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.

From Our Founder

‘Prayer, prayer… let us pray, let us be men of prayer. Let us pray without ceasing. Let us pray for each other a great deal. To accomplish good, we must pray. The man who loves God, the true priest, must embrace the whole world in his zeal, and so much the more should we. Let us pray! The man who prays only for himself is narrow-hearted, and he only receives grace in proportion.’ (FS 115:7) MEET OUR FOUNDER, JEAN-CLAUDE COLIN>

Seasonal Reflection

The Changing Face of Mary
By Patrick Bearsley, SM (adapted for use on the web)

A quick trip down the centuries of Christian devotion to Mary is like walking through an art gallery hung with portraits of the same person painted by different artists. Each painter sees the subject differently, but each portrait is a true likeness, capturing different facets of the mystery of that person.

And so it is with Mary. Her image in Christian consciousness is constantly changing. She is always recognizably the Mother of the Lord, but one age will emphasize one facet of her personality or role in salvation, and at another time some other aspect receives prominence.

ENJOY THE COMPLETE SEASONAL REFLECTION>

Feminine face of the Church (Excerpt from "A Certain Way")>

Marist Thoughts

If you read "Jesus: A Gospel," you will notice that Henri Nouwen has a lot to say about Mary. He reminds us that it was through Mary's fiat, through her "yes" to God's grand design, that Christ came into our world and God's redemptive presence was manifested. Through her fiat, Nouwen explains, Mary made a lifelong commitment to that design. "Her life," Nouwen writes, "was a life of always fuller abandonment to the divine will and a total emptying out in faith."

Giving flesh to the Word and committing to God's grand design was something Mary freely chose to do.

As a Marist people, it is something we can freely choose to do as well.

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