Doing the Work of Mary
Marists are men and women who strive to live the Gospel the way Mary lived it. We are scattered to the four corners of the world but united in one heart and one mind under the patronage of Mary, the mother of Jesus. We gather into religious congregations and lay movements: The Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary, the Marist Sisters, the Marist Brothers, the Priests and Brothers of the Society of Mary, and many lay groups of Marist inspiration.

Today, we continue in the venture to renew the spirit and mission of the Church as a place of collaboration and true spiritual enrichment.

We invite you to discover that true strength is found in gentleness. Marist spirituality invites us to embrace this liberating truth, which comes to us from the heart of God, by following Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Like Mary, we too can hear the gentle rhythms of the grace of God in our lives by making our own her manner of thinking, judging, feeling, and acting.

    Mary's way is a direct path to the divine heart of mercy.

Justice for Immigrant Families and Children

Every stranger who knocks at our door is an opportunity for an encounter with Jesus Christ, who identifies with the welcomed and rejected strangers of every age (See Matthew 25:35-43).
Pope Francis, from his 2018 World Day of Migrants and Refugees Message

Read Pope Francis' 2018 World Day of
Migrants and Refugees Message>

The Marists of the U.S. Province came to the United States to minister to immigrants on the move who speak other languages, and it has been part of our history since our arrival here in the United States in 1863.

We follow the lead of the U.S. Bishops in seeking a humane and consistent immigration policy for the United States but cannot be blind to the painful human needs and social situations of our immigrant brothers and sisters.

Read more about this issue>

Ten Things To Know About Family Separation (PDF)>

Pope Francis: Death Penalty is Inadmissible

Pope Francis has approved a new revision of paragraph number 2267 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, according to which "a new understanding has emerged of the significance of penal sanctions imposed by the state," thus "the death penalty is inadmissible". The text now reads:

Recourse to the death penalty on the part of legitimate authority, following a fair trial, was long considered an appropriate response to the gravity of certain crimes and an acceptable, albeit extreme, means of safeguarding the common good.

Today, however, there is an increasing awareness that the dignity of the person is not lost even after the commission of very serious crimes. In addition, a new understanding has emerged of the significance of penal sanctions imposed by the state. Lastly, more effective systems of detention have been developed, which ensure the due protection of citizens but, at the same time, do not definitively deprive the guilty of the possibility of redemption.

Consequently, the Church teaches, in the light of the Gospel, that "the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person",[1] and she works with determination for its abolition worldwide".

[1] FRANCIS, Address to Participants in the Meeting organized by the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, 11 October 2017: L'Osservatore Romano, 13 October 2017.

Read Full Article>

Take the Pledge to End the Death Penalty>

Read About Hope Over Death>

More Resources>

Pope Francis:
In the service of the transmission of faith
Let us pray that people, who are involved in the service and transmission of faith, may find, in their dialogue with culture, a language suited to the conditions of the present time. Pope Francis - December 2018

"If you want to share your faith through the word,
you have to listen much and carefully.

Let us imitate the style of Jesus, who adapted himself to the people
He had in front of Him so as to bring God’s love to them.

Let us pray that people, who are involved in the service and
transmission of faith, may find, in their dialogue with culture,
a language suited to the conditions of the present time,
in their dialogue with people's hearts,
and above all, by listening much."

Video by Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network – Apostleship of Prayer

Pope Francis: #PrayForTheChurch
The Pope asks us to pray a Rosary daily that the Virgin Mary protect the Church in these times of crisis, and to pray to St. Michael the Archangel that he defend the Church from the attacks of the devil. 
Pope Francis - October 2018

Video by Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network – Apostleship of Prayer

 

Seasonal Reflections

Seasonal Meditation for Advent
Mary, Bearing the Light to the World
and Hope to an Advent People>

We invite you to also read "Carrying Jesus">

Read More of our Seasonal Reflections>

Marists often speak of a Marian Church as a church with its doors wide open. It is a Church that welcomes, that bids others to enter and to know Jesus Christ and all the joy, love and peace that he offers.

But the doors of a Marian Church
are open for another reason.
They are open to enable the Church,
the people of God, to go outward.

Our Lady by Laura James

In going outward, the Church touches the lives of those who some may regard as "the least." They include among them the homeless and the hungry, the alcoholic and those whose bodies and hearts have been torn apart by addiction to drugs.

But often, they are people whose lives have been shattered by broken dreams, broken relationships (sometimes with the Church itself), and a feeling of abandonment. They are suffering and seeking at the same time, wondering if anyone cares and hoping that something better awaits them.

A Marian Church does not have all the answers for them. It is itself a people of God who are in struggle. But Marists believe that the model of Church they offer can make some difference in the lives of those who are in groaning.

At the very least it is willing to listen to their groaning, to speak to them of a Christ who cares, and to journey with them on their Calvary. It is a Church willing to go beyond doctrine and to feel deeply for others.

Read More Marist Thoughts on A Marian Church>

Read about A Marian People in action>

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