many years, much still remains hidden to us. This continu-
al unravelling of our inner depths is dynamic, provoking and
challenging - an ongoing invitation to keep on searching.
45.
As we pass through the different phases of life, we experi-
ence beauty and ugliness, certainty and doubt. There are
times when we feel uplifted, and times when we feel depressed.
All of this both attracts and frightens us at the same time.
46.
Our hearts long to find hap-
piness, to believe that we
can find love and share in the
blessings of life. But we also fear
hurt and betrayal and so are tenta-
tive in our relationships and in-
volvements.
47.
We live in a time of fast and
far-reaching cultural and so-
cial change. Boundaries are shift-
ing and changing, old values are
questioned, and practices of the
past no longer seem to work.
40
W
E
J
OURNEY
IN
F
AITH
2
The angel of the Lord
came to Mary
43


48.
We may find ourselves questioning the
purpose of our existence: Who am I? What is
my life for? How can I make a difference with my life?
To whom do I belong? For whom am I responsible?
Questions like these can fill our minds and
hearts. As we grow in awareness of the life in and
around us, this sense of unease, of anxiety is felt
more acutely.
49.
Yearning for something that will make sense
of our lives, we search for an idea, a person,
an activity that will integrate the different dimen-
sions of living: feelings and desires, relationships
and actions, sexuality and loves, rights and re-
sponsibilities, hopes and dreams.
50.
In such human situations we discover God as the one for whom our
hearts really yearn. We realise that this longing is not of our making
but primarily the work of God’s Spirit within the depths of our being.
With trust, we can open ourselves and come to an experience of God.
51.
Mary is surprised by the forceful entry of God into her life. She is
afraid. Then she comes to be at peace because of her intuition of the
presence and love of God for her. Without having all the answers to her
questioning, she trusts and commits herself to a God who inspires trust.
52.
Marcellin Champagnat* also had to struggle with God’s unexpect-
ed intervention early in his life. That God wills it - suggested by the
recruiting priest – forced him to look again at his project of life.
44
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53.
God comes into the life of Mary, as it is at that moment. He opens
Mary to the truth of her being and of her vocation, and propos-
es to her what she is able to do. The welcome she gives to the Word of
God reveals the quality of her person.
54.
Daily experiences are special places of encounter with God. We
find God’s presence in creation, in the events of every day - work
and relationships, silence and noise, joys and sorrows, achievements
and anguish, tragedy and death.
55.
God is revealed to us through those we meet. Young and old
people, members of our families and communities, the refugee
and prisoner, the sick person and the caregiver, our co-worker and our
neighbour, all are mirrors reflecting the God of life and of love.
56.
We experience God also in the witness of people committed to
peace, justice, and solidarity with the poor and those who act with
generosity and self-sacrifice in the service of others.
57.
All the people and events of life offer an opportunity to encounter
our merciful God. Perhaps we meet God most closely when we
are vulnerable and hurting or when we stand by our word despite the
cost to ourselves. When we give thanks for the gift of life, when we heal
relationships, when we offer and receive forgiveness, when we celebrate
the Eucharist and share the Word - all can be moments of grace to meet
and know God.
42
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J
OURNEY
IN
F
AITH
2
Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you
45


43
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58.
By entering into the fullness of
such moments we discover
our true humanity and the depth of
our relationship with God. As we
live within this relationship we
come to know our true identity –
sons and daughters of God, brothers
and sisters in life.
59.
Our true identity is a gift, given
in the form of an unfolding in-
vitation, a call, a vocation*. It is God’s
work in us.
46
The vocational way of
Marcellin is marked by questionings
and doubts. His pilgrimage to La
Louvesc* is a time of prayer and dis-
cernment.
47
Marcellin experiences his
search for identity and human growth
as a time of grace.
60.
God chooses individual men and
women and calls each of them by
name. He leads them into the desert and
there he speaks to their hearts. … By his
Spirit, he transforms them constantly
leading them more deeply into his love in
order to send them out on mission.
48
The
more we come to know God, the more
we come to know the deepest meaning


44
of our lives. We grow in the
knowledge that we are part of
God’s project for the world.
61.
This journey of discovery
has many twists and
turns. At times we struggle with
our fears and doubts, as Mary
did at the Annunciation. Yet, in
each moment of our search God remains faithful and always present,
continually inviting us to see our lives through God’s eyes.
62.
People make this journey of life in many and varied ways, with
different rhythms and intensities. Each has a unique way of dis-
covering the meaning of their life and of choosing their response. No
matter how they engage in their personal life journey, no matter how
many detours they choose to follow, there is always the opportunity to
meet and know God.
63.
Marcellin sees God in all things and believes all things come from
God. He experiences God’s presence in both the tranquillity of the
Hermitage* and the noisy streets of Paris.
49
For him, every place and cir-
cumstance constitute an opportunity to meet God.
64.
Like Marcellin, we can find God in every situation. Our faith does
not limit the experience of God to moments of prayer or “sacred”
places. We can experience God’s love in all of our life. From this view-
point, the world is no longer considered an obstacle and becomes instead a place
of encounter with God, of mission and of sanctification.
50
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IN
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AITH
2


45
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65.
Being aware in this way sharpens our perception of what is happen-
ing in the present and creates a hunger to go beyond events to the
giver of life itself – God.
66.
In this relationship with God, we experience ourselves as uncondition-
ally loved. A love that draws us ever more deeply into this relationship
and, at the same time, more deeply into relationship with all of life.
52
With
Mary we experience life as a wonderful gift from God: Yes, from this day forward
all generations will call me blessed, for the Allmighty has done great things for me.
53
67.
We find ourselves yet again hungry, not
this time for meaning and purpose, but
rather to know this God more and more and to
become God’s loving presence in the encoun-
ters of our day.
68.
Marcellin, through his way of living,
helps the first Brothers to discover the
loving presence of God. In our time we are sim-
ilarly inspired by the witness of many Brothers
and Lay Marists. In daily experiences they find
God and enjoy God’s presence. They hear a dai-
ly call to be God’s love to their world and, like
Mary, they offer their generous “yes.”
Do not fear, Mary,
for God has looked kindly on you
51


46
69.
Jesus shows us how deeply God is touched by the needs and pain
of people, especially the “little ones” of life. As our lives become
more centred in our relationship with God, we too are filled with God’s
compassion and are drawn into service of those in need, especially
among young people.
70.
This stance towards life, our passion for God and compassion for
God’s people, is our spirituality at work. At each stage in history
it calls forth a certain style of presence, a way of being with God and for
God in our world.
71.
Today’s world deeply needs men and women who are
mystics – people who are able to touch the mystery of
all life, in an attitude of openness and surrender. Having ex-
perienced the love of God, they are witnesses of light among
their fellow pilgrims, inspiring them to seek God.
72.
The mystic believes that the Holy Spirit is always pres-
ent and at work in the world. The Spirit gives meaning
to life and our participation in the mission of Jesus.
73.
As mystics we perceive “the footprints of God” in all
the events of life. Through a reading of our reality in
faith, we are taken beyond appearances and surface mean-
ings, and brought into the depths of each situation. Our
W
E
J
OURNEY
IN
F
AITH
The Holy Spirit will come upon you
54


47
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prayer becomes, Oh Lord, how great is your love! And with a deep
trust that comes from knowing we are profoundly loved, we
confidently open our hearts to God’s will.
74.
To welcome God in this way, we need to develop an
attitude of openness. With God’s help we grow into
being an attentive listener to life, reflective and perceptive
when reviewing the events of our life, and generous in re-
sponding to the invitations of the Spirit contained within
the substance of our days.
75.
Like Mary, who ponders events in her heart
55
, we
are constantly alert to the signs of the time, to the calls
of the Church, and to the needs of youth.
56
In this way we
can understand the sacramental meaning of events, people,
and things which are for us a meeting place with God.
57
This
was Marcellin’s understanding of his encounter with
the dying boy, Jean-Baptiste Montagne*.
58
76.
Our spirituality draws us to find God in all things
and in all aspects of life. Prayer is one means to go
more deeply into our experience. We do not replace prayer
with work. Listening to God impels us to continue labour-
ing for the Kingdom. Our prayer comes from life and it re-
turns us to life.
77.
In prayer, both personal and communal, we find the
opportunity to be moulded by God, as Jesus is. Ours is
an apostolic prayer, open to the reality of creation and of histo-



48
ry, an echo of a life in solidarity with our brothers
and sisters, mainly with the poor and with those
that suffer.
59
It is a prayer that now embraces the
joys and sorrows, the anguish and hopes of those
whom God has put on our path.
60
78.
Throughout our history, followers of
Marcellin have used a variety of means
to nurture their spiritual life. Praying the
Prayer of the Church*, visits to the Blessed
Sacrament, the Rosary, daily Mass, religious
study, meditation and devotional practices –
all have played their part in assisting Marists
to grow in holiness.
79.
In our time there are certain practices
that are essential to nurturing our faith
life as Marists:
Lectio divina*
or meditating on the Word of God
80.
Daily contact with the Word of God al-
lows us to connect with our personal
journey from the perspective of the History of
Salvation. It takes us beyond our personal win-
dow on life to the larger window of the journey
of the People of God.
W
E
J
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AITH



Personal prayer
81.
In personal prayer, made with
openness and joy, we tune our
heart to the heart of God. Before the
Lord we bring all our being - mind,
body, yearnings - and allow God to
transform and integrate all dimensions
of our life.
Review of the day*
82.
Looking back on the events of our day, like the disciples of Em-
maus
61
, we are able to see how God is present during our journey.
We open ourselves to hear God’s invitations and urgings within the
movements of our life.
49
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Community prayer
83.
Our community prayer offers us the opportunity to share in faith
what we live in our mission. Each one’s presence helps create a
sense of communion that enables us to bring into prayer our dreams,
achievements, struggles, personal experiences, and community or fami-
ly projects. Communal days of recollection renew the interior unity of our
active life.
62
Community prayer is a special place for us to discern and
jointly make our choices for mission. We create communal spaces where
we are helped to experience and celebrate the guidance which Mary
gives to our lives.
50
2
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J
OURNEY
IN
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AITH



Faith sharing
84.
We share our faith in many dif-
ferent ways: the witness of our
lives, our prayers and rituals, the
choices we make, and prophetic
stands that we take on behalf of the
voiceless. We support and nurture
each other by sharing our faith in con-
versations that help us to name to-
gether those things that are vital for
our common life.
Accompaniment
85.
Many of us choose to share our journey of faith with a spiritual
companion. This practice is helpful in that it assists us to better
discern the presence of the Lord in our day to day life. It also fills the hu-
man need of unburdening our
hearts, of bringing reality into
the perception of our situa-
tions, and seeking adequate
solutions to problems we often
face. Therefore, it is increasing-
ly recognised as a profitable
means of human and spiritual
development. To be effective, it
needs to occur regularly.
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Celebrating Eucharist
86.
Eucharist is at the centre of our
lives.
63
It is far more than the ritu-
al or the sacrament. Living Eucharistical-
ly describes the process that underpins
the spiritual life and our engagement in
mission: gathered, blessed, broken and
shared. When we gather to celebrate this
gift of Jesus we are in communion with
all people, especially poor people, and
with all creation. Nurtured, we feel im-
pelled to go out as the “body of Christ”
to celebrate and continue to build God’s
Kingdom.
Reconciliation
64
87.
As we walk together we will face
moments when our relationships
are tested to the limit. In other moments
we will realise that our heart and mind
are not attuned to the work of the Spirit.
We need to be reconciled not only as in-
dividuals but as communities. We need
reconciliation with one another and with
God, to the vocational invitation within
each one of us and to our shared mission.
52
2
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AITH




53
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88.
We pray in all situations, with creativity and generosity. No mat-
ter the difficulties and struggles of daily life, no matter the limita-
tions and injustices we live with, we continue to see the blessings of God
upon us and those we love. Like Mary in her Magnificat prayer, we are
grateful to God who has blessed us.
66
89.
In our times of solitude, we cultivate an interior life that strength-
ens our love of, and communion with, the world. In this way we
become more sensitive to life. Though we experience the poverty of our
limitations and failures, we also recognize the beauty and wonder of hu-
manity and of all creation.
90.
Day after day, we feel called to commit ourselves to the world; to
contemplate the world with the eyes and the heart of God. Our
spirituality draws us to deepen our relationship with Christ and in trust
to give ourselves in service in community living and mission.
Blessed are you who believed
65
I am the handmaid
of the Lord –
let it be done to me
as you have said
67


3
.
A
S


S
B
ROTHERS
AND
S
ISTERS
Now I give you
a new commandment:
Love one another.
Love one another,
just as I have loved you.
By this
will everyone know
that you are my disciples.
See how they love
one another.


91.
Both Jesus and Marcellin Champagnat*, in their spiritual testa-
ments, chose to invite their followers to communion and commu-
nity.
69
Jesus expressed this invitation while sharing the last supper with
his disciples. The table of the Lord has since become a central symbol of
communion and self-giving for Christianity.
92.
For the community today that Marcellin created, the table at La
Valla* is also a powerful symbol of family and service.
70
Made by
Champagnat himself, that table may be seen as the embodiment of his ef-
forts to create a community dedicated to the Lord. Furthermore, to share
more intimately with the first Brothers, the Founder abandoned the rela-
tive comfort of the presbytery to live with those first Brothers.
71
Life-to-
gether, expressed through family spirit, is an integral part of his vision.
93.
At the core of our being we desire to love and be loved. We long
for belonging, solidarity, the chance to share our lives and the op-
portunity to change our circumstances. We unite to create families, to
support each other in our
ideals, to transform our soci-
ety. Each family, group or
community is uniquely
marked by that which unites
them, that which lies at the
core of their connection.
56
3
Now I give you a new commandment:
Love one another
68
A
S
B
ROTHERS
AND
S
ISTERS


94.
Christian families and communities
are united in Christ. In him we find
our communion with each other, and with
all of creation.
72
In this unity with each
other we strengthen our being one with
Christ.
95.
Jesus’ message is simple but chal-
lenging: Love one another as I have
loved you. Jesus not only preaches com-
munion, he lives it.
73
At its heart, Chris-
tianity is communion made real in the love
of neighbour. In Christ we find that a com-
mon mission unites us in community and,
in turn, community impels us to mission.
96.
As we build communities and set
up structures that support their vi-
tality, we must share and live a spirituali-
ty.
74
Marist spirituality understands community as an excellent place
where both the self and God are revealed to us through others.
97.
Such a spirituality celebrates the mystery of the Trinity living
within us and in the hearts of others. It enables us to “feel with”
our brothers and sisters, to share their lives, and to join them in friend-
ship. This spirituality helps us to recognise the beauty and good in oth-
ers, and to make a welcoming space in our lives for them. Little by lit-
tle, a group of individuals can grow into a community with one heart
and one mind.
75
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98.
Marcellin shows us how we are to
form and live in communities of
mission. In the very name he chose, Lit-
tle Brothers of Mary*, Marcellin sum-
marises the fundamental identity of his
community: the gospel virtue of sim-
plicity, the call to fraternity, and the
contemplation of the person of Mary.
99.
This identity is particularly ex-
pressed in the practice of the little
virtues.* For Marcellin their practice is a
way of living Mary’s attitudes in every-
day life. He is convinced that these
virtues or attitudes are life-giving expres-
sions of love.
100.
Marcellin believes that in con-
structing a house he is develop-
ing a true community.
76
He finds pleasure
in spending the summers at the Her-
mitage with the Brothers who would re-
turn for retreat, rest, formation and en-
couragement. Through living the rhythm
of community life, both at La Valla* and
then at the Hermitage*, Marcellin ani-
mates and nourishes the community life
by his example, giving himself to manual
work and to community prayer.
58
A
S
B
ROTHERS
AND
S
ISTERS
3


101.
In a world thirsty for connection and belonging, home is such a
powerful symbol. Families and communities become a crucial
place for each one to grow, be sustained, healed and encouraged.
77
102.
All our relationships are enriched when they are lived by tak-
ing Mary as the inspiration for our way of being and doing
with others. With Mary we learn how to express God’s love in all the
relationships of our personal and communal living, since from her
we learn how other people are to be loved, and we, in turn, become living
signs of the Father’s tenderness.
78
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103.
Marist spirituality inspires our understanding of how we are to
live what Jesus commands us and what Champagnat dreams for
us. At the same time it grows and develops as we love one another, hon-
estly and simply, in our families and communities.
104.
Living the Eucharist is at the heart
of our community life and our
way of relating. In many different places
and with many different people we find
ourselves, throughout our days gathered,
blessed, broken and shared.
105.
Our spirituality is communal, best
expressed and lived when we are
gathered as family and community. We de-
velop meaningful relationships and assure
our consistent presence within our commu-
nities and families. Thus the experience of
loving and being loved become part of our
life in the ordinary moments of our day.
106.
Whatever the members of a com-
munity do – working, struggling
for justice, serving society, praying or
sharing meals and relaxation together –
we recognise the blessings of God. We are
60
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ISTERS
Love one another, just as I have loved you
79


blessed with the gift of life and with companions for our mission and our
life’s journey. We proclaim, not just what God has done for each one of
us, but what God is doing for us together, as family and community.
107.
Life together supports and challenges us to be a community of
mission. We listen to the invitations of God that flow through
our shared life and discern our shared response. Based on a common
trust in God, we offer our lives in service. In ministry we find ourselves,
like Jesus, broken open for our brothers and sisters. Truly, we are bread
of life for others as Jesus has been for us.
108.
By giving and receiving love, we are challenged to fight our ten-
dency to individualism, self-preoccupation and diminishing gen-
erosity. The building up of family spirit is demanding. We need to be pres-
ent to others: attentive to them, able to listen, and give of our time. In this
area, young and old are equal since, in the gift of self, one does not age.
109.
God created us as sexual per-
sons so that we would find in
relationships with others our true hu-
man and spiritual nature.
80
Our sexual
desires are an expression of the deep-
est human longing for union, with
others, and ultimately with God. The
relationship of Jesus with his disciples
and friends shows us the Christian
way to meaningful and mature inti-
macy and friendship. With God’s
grace we engage in the challenging
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journey of growing into that inner harmony that attracted people to Je-
sus - humble and gentle of heart.
81
We cannot grow towards our poten-
tial as human beings without being involved with others, and respond-
ing to the support and challenges posed by those who share our journey
most intimately.
110.
As Brothers and Lay Marists, we try to develop a quality of com-
munion that allows families, religious communities and other
forms of community living to become homes where the young are helped
to mature, where we take care of those aging, and are especially kind to the
weak; places where we forgive one another and heal wounds, where we joyful-
ly celebrate the life we share together.
82
111.
Through our time togeth-
er, we connect our per-
sonal story and the story of our
shared journey. We share endeav-
ours, struggles, achievements and
disappointments. All of this helps
to strengthen the bonds of frater-
nity. We grow in appreciation and
respect for the variety of experi-
ences and stories of different ge-
nerations.
112.
A sense of humour is a
wonderful gift. It helps
us to bear with ourselves and
companions lightly and to face
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ISTERS


the ups and downs of life together
with a joyful spirit. Our way of life is
meant to make people happy. Not in the
sense of hilarity, but in that deep feel-
ing of contentment experienced by peo-
ple who have meaning and purpose in
their life and marvellous companions
with whom to share that life.
83
113.
As for Marcellin and the first Brothers so also for us, Mary in -
spires the style of our fraternal relationships. At the marriage
of Cana, Mary is sensitive to the need that has arisen, and with discre-
tion arranges what is required.
84
She encourages us to exercise author-
ity in a spirit of service to our community, and demonstrates that our
actions can spark an increase in the faith of others. At the same time,
her words to her Son, They have no wine, show her desire to bring those
in need to the attention of her Son.
114.
Mary inspired in the first Marists a new vision of being
Church which was modelled on that of the first Christians.
This Marian Church has the heart of a mother:
no one is abandoned.
85
A mother believes in the
goodness at the core of a person, and forgives
readily. We are respectful of each one’s person-
al journey. There is a place for those with
doubts and spiritual uncertainty, a place for
all. There is listening and dialogue. Challenge
and confrontation are done with honesty and
openness.
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115.
Those who share in Cham-
pagnat’s spirituality are prac-
tical, down-to-earth people. We are
well aware that living in a family or a
community is not always smooth sail-
ing. From time to time, we experience
our fragility, our limits, our differ-
ences and we get hurt and wounded.
We may also feel angry towards our-
selves and others, or become lonely
and bitter.
116.
To sustain the life of our fra-
ternity we need to live an on-
going process of reconciliation. This
process enables us to return to the cen-
tre of our community, Jesus. We can
know ourselves as loved and empow-
ered to grow through difficulties.
Through God’s mercy and forgiveness
we can find the energy and grace to
work for reconciliation.
86
117.
Shared faith enables us to see beyond problems and differ-
ences. Community is a gift of the Spirit. To nurture this life in
the Spirit, and to encourage and support each other, we endeavour to
make our communities schools of faith for ourselves, for young peo-
ple and for all who hunger for God. Our experience of God becomes
bread to be shared.
87
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ISTERS


118.
Sharing and celebrating our faith through prayer in common is a pow-
erful means to build up communion.
88
Each time we gather to pray
and celebrate the Eucharist, our union with Jesus impels us to full communion,
with ourselves, with God, with one another, and with creation. The deeper we
live the moments of our daily life, and the way we relate to others and the
world, the more meaningful will be our prayer and liturgical celebrations.
119.
The terms brother and sister express in a very rich way the Marist style
of relating.
90
Abrother or sister is one who is approachable, unassum-
ing, authentic, attentive and respectful. Brothering and sistering are ways of
relating that affirm others and inspire in them confidence and hope.
91
120.
Our world and its peoples always need hope. We can be both
beautifully creative and mindlessly destructive. We may fear the
“other.” If we then tend to see ourselves as the centre of the universe and
our way as the “only true way,” conflicts will arise - in families and com-
munities, but also between nations. Living as sisters and brothers offers a
hopeful and caring means by which our differences enrich our commun-
ion. Marist fraternity becomes a sign of hope for the world with a grow-
ing need for tolerance and peace.
121.
In a multicultural and multi-religious world, there is an urgent
need to develop intercultural structures that show how to live this
reality constructively. Communities that are multicultural invite us to share
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By this everyone will know that
you are my disciples
89


in the richness of other
traditions and faiths, to
grow in respect and tol-
erance, and to celebrate
the abundance of God’s
loving presence. They
provide a special wit-
ness against tendencies
towards fundamental-
ism, xenophobia and
exclusion.
92
122.
As brothers and
sisters sharing
in Life, we want to
grow in care for our
planet and all creation.
With others, we foster
the hope that all hu-
mankind will come to
appreciate the world as
our home, where na-
ture is delicately bal-
anced. This requires
our living together in
an atmosphere of rev-
erence, mutual respect,
justice and participa-
tion.
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123.
As companions on the journey, called to build life-giving commu-
nities, we are inspired by the words of Marcellin Champagnat:
I beg of you, my brothers, with all the affection of my soul, and
by all the love you have for me, do all you can to ensure that
charity is always maintained among you. Love one another as
Jesus Christ has loved you. Be of one heart and one mind. May
it be said of the Little Brothers of Mary as of the first Chris-
tians: “See how they love one another.” This is the most ardent
desire of my heart at this, the last moment of my life. Yes, my
very dear brothers, listen to the words of your Father, they are
the words of our loving saviour: “Love one another.”
93
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See how they love one another
94




4
.
B
RINGING
G
TO


G
OOD
N
EWS
THE
P
OOR
The Spirit of the Lord
is upon me.
He has anointed me
to bring good news
to the poor.
Go, therefore,
make disciples of all
the nations.


124.
Marist spirituality, being apostolic, is lived out on mission*. The
mission of Marist apostles is born of the experience of being loved
by God and of our desire to actively participate in the mission of Jesus.
God is passionate about the world and its people, and Jesus expresses this
love by a ministry of teaching and healing. I came that you may have life, and
have it abundantly.
96
Like Jesus we recognise the urgings of the Spirit with-
in, calling us to witness to this Good News. Out of these inner promptings,
the mission of the Church is born: to proclaim the Kingdom of God as a
new way of living for humanity, a new way to relate with God. We join in
this mission of the Church as we
look upon the world with com-
passion.
125.
What we see in the
world both amazes and
shocks us. On the one hand, we
celebrate the beauty and diver-
sity of nature and its wondrous
harmony. We rejoice too in the
rich cultural diversity of hu-
mankind…. Yet we also come
face to face with violence and
insecurity, poverty and despair,
AIDS and child abuse, ecologi-
cal degradation and starvation,
illiteracy and ignorance.
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The Spirit of the Lord is upon me
95
4


126.
It is encouraging how many peo-
ple, including the young, facing
such apparently hopeless situations, are re-
sponding with passion and commitment.
Involved in groups, they work in solidari-
ty to make a better world for all. They seek
companions who not only share their pas-
sion, but also the wisdom not to lose hope
in the face of so much pain and suffering.
These are men and women with a spiritu-
ality of compassion and mission. Their
choices are a source of inspiration to us.
127.
The cries of the world, especially those of poor people,
touch the heart of God and ours as well. The depth of God’s
compassion challenges us to be men and women whose hearts have
no bounds since in his infinite love, God continues to be totally involved
with all men and women and today’s world, with its disappointments and
hopes.
97
128.
Our Marist charism* prompts us to be attentive to the calls of
our time, to the longings and preoccupations of people, espe-
cially the young. Surpassing religious and cultural borders we seek the
same dignity for all: human rights, justice, peace, and equitable and re-
sponsible sharing of the planet’s wealth.
129.
Our compassionate response to the needs of the world wells up
from our spirituality. Spirituality draws us into mission and, in
living that mission, finds itself nourished and rekindled. It gives mean-
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ing to our human experiences and allows us to read life with
the eyes and heart of God and to understand it as God’s
project.
130.
Central to the apostolic zeal of Marcellin Champag-
nat* is his experience of an all-embracing presence
of God.
98
He is sure that every moment of his life is im-
mersed in this divine presence. God’s will is revealed to
him through the daily experiences of life. Having deter-
mined that something is willed by God it becomes part of
his mission. He does not spare himself in its accomplish-
ment. Yet he retains the firm conviction that it is God’s
work, not his. His core belief is that unless the Lord builds the
house, those who build it labour in vain.
99
131.
Mary inspired Marcellin’s style of being on mission.
She received the Holy Spirit at the Annunciation and
responded immediately to Elizabeth’s need.
100
In so
doing, she shows us that contemplation* and ac-
tion are both indispensable elements of spirituality.
Mary’s way lays the foundation of all our actions:
listening, patient waiting, nurturing interiority and
responsiveness to God’s will.
132.
Confirmed in her own vocation* by the in-
vitation of the Spirit, Mary feels compelled
to leave her own house to enter the house of another.
She indicates for us the direction of mission - that
we are to meet others where they are.
101
72
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133.
Mary, as a sensitive and compassionate disciple, goes “in haste,”
responding quickly to those who need her.
102
She goes “in haste”
to joyfully announce the news of a God who loves, and the sure promise
that a reign of justice and faithfulness is at hand. She brings to Elizabeth
both her hands for service and her experience of the Spirit.
103
134.
As Mary in the Cenacle in the midst of the Apostles we - joy-
fully, simply and humbly - bring the Good News through our
presence and our faith.
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He has anointed me to bring
good news to the poor
104
135.
All Marists share the same mission: to make Jesus known and
loved.
105
As apostles we passionately centre our lives in Jesus.
106
We allow ourselves to be captivated by him and his gospel. Close to


him, we want to form our hearts. Learning from him the ways of the
Kingdom, we communicate his message and his way of being and act-
ing through our presence, our words and our deeds.
136.
Jesus lives out his mission by both word and witness. In his re-
lationships Jesus transcends boundaries of religion and cul-
ture.
107
In these encounters, he values and affirms, and he challenges.
137.
For the people we meet each day we seek to be reflections of
God. Our desire is to be a visible and permanent memory of the
loving and merciful presence of God in the midst of people: living signs
of the Father’s tenderness.
108
In some mysterious way, God works through
us and in us. Despite our limitations, which we well know, our goodness
is able to come through. By being with God we learn our way of being
like him: shepherd, friend, faithful companion.
138.
Marcellin chose to
call the first Marists
at La Valla* “Brothers.”
109
He
believes in the strength of
love that builds fraternity and
heals wounds. Drawn by a
love that knows no bounds,
he feels compelled to be
Brother to all the world. His
vision extends far beyond his
own time and place: All the
dioceses of the world enter in our
plans.
110
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4


139.
Irrespective of where we
live our mission or with
whom, being a “brother” means
that our relationships are consis-
tently simple, welcoming, and en-
couraging through compassion, joy
and kindness. We are brothers and
sisters of those we meet along life’s
journey. This is how we live out our
Marist Apostolic Spirituality and
give flesh to our mission.
140.
Our mission is communal.
111
The community of Marist apos-
tles sustains and encourages us. In encountering fellow
Marists, we experience affirmation of our faith and apostolic intu-
itions, and in joining with like-minded people, our apostolic activities
are given renewed energy.
141.
Marist apostles carry out their mission by building communi-
ties that are sacred spaces where people can find God and
meaning for their lives. Willingly we welcome youth seeking mean-
ingful relationships with people whom they can trust. In this way, to-
gether we become sowers of hope, and show them they are dearly
loved by God.
112
142.
Moved by this love we seek out occasions and reasons to be with
young people, to enter their world and to journey alongside them.
For many of them, we shall be the only ‘gospel’ they will read.
113
We inspire
young people to be creative in developing their own identity by facing
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new challenges in life and widening their understand-
ing of themselves, of others, of the world, and of God.
143.
In seeking to be present in the world of
young people, at times we will encounter in-
justice, suffering and sometimes evil. Jesus invites us
to incorporate these experiences into our lives as a
sharing in his Paschal Mystery - the unity of Good
Friday and Easter Sunday, the paradox of failure pro-
ducing life, life drawn from suffering.
144.
In following Jesus and living out our mis-
sion we are inspired by Marcellin’s passion-
ate and practical approach. With a heart for poor
children and youth, Marist apostles seek concrete re-
sponses to their painful reality.
145.
We carry out this mission in a variety of
ways. In all of them, we seek to kindle the
faith of people, and we give special value to initia-
tives that promote life and justice.
146.
For us, education is a privileged place for
evangelisation and human promotion.
114
The range of our educational works is broad – in
response to the changing needs of young people
wherever they are to be found. In focusing on
them, each Marist ministry shows a preference for
those to whom preference is never shown.
115
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147.
Seeking to be with young people in their circumstances impels
us to create new ways of education and evangelisation. Marists
find themselves in a variety of pastoral roles working with other com-
mitted people, giving a face to compassion, and hands and voice to pro-
mote justice.
148.
The Spirit speaks God’s love ever afresh into our world.
116
Like
Champagnat we desire to be continually open to its movement
and urgings. The dying Jean-Baptiste Montagne* impelled Marcellin to
begin his project of having Brothers to teach the deprived children of the
rural areas.
117
Who are our Montagnes? Who today compels in us an apos-
tolic response? These are leading questions in our ongoing discernment.
149.
So we direct our journey to those places where others would pre-
fer not to go, to enter into the suffering there, like Mary at the foot
of the Cross, and to be a presence and service that remains faithful, de-
spite its risks. This experience urges us to move ahead, with courage and apos-
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tolic zeal to difficult missions, to marginalised areas, and unexplored sur-
roundings, where the seed of the kingdom has not yet taken root.
118
When
our mission is concluded, we move on to new places that require our
presence.
150.
It is this dimension of Marist spirituality that has inspired
thousands of Marists to generously answer the call of Mission
Ad Gentes. Their availability and continued creative fidelity are essen-
tial in the ongoing renewal and vitality of Marist life and mission.
78
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151.
Our spirituality, Marial and apostolic, invites us to look to
Mary as Jesus’ First Disciple for our response. She is for us a
model of listening, of love for poor people, and of welcoming the
message of God. Her way of living the Word of God inspires us and
directs us along the way we should go. Like Mary, we not only mag-
nify the Lord with our lips, but commit ourselves to serve God’s jus-
tice with our lives.
120
152.
In her last words, recorded in the Gospels, Mary directs us:
“Do whatever he tells you.”
121
Go, therefore, make disciples
of all the nations
119


W
E SEE
DREAM



NEW VISIONS
,
NEW DREAMS
122
Carried
on his shoulders.
Filled with joy.
Seeing new visions,
dreaming new dreams.
Our souls
glorify the Lord.



Carried on his
shoulders
123
153.
The statue of St Marcellin that
stands in one of the niches on
the external façade of St. Peter’s Basili-
ca represents our Founder carrying a
young boy on his shoulders. We see in
this artistic expression a symbol of the
strength and powerful inspiration of
Marist Spirituality for the world of to-
day. It illustrates too the Marist belief
of being raised upon the shoulders of a
vigorous spiritual tradition, able to
carry us into a future filled with the
promise of vitality and hope.
Filled with joy
124
154.
Filled with the joy of a renewed purpose, with our brothers and
sisters we re-affirm the growing convictions that express the
core of Marist spiritual tradition:
Our mission, founded on the experience of being profoundly
loved by Jesus, is to make him known and loved.
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EE
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EW
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ISIONS
, D
REAM
N
EW
D
REAMS





Mary never fails to accompany us in our pilgrimage of faith,
both when we grow in fidelity and when we wander in
doubt.
God constantly renews the gift of Marist martyrs and saints
to show us new horizons of passionate commitment to Jesus
Christ and his Gospel.
Marists of Africa, America, Asia, Europe and Oceania are a
marvelous gift to one another and a meaningful way of Mary
being present in our world today.
Communities and families inspired by Marist spirituality be-
come leaven that transforms the dough of our societies in a
humble and effective way.
The person and the spirituality of Marcellin Champagnat* fill
with meaning and purpose the lives of many Brothers and
Lay Marists today and powerfully awaken new ways of be-
ing Marist.
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Seeing new visions,
dreaming new dreams
125
155.
Sustained by the faith and example of St. Marcellin and the first
Brothers, Marist spirituality urges us to move towards unex-
plored horizons:
Like St. Marcellin, seeking out the poor Montagnes* of his day,
we endeavour to become effective Marist educators of faith
today: we open new ways that enable youth to be transformed
by the experience of knowing and loving Jesus.
Like St. Marcellin, moving
from hamlet to hamlet on the
hills of the Pilat*, we readily
carry the gift of education
and Marist presence to places
and situations that might re-
quire abandoning securities
and even risking our lives.
Like St. Marcellin, humbly
anchored on the rock of
God’s unconditional love, we
actively engage in creating
new paths of inter-cultural
and inter-religious dialogue.
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EE
N
EW
V
ISIONS
, D
REAM
N
EW
D
REAMS






And so, our souls glorify the Lord
126
156.
With Mary of the Magnificat our hearts are filled with gratitude for
this gift of Marist spirituality. At this moment in history we join in
the prophetic vision of her Magnificat and with Marcellin we pray to her:
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Mary, we come to you as our Mother
to tell you how grateful we are to God
for having called us to be little brothers and sisters of Mary
and for having you, the first and perfect disciple of Jesus, as our Model.
Mary, we want to make your Magnificat our own prayer.
And so we ask you to help us come
to a greater understanding of God’s love in our lives
and to recognise that all is gift, that all comes from love,
and that we are to follow Jesus in incarnating this love,
in being brothers and sisters to all
with a special love for the young and the most neglected.
86
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S
EE
N
EW
V
ISIONS
, D
REAM
N
EW
D
REAMS



You are our Ordinary Resource
and we ask you to pray for us, and with us,
so that we may continue to grow to be:
– brothers and sisters of radiant hope,
convinced of the active presence of the Spirit
calling all men and women
to be co-creators
of a new and better world;
– brothers and sisters of listening
and discerning hearts,
constantly seeking the Father’s will;
– brothers and sisters of audacity,
who have not lost the passion of their lives!
Marist Apostles who are ready to proclaim Jesus and his Gospel
with heart on fire with love.
Help us to be brothers and sisters
to all those we meet on life’s journey,
to be present to people as you were,
with listening and compassionate hearts.
Accept our love, dear Mother,
as we ask that, by your example and by your intercession,
Christ may become the centre of our lives.
127
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Drawing from Streams of Living Water
1.
In your own spiritual journey, who or what have been significant
influences? Can you identify pivotal events that shaped your
spirituality? What have been some of your Montagne moments?
2.
Have you ever met someone whose spirituality was “down to
earth”? What was did you notice about this person?
3.
Of the six characteristics given for Marist spirituality, which are
strongest in your own life? Are there some elements you would
like to strengthen?
We Journey in Faith
1.
Can you recall incidents in your life which gave cause
to questions about God and faith? How have these doubts shaped
your spirituality?
2.
Where is it easiest for you to encounter God? What obstacles
do you experience on the journey of your encounter with God?
3.
What most nourishes your spirituality at this stage of your life?
4.
What symbol or image would you use to express who God
is for you, and the nature of that relationship?
5.
In your world, what are some of the “footprints of God” ?
6.
What feeling is now welling up in you?
As Brothers and Sisters
1.
In the life of Jesus, which story or incident most inspires you
in the building of community/family?
R
EFLECTION
Q
UESTIONS



2
.
Can you relate some examples of how your own spirituality has
been nurtured through membership of some form of “community”?
3.
Can you share some examples of a time when you have drawn
support from the faith of a “community” when your own
was being tested ?
4.
What helps you to keep your relationships authentic, simple
and welcoming?
Bringing Good News to the Poor
1.
What are the longings and preoccupations of the world
that touch your heart?
2.
At your present stage of life which aspects of the Annunciation
and Visitation do you find yourself suited for?
Which do you find challenging?
3.
What is it within your present life that holds you back
from leaving the comfort of ‘your own house’
to enter ‘the house’ of those in need?
4.
When you listen, with Mary, to Jesus in your life,
what do you hear him tell you to do?
We See New Visions, Dream new Dreams
1.
What convictions about Marist spirituality would you add
to those given in the text?
2.
In what directions do you see Marist spirituality developing?
3.
What is it about Marist spirituality that gives you cause
for rejoicing?
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Introduction
Drawing from Streams of Living Water
N
OTES
1
Choose Life - the message of the XXth
General Chapter No. 48.1 (Rome, 2001).
The text referred to is: In the Footsteps of
Marcellin Champagnat: a vision for Marist
Education today (Rome, 1998).
2
Cf. Br. Seán Sammon, A Revolution of the
Heart: Marcellin’s spirituality and a contem-
porary identity for his Little Brothers of
Mary. Circulars Vol. XXXI, No. 1 (2003)
page 47.
3
Br. Benito Arbués, Walk peacefully, yet
with a sense of urgency. Circulars Vol.
XXX, No. 1 (1997) page 24.
4
Constitutions 7.
5
Constitutions 2.
6
Constitutions 49.
7
Constitutions 165.
8
Constitutions 171.
9
The third of the three retreats with
which Br. Basilio inaugurated the 18th
General Chapter was devoted to apos-
tolic and Marial spirituality (cf. Acts of
the XVIIIth General Chapter [Rome, 1985]
pages 45-62).
10
Cf. Br. Charles Howard, Marist Apos-
tolic Spirituality. Circulars Vol. XXIX, No.
8 (1992); Marist Apostolic Spirituality from
Brothers in Solidarity - Proceedings of the
XIX
th
General Chapter (Rome, 1993); Br.
Benito Arbués, Walk peacefully, yet with a
sense of urgency. Circulars Vol. XXX, No. 1
(1997), Br. Seán Sammon, A Revolution of
the Heart: Marcellin’s spirituality and a con-
temporary identity for his Little Brothers of
Mary. Circulars Vol. XXXI, No. 1 (2003).
11
Luke 1: 46-55.
12
Cf. John 7: 37.
13
Cf. Luke 1: 39.
14
Cf. Life, Part 1, Chapter 10, pages 105-
108.
15
Life, Part 2, Chapter 1.
16
Among those sources it is worth men-
tioning Francis de Sales, Alphonse
Liguori and John Eudes.
17
Life, Part 2, Chapter 7, pages 343-344.
18
Life, Part 1, Chapter 3, page 28.
19
Life, Part 1, Chapter 3, pages 28-30;
Chapter 11, page 117; Part 2, Chapter 7,
page 333.
20
Cf Letter to Bishop Gaston de Pins,



Lent 1835 (Letter No. 56).
21
John 7: 38.
22
Life, Part 2, Chapter 4, page 309.
23
Psalm 126.
24
Draft of letter to Mr. Jean-François Prey-
nat, 3 December 1836 (Letter No. 73b).
25
Life, Part 2, Chapter 6, pages 330-331.
26
Choose Life - the message of the XXth
General Chapter No. 18 (Rome, 2001).
27
Cf. Colossians 1:15.
28
Our Models in Religion: biographies of
some early Marist Brothers (Grugliasco,
1936) page 24.
29
Cf. Life, Part 2, Chapter 6, page 321.
30
Cf. Constitutions 53 and 54.
31
Cf. Life, Part 2, Chapter 6, pages 322 - 330.
32
Cf. Matthew 25.
33
Letter to Bishop Pompallier, 27 May
1838 (Letter No. 194).
34
Constitutions 84.
35
Idem.
36
Cf. Luke 1:39. Thus, we participate in
Mary’s most fundamental role which
the ancient Church called theotokos,
bearer of God.
37
Cf. Br. Charles Howard, Marist Apos-
tolic Spirituality. Circulars Vol. XXIX No.
8 (1992) page 495.
38
Constitutions 6.
39
Cf. Br. Seán Sammon, A Revolution of
the Heart. Circulars Vol. XXXI No. 1
(2003) pages 25, 57-59.
40
Cf. Constitutions 51.
41
Formation Guide No. 205 (Rome, 1994)
citing Genesis 1: 28.
42
John 7: 38.
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We Journey in Faith
43
Cf. Luke 1: 26-27.
44
Life, Part 1, Chapter 2, page 9; cf. also
Life, Part 1, Chapter 6, page 57.
45
Luke 1: 28.
46
Cf. Br. Charles Howard, Marist Apos-
tolic Spirituality. Circulars Vol. XXIX,
No. 8 (1992) page 434.
47
Cf. Life, Part 1, Chapter 11, page 112.
48
Constitutions 11.
49
Cf. Letter to Br. Hilarion, Paris 18
March 1838 (Letter No. 181).
50
Marist Apostolic Spirituality No. 14,
from Proceedings of the XIX
th
General Chapter
(Rome, 1993).
51
Luke 1: 30.
52
Cf. Luke 1: 48-50.


53
Luke 1: 48.
54
Luke 1: 35.
55
Cf. Luke 2: 19 and 51.
56
Constitutions 168.
57
Marist Apostolic Spirituality No. 29,
from Proceedings of the XIX
th
General
Chapter (Rome, 1993), Constitutions 43.
58
Life, Part 1, Chapter 6, pages 58-59.
59
Marist Apostolic Spirituality No. 26,
from Proceedings of the XIX
th
General
Chapter (Rome, 1993).
60
Constitutions 71.
61
Cf. Luke 24: 13-35.
62
Constitutions 73.
63
Cf. Constitutions 57 and 69. See also Br.
Seán Sammon, Marvelous Companions:
community life among Marcellin’s Little
Brothers of Mary. Circulars Vol. XXXI No.
2 (2005) page 62.
64
“In temptations and struggles, we
open ourselves to the touch of Christ,
who heals our wounds, delivers us from
egoistic longings, and makes us children
of the resurrection. Moreover, we take
advantage of spiritual direction and that
source of revitalised love, the sacrament
of Reconciliation.” (Constitutions 25)
65
Luke 1: 45.
66
Luke 1: 46-49.
67
Luke 1: 38.
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N
OTES
As Brothers and Sisters
68
John 13: 34.
69
Cf. John 17 and Marcellin’s Spiritual
Testament respectively.
70
Cf. Life, Part 1, Chapter 6, page 61;
Chapter 7, pages 74 -75.
71
Cf. Life, Part 1, Chapter 7, page 73;
see also pages 74-75.
72
Cf. Formation Guide, Nos. 13ff. (Rome,
1994).
73
Cf. Br. Charles Howard, Marist Apos-
tolic Spirituality. Circulars Vol. XXIX, No. 8
(1992) page 487, where examples are given
of Jesus living communion.
74
Cf. Novo Millennio Ineunte. No. 43.
75
Acts 4: 32; cf. Life, Part 1, Chapter 10,
page 106.
76
Marcellin writes humbly that he is will-
ing to make whatever sacrifice is needed
for the welfare of his Brothers: “There is
not one single truly good thing that I do
not wish for you, and that I am not com-
pletely ready to do or undertake any-


thing in order to obtain for you.” (Letter
to Br. Denis, 5 January 1838; [Letter
No.168]). For the testimony of the Broth-
ers, see for example, Br. Laurent (Origines
Maristes Document No. 756). In his letters
Marcellin writes with such understand-
ing and affection for each Brother person-
ally, responding to their concerns with
challenge and encouragement, humour
and practical support. He often finishes
his letters with this expression: “I leave
you in the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and of
Mary.” A very significant gesture of his
love of the Brothers and his concern for
their welfare, is that it is a visit to a sick
Brother which nearly causes his death
and that of his companion in a snow
storm. (Life, Part 2, Chapter 7, pages 343-
344.) See also the reflection on this inci-
dent in Br. Seán Sammon, A Revolution of
the Heart: Marcellin’s spirituality and a con-
temporary identity for his Little Brothers of
Mary. Circulars Vol. XXXI, No. 1 (2003)
pages 58-59. When his fledgling commu-
nity is at risk, he asks to be carried from
his sick-bed so that his presence can calm
and reassure the Brothers (Life, Part 1,
Chapter 13, page 141).
77
Cf. Br. Charles Howard, Marist Apos-
tolic Spirituality. Circulars Vol. XXIX, No.
8 (1992) pages 487-488.
78
Constitutions 21.
79
John 13: 34.
80
Cf Br. Seán Sammon, A Revolution of
the Heart: Marcellin’s spirituality and a
contemporary identity for his Little Broth-
ers of Mary. Circulars Vol. XXXI, No. 1
(2003) page 51.
81
Matthew 11: 29.
82
Choose Life - the message of the XXth
General Chapter No. 24 (Rome, 2001).
83
Br. Seán Sammon, Marvellous Compan-
ions: community life among Marcellin’s Lit-
tle Brothers of Mary. Circulars Vol. XXXI
No. 2 (2005) page 64.
84
John 2: 1-11.
85
Cf. The Memorare, in Life, Part 2,
Chapter 7, page 343.
86
Cf. Luke 15: 11-32. See also Br. Seán
Sammon, Marvelous Companions: com-
munity life among Marcellin’s Little Broth-
ers of Mary. Circulars Vol. XXXI No. 2
(2005) page 66.
87
Cf. Choose Life - the Message of the XXth
General Chapter No. 20 (Rome 2001).
88
Cf. Br. Charles Howard, Marist Apos-
tolic Spirituality. Circulars Vol. XXIX,
No. 8 (1992) pages 466 and 469.
89
John 13: 35.
90
Cf. Constitutions 3. See also Br.
Charles Howard, Marist Apostolic Spiri-
tuality. Circulars Vol. XXIX, No. 8 (1992),
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page 458-459.
91
Cf. Vita Consecrata No. 60.
92
Cf. Vita Consecrata No. 51 and Br.
Charles Howard, Marist Apostolic Spiri-
tuality. Circulars Vol. XXIX, No. 8 (1992)
page 489.
93
Life, Part 1, Chapter 22, page 236.
94
Life, Idem.
94
N
OTES
Bringing Good News to the Poor
95
Luke 4: 18; cf. Is. 61: 1.
96
John 10: 10.
97
Marist Apostolic Spirituality No. 13,
from Brothers in Solidarity - Proceedings of
the XIX
th
General Chapter (Rome, 1993).
98
Cf. Br. Seán Sammon Making Jesus
known and loved: Marist apostolic life to-
day. Circulars Vol. XXXI No. 3 (2006),
page 108.
99
The reference is to Psalm 127. Cf. Life,
Part 2, Chapter 3, pages 288 and 209 and
Letter to Br. François, 10 January 1838
(Letter No. 169).
100
Luke 1: 39-45.
101
Cf. Choose Life – the Message of the
XX
th
General Chapter No. 42.4 (Rome,
2001).
102
Luke 1: 39.
103
Cf. Marist Apostolic Spirituality No.
21, from Brothers in Solidarity - Proceed-
ings of the XIX
th
General Chapter (Rome,
1993).
104
Luke 4: 18.
105
Life, Part 2, Chapter 6, page 330.
106
Cf. Choose Life – the Message of the
XX
th
General Chapter No. 18 (Rome,
2001).
107
For example, with the Samaritan
woman - John 4: 7-27.
108
Constitutions 21.
109
To understand the use of the term
“brother” see the Introduction of this
document in the section “How to un-
derstand and to use this text” and also
paragraph No. 119 in Part 3.
110
Letter to Bishop de Bruillard, 15 Feb-
ruary 1837 (Letter No. 93.)
111
Cf. Constitutions 82.
112
This has become a quite common ex-
pression among some Christian groups
since John Paul II used it to invite young
people to be “sowers of hope” on the II
World Youth Day in 1987 in Buenos
Aires. Subsequently, Br. Charles wrote a


Circular inviting the Brothers to be men
of hope and men of mission (cf. Br.
Charles Howard, Sowers of Hope. Circu-
lars Vol. XXIX, No. 5 (1990).
113
Dom Helder Câmara.
114
Cf. Choose Life – the Message of the
XX
th
General Chapter No. 33 (Rome,
2001).
115
Marist Brothers Today – the message of
the XVII
th
General Chapter No. 16 (Rome,
1976).
116
Cf. Br. Seán Sammon, Making Jesus
known and loved: Marist apostolic life to-
day. Circulars Vol. XXXI No. 3 (2006),
page 107.
117
Life, Part 1, Chapter 7, page 71:
“However I want the fruits of your zeal
to be dedicated to the most ignorant
and the most deprived children.”
118
Marist Apostolic Spirituality No. 16,
from Brothers in Solidarity - Proceedings
of the XIX
th
General Chapter (Rome,
1993).
119
Matthew 28: 18.
120
Cf. Anglican–Roman Catholic Inter-
national Commission (ARCIC) Mary:
Grace and Hope in Christ (2005) No. 5.
121
John 2: 5.
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We See New Visions, Dream New Dreams
122
Cf. Joel 3: 1.
123
Cf. Luke 15: 5.
124
Cf. Luke 15: 5.
125
Cf. Joel 3: 1.
126
Cf. Luke 1: 46.
127
Inspired by the prayer that concludes
A Letter of Thanks by Br. Charles
Howard (Rome, 1993).



C
HARISM
Charism is a word very often used today in the documents of the
Church and Religious Congregations. We find it in the political and
civil world, as well. In spirituality, charism is a gift or a grace given by
the Holy Spirit to an individual not for their own benefit, but for the
profit of the whole Church.
The writings of Saint Paul especially, underline the importance of such
gifts and that their variety enriches the Church community given to
individual persons but for the benefit of the whole community. In this
sense everybody in the Church is gifted with a particular grace so as
to participate in the building up a more spiritual Church and a better
world.
We may, however, speak of a charism of a group, of an Institute. Br
Sean explains it this way:
“The charism that entered our Church and world through Marcellin
Champagnat, therefore, is much more than certain works thought to
be faithful to his original vision, more than a style of prayer or a
particular spirituality – as important as both might be – and more than
a composite of the qualities that marked our founder’s life. Our
Institute’s charism is nothing less than the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Allowing that Spirit to work in and through us can give rise to some
surprising outcomes… Today the Spirit that was so active in our
founder longs to live and breathe in you and me” (pages 27 and 42).
References:
1 Corinthians 12-14 (especially 1 Corinthians 12: 8-10, 28-30).
Romans 12: 6-8. Lumen Gentium No. 12. Christifidelis Laici No. 24.
Br. Seán Sammon, Making Jesus known and loved:
Marist apostolic life today. Circulars, Vol. XXXI, No. 3 (2006) pages 23 – 42.
G
LOSSAR
Y


C
ONTEMPLATION
Contemplation as used in a religious sense is a type of prayer or
meditation in which thinking and structure are replaced by a simple focus
on the presence of God. Within Christianity it is related to mysticism, and
portrayed by the works of great mystic authors such as Teresa of Avila. It
is a process of relative stillness and receptivity, rather than activity. It is
the gaze of faith fixed on Jesus, an attentiveness to the Word of God, a
silent love. Most importantly, it is a way of being, not merely of praying.
References:
Catechism of the Catholic Church No. 2724 (Rome, 1994).
Richard McBrien (Ed.), Harper-Collins Encyclopaedia of Catholicism
(New York, 1995).
F
OURVIÈRE
On a hill overlooking the city of Lyons a chapel dedicated to Our Lady
was built during the XII
th
century. It became the destination of
pilgrimages and it was very famous especially in the XVII
th
century.
Fourvière was the place where Jean-Claude Courville, Jean-Claude Colin,
and Marcellin Champagnat went on the 23
rd
July, 1816 - the day after their
ordination – with nine others to entrust to Mary their plans to found an
order whose mission would be the continuation of her work in the
Church. The commitment was formulated in their Fourvière Pledge. It
was also decided that Marcellin would be in charge of the foundation of
the Marist Brothers. He went back to Fourvière to make his own promise
which he fulfilled in a very short time.
Until recently, the statue of Mary contained a heart that could be opened
and strips of paper were placed there with the name of the missionaries,
both Brothers and Fathers, who had sailed for the South Pacific.
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References:
http://www.champagnat.org
Br. Jean-Baptiste, Life of Joseph-Benoît-Marcellin Champagnat (Bicentenary
Edition) (Rome, 1989), Part 1, Chapter 3, page 30, note No. 35.
M
ARIE
-F
RANÇOISE
P
ERROTON
AND THE
PIONEERS
OF THE
M
ISSIONARY
S
ISTERS
OF
THE
S
OCIETY OF
M
ARY
Unlike most religious congregations, Marist Missionary Sisters do not
claim any founder or foundress except, perhaps, Our Lady herself. Rather,
they claim eleven Pioneers, exceptional women who went out on mission
in a way that was unheard of for women of their times. These Pioneers
began their missionary efforts in affiliation with the Society of Mary.
At the time of its recognition as a congregation in 1836, the Society of
Mary was given the responsibility to evangelize the islands of Oceania
and four Marist priests set out for the Pacific. A few years after the
martyrdom of St. Peter Chanel (Marist) in 1841, the people on the island
of Futuna became Catholic. It was a letter from two women of the Island
of Wallis asking for someone to come and help them and their children to
develop as good Christians that inspired the first Pioneer, Marie-
Françoise Perroton, to leave France and travel to the Pacific.
As Marie-Françoise Perroton stepped aboard a trading vessel headed for
the Pacific in 1845 at the age of 49, she took the first step towards the
establishment of the Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary (smsm).
Her great desire was to be missionary, happy to be associated with the
Society of Mary and perhaps eventually she would become a religious.
Marie-Françoise arrived in the Island of Wallis in 1846 and served the
people there for some years before going to a nearby island to continue
98
G
LOSSARY


her ministry. After twelve years in Oceania, she rejoiced in the day when
other women from France joined her. Between 1857 and 1860, ten other
women joined Marie-Françoise as missionaries in Wallis, Futuna, New
Caledonia and Samoa. It is these eleven women, the so-called Pioneer
sisters, who were there at the origins of the SMSM congregation.
Although the Pioneers were lay women, their desire to be missionary,
Marist and religious was evident.
Women from the islands of the Pacific joined them in the early years of
their missionary activity. And, over time, women from many other
countries followed in their footsteps. After years of development and
being held together as a loose affiliation of missionary women, the
congregation finally received official Church recognition in 1931 and
became known as the Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary. It was
then that the movement launched by Marie-Françoise Perroton came
into its own.
Reference:
http://www.maristmissionarysmsm.org
G
OOD
M
OTHER
Good Mother was the preferred title Marcellin Champagnat gave to Mary.
Among the different statues of Mary that Marcellin had with him and that
accompanied him during the birth and the development of the Institute,
there is a special one: the statue of Mary, the Good Mother. The statue,
showing Jesus in the arms of Mary, is an image of tenderness, and of the
loving presence of Mary. The child Jesus, calm and confident, is in attitude
of total reliance on Mary. This attitude of trust is fundamental in
Marcellin’s life and spirituality.
The image was quite popular in France during the XIX
th
century. The title
is not original to Father Champagnat. It was a name very popular in the
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France of his time. But he made it his own and came back to it again and
again in his writings.
References:
www.champagnat.org
Life, Part 1, Chapter 13, page 142 and Chapter 22, page 238.
Bro. Alexandre Balko, Repensons nos origines (Rome, 2001), Chapter 3.
J
EAN
-B
APTISTE
C
HAMPAGNAT
Jean-Baptiste Champagnat, father of the future saint, was one of the better
off peasant landowners and a man of some education. At first, he
welcomed the Revolution of 1789, both for its ideals and for what he stood
to gain from its success. In time, however, it was apparent that his ardour
for the movement had cooled, and he rejected its excesses. They were
many: the beheading of a King, a burdensome policy of military
conscription, orders to hunt down priests and fugitive soldiers.
Throughout the revolutionary period, Marcellin’s father held several
important government positions in the town of Marlhes and
distinguished himself as a person of patience, moderation, and political
know-how. No one was killed, no one was taken away, the local church
was neither burned nor sold. As a thinker, revolutionary, government
official, tradesman, and farmer, what gifts did Jean-Baptiste pass along to
his son? Discernment, compassion for others, diplomacy, a head for
business, the skills of a labourer.
Reference:
Br. Seán Sammon, Saint Marcellin Champagnat – The life and Mission
A heart that knew no bounds (Rome, 1999), pages 11-12.
100
G
LOSSARY



J
EAN
-B
APTISTE
M
ONTAGNE
On the 28
th
October, 1816, an event occurred that for Marcellin
Champagnat was a conclusive sign to move ahead with his dream of
founding a congregation of Brothers. The young priest was called to the
house of a carpenter in Les Palais, a hamlet just beyond Le Bessat. A
seventeen year old boy, Jean-Baptiste Montagne, lay dying. The lad was
entirely ignorant of matters of faith. Marcellin instructed him, heard his
confession, and prepared him for death. He then left to visit another sick
person in the area. When he returned to the Montagne household,
Marcellin learned that Jean-Baptiste had died. Marcellin’s encounter with
this adolescent boy transformed him. Jean-Baptiste’s lack of knowledge
about Jesus convinced the young priest that God was calling him to found
a congregation of Brothers to evangelize the young, particularly those
most neglected. Walking back to the parish house in La Valla, Marcellin
decided to put his plan into action.
References:
Br. Seán Sammon, Saint Marcellin Champagnat – The life and Mission – A
heart that knew no bounds (Rome, 1999), pages 32-33.
Life, Part 1, Chapter 6, pages 58-59.
J
EAN
-C
LAUDE
C
OLIN
A French Priest who became the founder of the Society of Mary (Marists).
Colin was born on the 7
th
August, 1790 at St-Bonnet-le-Troncy, in the
Rhone département of France. His father had sheltered priests during the
turmoil of the French Revolution. Both parents died when Colin was only
four years old.
With his brother Pierre, Colin attended the minor seminary at Saint-
Jodard, he also spent time at Alix and Verrières where he was a
contemporary of Marcellin Champagnat and John Vianney. In 1813 he
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entered the major seminary of Saint-Irénée at Lyon. Towards the end of
1814 Jean-Claude Courveille, who had been a student in another
seminary, transferred to Saint-Irénée. Courveille recruited a group of
senior seminarians to his idea of founding a Society of Mary. Many of the
group including Colin and Courveille were ordained as priests of the
Lyon diocese on the 22
nd
July, 1816. His brother Pierre was appointed the
Parish Priest of Cerdon in the Aix département. Jean-Claude was to be his
curate there.
For six years he worked in the parish at Cerdon and on the outline of the
founding documents (Rule of Life and Constitutions) of the Marist idea.
Pierre was eager to join the Marist Project and he convinced Jeanne-Marie
Chavoin and Marie Jotillon to begin it with them. Cerdon had been
moved into the re-created Diocese of Belley and Jean-Claude convinced
Bishop Devie to allow the Marists to preach missions in the Bugey, a poor
and somewhat neglected country region. He was asked to take over the
College of Belley as Principal and when Rome approved the Society of
Mary in 1836 he was elected as its first Superior General. Rome assigned
the new Society the evangelisation of the Vicariate of Western Oceania.
In 1854 Colin resigned the office of Superior General and retired to Notre-
Dame-de-la-Neylière, where he spent the last twenty years of his life
revising and completing the Constitutions. The Constitutions of the
Society of Mary were definitively approved by the Holy See on the 28
th
February, 1873. Jean-Claude Colin died at La Neylière two years later.
Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Claude_Colin
J
EANNE
-M
ARIE
C
HAVOIN
The Marist Sisters recognise Jeanne-Marie Chavoin (Mother Saint Joseph)
as their Foundress and Jean-Claude Colin as their Founder.
102
G
LOSSARY


Jeanne-Marie was born in the village of Coutouvre in France on the 29
th
August, 1786. Her father was the village tailor so their home must have
often been full of people. Jeanne-Marie grew up with little formal
education, but developed a deep and sure faith. She was deeply involved
in the life of the village, nurturing faith and reaching out to those who were
overlooked. Though very active, she found strength and joy in long hours
before the Blessed Sacrament. She was invited several times to enter
different Congregations but always refused, certain that God was not calling
her to these. Finally in 1817, when she was 31 years old, she received a
letter from Fr. Pierre Colin, brother of Jean-Claude Colin, who had once been
parish priest in Coutouvre, inviting her to Cerdon to collaborate in the
Marist Project. She knew immediately that this was where God was calling
her. With her close friend Marie Jotillon, she set off for Cerdon.
For six years, four of which she was housekeeper at the presbytery, she
collaborated with the Colin brothers in shaping the future Society of Mary
- the “Work of Mary”. In 1823, Marie Jotillon, Marie Gardet and Jeanne-
Marie Chavoin began to live together in community in Cerdon. The first
three Marist Sisters lived in dire poverty, but nevertheless, perceiving
their joy and their sanctity, many young women of the town asked to join
them. Eight future Marist Sisters received the habit on the 8
th
December,
1824. Soon after they were invited by Bishop Devie to go to Belley where
the first profession took place on the 6
th
September, 1826. Jeanne-Marie,
or Mother Saint Joseph as she was now called, was Superior General of
the new Congregation till 1853, when she was urged to resign. At the age
of 69 she began a new foundation in Jarnosse, an abandoned village
which was poor and needy in every way. Here she was able to live the
kind of active, inserted religious life which she had always desired for her
Sisters. She died at Jarnosse on the 30
th
June, 1858, at the age of 71.
Reference:
http://www.marists.org/beginnings.htm
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L
A
L
OUVESC
The small town of La Louvesc was a place of pilgrimage in the times of St.
Marcellin as it continues to be today. People would walk or travel to La
Louvesc to pray at the shrine of St. John Francis Regis who died there after
a good number of years of being the apostle of the region. At the time of
Fr. Champagnat, the small church where the Saint had been buried had
been converted into a basilica by the same architect, Mr. Bossan, of N.D.
de Fourvière.
Marcellin seems to have had a special bond with his mother: he was the
last surviving child, and seems to have been marked out from an early age
for something special in terms of the service of God. When he decided to
study for the priesthood, Marie-Thérèse approved of and supported his
determination: she sent him off to her son-in-law for some elementary
education; and when it was apparent he was not succeeding in his studies
she encouraged him to further prayer and devotion, and took him on a
pilgrimage to the shrine of St John Francis Regis, at La Louvesc, 40
kilometres away. They walked! They were to make that pilgrimage again
after his first dismal year at the seminary.
La Louvesc is also the shrine where Fr. Champagnat went when Fr.
Bochard, Vicar of Lyons dioceses, tried by every means to unite the
Congregation of Brothers he had founded with the Brothers founded by
Marcellin. Fr. Champagnat was not of this idea and things were not easy
for him. At that time “he himself made a pilgrimage to the tomb of St.
John Francis Regis at La Louvesc, interceding with him for the necessary
light and strength”.
References:
http://www.maristoz.edu.au
Life, Part 1, Chapter 11, page 112.
Br. José Diez Villacorta, Lugares Maristas (Buenos Aires, 1999), pages 26-27.
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L
A
V
ALLA
In July 1816, the newly ordained priest Marcellin Champagnat was
appointed as a curate to this parish. The village is located a little more than
45 kilometres south-west of Lyons. At this time it had 2,500 inhabitants.
About 500 people lived in the village itself whereas the other 2000 were
scattered over more than 60 hamlets.
In 1816 Fr. Champagnat first rented and then bought a small dilapidated
building. On the 2
nd
January 1817, he accommodated there the first two
Brothers who wanted to begin Marist life. A new extension was added to
the house in 1822 to allow more room for eight new postulants who came
unexpectedly. Fr. Champagnat left La Valla in 1824 and moved down to
L’Hermitage to help in its construction.
The word La Valla, meaning “valley,” is actually something of a misnomer
when applied to the area around Mount Pilat. Rather than being made up of
stretches of good soil surrounded by hills, hardly any level ground can be
found in the locale. Ravines, rocks, precipices, and fast mountain streams,
etching their way through rock and soil, are more common sights. During
the young curate’s day, some places were almost inaccessible for want of
passable roads. Without doubt, Marcellin Champagnat faced a tough
assignment in the midst of some rugged terrain.
Reference:
Br. Seán Sammon, Saint Marcellin Champagnat – The Life and Mission - A
heart that knew no bounds (Rome, 1999), page 28.
L
ECTIO
D
IVINA
A very ancient method of prayer is known as Lectio Divina. It is a slow,
contemplative praying of the Scriptures which enables the Word of God
to become a means of union with God.
Traditionally the Lectio Divina develops in four steps.
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– Lectio
Read the passage slowly several times.
– Meditatio
Reflect on the text of the passage, thinking about how to apply it to
one’s own life. Pay attention to any phrase or word that seems to be of
particular significance. This should not be confused with exegesis; but
is a very personal reading of the Scripture and application to one’s
own life.
– Oratio
Respond to the passage by opening up one’s heart to God. This is not
primarily an intellectual exercise, but more the beginning of a
conversation with God.
– Contemplatio
Listen to God. This is freeing oneself from one’s own thoughts, both
mundane and holy. It is about hearing God talk to us; opening our
mind, heart and soul to the influence of God.
Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lectio_divina
L’H
ERMITAGE
By 1824, Marcellin’s Institute had grown to such an extent that he needed
the assistance of another priest. The Archiepiscopal Council voted on the
12
th
May to send Father Courveille to help out.
The priest’s arrival freed Marcellin for a project that had long been close
to his heart: the construction of a building spacious enough to house the
ever-increasing number of Brothers. He purchased a piece of property, five
acres in size, in a sheltered section of the valley of the Gier River. Bounded
on east and west by steep mountain slopes, it contained a grove of oak trees
and was well irrigated by water from the river. Late in May, Vicar General
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Cholleton blessed the cornerstone; construction was soon underway.
Marcellin and his young Brothers worked steadily throughout the six
months of summer and early autumn in 1824. They quarried and carried
the stones for the building, dug sand, made mortar, and assisted the
professional tradesmen, who had been hired for the skilled work. Lodged
in an old rented house on the opposite bank of the Gier, the group came
together for morning Mass in a small shed in an oak grove. This spot came
to be known as the Chapel in the Woods. A chest of drawers served as the
altar; a bell, suspended from a tree branch, called the community to
prayer. What heady days for all involved: the young men found support
in one another; they were also proud of their achievement.
Throughout construction of the five-story building, the founder set an
example for his Brothers. He was the first to start work each day and the
last to put it aside at night. While the Brothers appreciated Marcellin’s
efforts, some of his fellow clergy were less enthusiastic. They did not take
kindly to the sight of a priest wearing dusty clothing, whose hands were
rough from manual labour. Marcellin’s parishioners, though, stood by him.
They loved him as a pastor of souls, and being working people themselves,
they admired him as a labourer and builder.
The new building was ready for occupancy by the end of winter 1825. In
May of that year, the Brothers from La Valla took up residence at Notre
Dame de l’Hermitage. Marcellin now had a Mother House for his
Institute.
Reference:
Br. Seán Sammon, Saint Marcellin Champagnat – The Life and Mission - A
heart that knew no bounds (Rome, 1999), pages 48-49.
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L
ITTLE
B
ROTHERS
OF
M
ARY
In a letter to King Louis-Philippe the 24
th
January, 1834 Marcellin
explained the reason of the name given to his Institute. In his own words:
“I gave them the name of Little Brothers of Mary, quite convinced that this name
alone would attract a big number of subjects. A speedy success, in a matter of a
few years, has proved my intuition right, beyond my wildest hopes”.
This title expresses well three key elements of the spirit that Marcellin
wished for his new Institute: that they gathered around Mary, being
brother to all those with whom they worked, living a life of humility and
simplicity.
When this Institute was recognised by the Church it was given the official
title Marist Brothers of the Schools (Fratres Maristae a Scholis - FMS).
Allowance was also made for the continued use of Marcellin’s preferred
title.
Reference:
Life, Part 2, Chapter 7, page 333, note No. 4.
L
ITTLE
V
IRTUES
They are attentive listening, enlightening dialogue, willing service,
availability without counting the cost, gentleness, tolerance, courtesy,
mutual support, silence, prayer and meditation.
Reference:
Avis, Leçons, Sentences (Lyon, 1927), Chapter 28.
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L
OUISE
C
HAMPAGNAT
After his mother, Louise Champagnat was the second woman to
encourage Marcellin. A religious Sister of Saint Joseph and a sister to Jean-
Baptiste Champagnat, she was expelled from her convent by the new
government and sought sanctuary with his family during the days of
revolutionary excess. Louise assisted in the boy’s early religious
formation; she was probably the first to model for him the merging of a
life of prayer with one of service to others.
Reference:
Br. Seán Sammon, Saint Marcellin Champagnat – The life and Mission – A
heart that knew no bounds (Rome, 1999), pages 11-12.
M
ARCELLIN
C
HAMPAGNAT
Marcellin Joseph Benoît Champagnat (1789-1840)
Priest of the Society of Mary, Founder of the Institute of the Little
Brothers of Mary (Marist Brothers)
Marcellin Champagnat was born on the 20
th
May, 1789 in Marlhes, a
village in the mountains of east-central France. He was the ninth child of
a very Christian family, from whom he received his basic education.
When Marcellin was 14, a priest passing through the village helped him
to see that God was calling him to the priesthood.
Among his companions in the major seminary in Lyons were Jean-Marie
Vianney, the future Curé of Ars, and Jean-Claude Colin who was to
become the founder of the Marist Fathers. He was ordained on the 22
nd
July, 1816.
Marcellin was sent as curate to the parish of La Valla. His ministry there
included visiting the sick, catechizing children, helping the poor, and
helping families to live a Christian life.
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On the 2
nd
January, 1817 only six months after his arrival in La Valla, Mar-
cellin, the 27-year-old curate, brought together his first two disciples.
Thus commenced the congregation of the Little Brothers of Mary, or
Marist Brothers.
In 1836, the Church recognized the Society of Mary and entrusted to it the
missions of Oceania. Marcellin took his vows as a member of the Society
of Mary, and sent three Brothers with the first missionary Marist Fathers
to the islands of the Pacific.
A lengthy illness gradually wore down his robust constitution. Worn out
by his labours, he died at the age of 51 on the 6
th
June, 1840.
Reference:
http://www.deaconlaz.org/marcellin_joseph_benoit_champagn.htm
M
ARIE
-T
HÉRÈSE
C
HIRAT
Marie-Thérèse Chirat was Marcellin’s mother. A prudent person of
steadfast character, she married Jean-Baptiste Champagnat in 1775. Her
life was marked by utter integrity, sterling faith, and a love of work.
Reference:
Br. Seán Sammon, Saint Marcellin Champagnat – The life and Mission – A
heart that knew no bounds (Rome, 1999), pages 11-12.
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M
ARIST
Towards the end of 1814 Jean-Claude Courveille who had been a student
in another seminary transferred to Saint-Irénée in Lyons. Courveille
recruited a group of senior seminarians to his idea of founding a Society
of Mary. He had been cured of semi-blindness after prayer to Our Lady of
Le Puy. In gratitude he had the inspiration and inner conviction that just
as there had arisen at the time of the Reformation a Society dedicated to
Jesus, the Jesuits, so at this time of Revolution there could be a Society
dedicated to Mary whose members would call themselves Marists. He
believed that the inspiration had come directly from Mary herself. The
original dream for the Marist family consisted of one religious
congregation and a lay branch. However, that dream was unrealizable.
In the new Society there was no provision for Teaching Brothers. And this
was the dearest wish of Marcellin Champagnat. He would often say to his
companions: “We must have Brothers! We must have Brothers to teach
catechism, to help the missionaries and to conduct schools.” As his
companions did not envisage the existence of Brothers in the new Society
they left in the hands of Marcellin the possibility to found them. He
willingly accepted the task.
Today, the term “Marist” is shared by a number of distinct religious
movements. Officially, there are the congregations of the Marist Fathers
and Brothers, Marist Brothers of the Schools (Little Brothers of Mary),
Marist Sisters and Marist Missionary Sisters. In addition there are Lay
Marist groups. Some Lay Marist groups have a spirituality which
originates in Father Colin. Other Lay Marist groups trace their spirituality
to St. Marcellin Champagnat.
Official approval by the Church for each of the branches of the Marist
family took place at different times. The Marist lay branch received formal
recognition in 1830. The Marist Fathers and Brothers were approved in
1836 and undertook major responsibility for the newly opened areas of
Western Oceania (the South Pacific). The Marist Brothers of the Schools
(Little Brothers of Mary) received their formal approval in 1863 and the
Marist Sisters in 1884. The Marist Missionary Sisters received official
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approval as a religious congregation in 1931.
Each member of this worldwide family, whether they be sister, brother, lay
person or priest, endeavours to live his or her life in the “spirit of Mary.”
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Claude_Colin
http://www.mariste.be/maristfamily/familyindex.htm
M
ARIST
P
ROJECT
This term is used to describe the Marists’ self-understanding of their
particular mission and distinctive style. The French word projet has the
sense of both a rationale for action and a characteristic way of proceeding.
For the founding Marist priests, their projet initially took shape in their
seminary days, and was formalised by their signing of a pledge at the
shrine of Notre Dame de Fourvière the day after most of them were
ordained, the 23
rd
July, 1816. In the decades that followed, they deepened
their understanding of what it meant to be Marist and expanded the
number and type of people who shared in it: priests, brothers, sisters, and
lay people. Marcellin Champagnat understood that his Little Brothers of
Mary, working mainly in schools, shared in this broader projet.
In essence, the Marist Project is to share in the work of Mary and to
undertake it in Mary’s way. This work is to bring Christ-life to birth in
people, and to gather them into community. It is to be with the Church as
it comes into being, in French l’Eglise naissante. The intuition of the Marist
Project is that the Church will be effectively nurtured into life by people
who take on Mary’s role in humility and simplicity, with mercy and
discretion, sowing seeds of faith, hope and love.
Reference:
Life, Part 1, Chapter 3, pages 27-28.
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M
EMORARE
IN THE
S
NOW
In February 1823, Marcellin learned that Brother Jean-Baptiste in Bourg-
Argental had come down with a serious illness. Concerned about his
condition, the young priest set out on the twenty-kilometre journey
across rough countryside to visit him. Brother Stanislaus was at his side.
On their return trip, walking through heavily timbered territory, the two
men were caught in the full fury of one of the region’s snowstorms. Both
were young and energetic, but hours of wandering lost on the slopes of
Mount Pilat led eventually to exhaustion. Stanislaus had reached the
limits of his stamina. Night set in; the possibility of death in the snow
increased with each passing hour. Both men turned to Mary for help and
prayed the Memorare.
Within a short while, they spied lamplight, not too far away in the
distance. A local farmer, Mr. Donnet, had left his house to enter a nearby
stable. This particular evening, though, he had taken an unusual route,
especially with the storm underway. By habit, he entered the stable
through a convenient door in the wall of the house. For reasons that can
be explained only by faith, this particular night he braved wind and
snow and chose a route that took him outdoors with his lantern. For the
rest of his days, Marcellin saw his deliverance and that of Brother
Stanislaus—henceforth referred to as the Memorare in the Snow—as an
act of Providence.
References:
Br. Seán Sammon, Saint Marcellin Champagnat – The life and Mission – A
heart that knew no bounds (Rome, 1999), pages 44-45.
Life, Part 2, Chapter 7, pages 343-344.
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M
ISSION
Jesus was sent by the Father on mission. Led by the Spirit he announced
the Good News of the Kingdom, died to bring God’s family together in
unity and to consecrate the whole of the world to lead it to its fulfilment.
In his turn, Jesus entrusted the continuation of his mission to the Church
to the end of time.
The mission of the Church is that entrusted to Jesus’ followers. According
to the needs of the times the Holy Spirit inspires in the Church people or
groups of people to bring to fulfilment Jesus’ mission in the world.
Religious Institutes, like the Marist Brothers, receive a specific mission
through the founding charism that was given to St. Marcellin
Champagnat for the service of the Church and of the world.
The Mission of the Marist Institute is defined as the one of evangelizing
through education. Following Marcellin Champagnat we seek to be
apostles to youth and children, evangelizing through our life and our
presence among them as much as through our teaching: being neither
simply catechists, nor just teachers of secular subjects.
References:
Constitutions of the Marist Brothers, Nos. 78-79.
In the Footsteps of Marcellin Champagnat: a vision of Marist education today,
Nos. 75-85 (Rome, 1998).
M
YSTICAL
A mystic person is one who, through prayer and contemplation of the
divine mystery, wants to reach a deeper communion with God.
Communion with God is at the same time a gift from God. We know that
God can be known through Revelation which reached its highest point in
Christ. However, this knowledge we might have of God can be pursued
in a discursive or intellectual manner as theologians do, or through a
prevalent approach of a loving and prayerful contemplation of God and
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His mystery. It is mystical knowledge.
Such knowledge is more an intuitive knowledge of God who wants to be
in communion with people, and who is calling people to be in
communion with Him. Therefore the aim of the Christian mystic is one’s
communion with God.
Mystical knowledge is a gift of God that no human effort can produce.
However, this gratuitous gift can only have an effect in the human person
if one is freely open to welcome it and freely answers with love to God’s
initiative. It usually grows only through a considerable time of desert-like
experience in the exercise of solid faith and generous love.
References:
S. De Fiores and S. Goffi, Nuovo Dizionario di Spiritualità (Milan, 1985),
pages 985-988. Ermanno Ancilli, La Mistica (Rome, 1984), page 39.
O
RDINARY
R
ESOURCE
This is another common title for Mary used in the Marist tradition. The
expression “Our Ordinary Resource” referring to Mary never appears in
the actual writings of Marcellin Champagnat. In this sense the reflections
of Brother Jean-Baptiste in his Life of Marcellin might not be historically
accurate.
Brother Jean-Baptiste presents the following incident. By 1830 the
Congregation was not approved by the Government and the story went
abroad that it would be suppressed. In fact, the Prefect of the Loire was
preparing to close the novitiate. It is in these difficult circumstances, instead
of losing his calm and his courage, Father Champagnat had recourse to the
Blessed Virgin, confiding his community to her. Having assembled the
Brothers, Father Champagnat told them: Don’t be frightened by the threats
made against you, and put aside all fear for your future; Mary who has gathered us
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in this house, will not allow us to be driven from it by men’s malice. Let us be
more faithful than ever in honouring: she is our Ordinary Resource. This was
the only precaution he thought necessary to take; and Mary, in whom he
had placed all his confidence, didn’t let him down: the Prefect was
transferred and the house was in no way disturbed. Afterwards, the
singing of the Salve Regina in the morning was maintained and became
an article of the Rule.
The quotation might not be fully true from the historical point of view.
However the title was handed on to Brothers from generation to
generation so that we may consider it part of the Marist tradition even if
this title in the meaning that it evokes is poorer than the one of Good
Mother.
Reference:
Life, Part 2, Chapter 7, pages 341-342.
P
ILAT
To care for the La Valla parish, which takes in the slopes and the passes of Mount
Pilat, was one of the most arduous and demanding of tasks. Its two thousand
population was mostly scattered amongst deep valleys or on steep heights. The La
Valla territory really beggars description. No matter what direction you go, there
is nothing but steep rises, sharp descents, crags and precipices. Several of its
hamlets, situated way down in the ravines of Pilat and at an hour and a half’s
distance from the church, were almost inaccessible for want of passable roads.
Reference:
Life, Part 1, Chapter 4, page 34.
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P
RAYER
OF THE
C
HURCH
(
OR
L
ITURGY
OF THE
H
OURS
)
The Liturgy of the Hours is the name given in the Latin Rite of the Roman
Catholic Church to the official prayer whereby the hours of the day are
consecrated to God. The Psalter, or Book of Psalms, is by tradition the
heart of the Liturgy of the Hours. The Liturgy of the Hours is recited in a
cycle of four weeks.
Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liturgy_of_the_Hours
R
EVIEW
OF THE
D
AY
Each evening we take time to look back over the day, thanking the Father
for the ways in which His love has manifested itself, asking pardon for
our failings and renewing our desire to be faithful by giving ourselves to
Him as His sons. (Constitutions 72)
We learn gradually to penetrate beyond the surface of things, to see
beyond the evident to the within, to see as Jesus sees and to sense more
clearly His presence in our lives and His calls, His invitations to us
coming through the experience of daily living. … is therefore centred, not
so much on ourselves and our efforts, but on discovering what God is
doing in our lives and the kind of response we are making to Him.
Reference:
Br. Charles Howard, Discernment. Circulars Vol. XXIX, No. 3 (1988),
page 141.
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V
ATICAN
II
The Second Vatican Council, or Vatican II, was an ecclesial, theological,
and ecumenical congress convened in the autumns of the four years
from 1962 through 1965. Pope John XXIII convoked the Council on the
11
th
October, 1962, and with bishops from all over the world, sought to
define the nature, scope, and mission of the Church. The Council closed
on the 8
th
December, 1965.
Vatican II marked a fundamental shift towards the modern Church. The
Council produced 16 documents some of which are described as the
greatest expressions of Catholic social teaching in Church history. The
decisions of the Council, especially those regarding the liturgy, affected
the lives of Catholics around the world. After Vatican II the use of the
vernacular language was permitted in the celebration of the Mass.
Increased participation by the laity distinguishes Catholic life after the
Second Vatican Council. Bible study groups, Marriage Encounter, social
action organizations, and the charismatic renewal movement are all
fruits of the Council. Vatican II made possible the many post-conciliar
official Church documents on Catholic social teaching.
While the basic doctrines of the Church did not change with the
Council, its influence and documents created more profound changes
for the Catholic Church than occurred in the previous five hundred
years. Since Pope John XXIII spoke of “opening the windows of the
Church” great and gradual changes have occurred.
Reference:
http://www.seattleu.edu/lemlib/web_archives/vaticanII/vaticanII.htm
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V
OCATION
The idea of vocation is central to Christian belief. God has created each
person with gifts and talents oriented toward specific purposes and a way
of life. Particularly in the Orthodox and Catholic Churches, the idea of
vocation is associated with a divine call to service to the Church and
humanity through particular vocational life commitments. We may find
these commitments in any way of life: marriage to a particular person,
consecration as a religious, ordination to priestly ministry in the Church
and a holy life as a single person. In the broader sense, Christian vocation
includes the use of ones gifts in their profession, family life, church and
civic commitments for the sake of the greater common good.
Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocation
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To teach children well,
you must first love them and
love them all equally.
If the lord
does not build the house,
in vain do
the builders labour.
All to Jesus
through Mary,
all to Mary
for Jesus.
Saint Marcellin.