Marist spirituality connects us to the spirit of Mary and her desire to see the Gospel of her Son be born anew in the Church community and the world. Each person of the Marist family has a sense of being chosen and called by Mary to do “the work of Mary.” This means more than honoring or imitating her virtues; it is a life-long journey to take on the mind and heart of Mary and make her visible in and through us. In doing so, we hope that people will see beyond us to the source of her faith, Jesus Christ.
Explore with us the ways Mary can transform our lives and inspire us to care for others.
Daily Meditations for Lent
This Lent the Marist Community invites you to read, think about, pray over and act on the Scripture readings the Church assigns for each day.
Join the Marists in their Lenten renewal of mind, heart, word and deed by applying these Scriptures to yourself and allowing them to inspire your thoughts, words, actions and prayer. Ask Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ, to help you to interiorize these words of life from her perspective so that you may “think as Mary, judge as Mary, feel and act as Mary in all things…” Constitutions of the Society of Mary, 1988, # 288
Take Five
Take five minutes out of your busy day to refresh your soul with thoughtful words from our Marists.
Father Tom Ellerman speaks to us about the Lenten season: "While most of us associate penances and mortification primarily with the season of Lent, for Father Jean-Claude Colin, founder of the Marists, they were a regular part of the interior life and the religious life, not something restricted to a special season."
Read Fr. Tom Ellerman's Words of the Season>
Pray With Us
In prayer and meditation on the mystery of Mary’s presence at the birth of the Church, Jean-Claude Colin discovered how the Society should be present in the Church of his time. In the same way, a Marist learns to “taste God” and discover for himself in prayer how, by belonging to her Society, he must live the spirit of Mary.
We invite you to Pray with Us>
Spiritual Reflections
The voice of God, who speaks in the quiet of our hearts, is rendered almost inaudible. We Marists 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.
The Work of Mary and the Marists
About Mary
Mary’s faith is a model for us all. Though not understanding the fullness of God’s mystery and plan, aware of her own limitations and the harsh reality of the world around her, she nonetheless accepted God’s Word and was willing to bear the gift of God’s Son. We are encouraged to be as open and trusting of God’s call to us.
The Interweaving of Mary and the Holy Spirit in Us by Ted Keating, S.M.
The spiritual life is
nourished and sustained
by contemplation of
the word of God.
| Marists and Prayer
Private prayer, for which Christ found time and space even on the busiest days of his ministry, cannot be omitted without presumption by those who call themselves his disciples. Fidelity to the spirit of prayer and to prayer itself is one of their first duties. Community prayer is vital for those who undertake a spiritual and apostolic venture together. It is an expression of faith and solidarity, and demands a creative search for new forms, such as reading the Scriptures together in faith, shared prayer, and reflection.
A Marist shall have recourse to Mary with confidence and each day entrust to her the concerns of the Society. |
In prayer and reflection
a Marist may deepen his understanding of what it means to belong to a Society which bears the name of Mary.
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