Holy Spirit, guide us as we learn about the spirit of Mary. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Since we are beginning a journey together let’s introduce ourselves to each other.
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We will take our first steps together with this reading on the next page from “The Acts of the Apostles.”
Acts of the Apostles (1:6-9 and 1:12-14)
The Ascension of Jesus
When they had gathered together they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He answered them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority. But you will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.
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Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away.
The First Community in Jerusalem
When they entered the city they went to the upper room where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. . . and
Please pause the audio and journal for 5 to 10 minutes and complete the paragraph....
ORIGINS AND MISSION OF THE SOCIETY OF MARY
We have just lived, as best we can, an experience the earliest members of the Church had at the moment they were given their purpose—their mission. The first members of the Society of Mary meditated on this and other passages in Scripture about the early Church. They prayed and thought about the characteristics of the newborn Church and especially about the significance of Mary’s presence there.
They thought about what the early Church faced: a cruel and hardhearted world in which most people worshipped idols. The nation of Israel was itself subject to the might of the Roman Empire. So horrendous was life under the rule of the Romans that the disciples asked Jesus just before he ascended into heaven when Israel would be delivered from the cruelty and power of that Empire.
The first Marists applied what they learned from Scripture to the times they themselves experienced. They lived in France in the early 1800s and suffered from the tumult and destruction of the French Revolution. It was a time when entire nations broke from a social order in which the Church had been a core institution in society; a time when people began to separate God from the daily life and affairs of humankind. People no longer worshipped the one, true God but other gods called reason, science, individual freedom, relativism and many others. Authority of all kinds, theology and dogma were all challenged. It was a time of tremendous upheaval and was extremely frightening to God-fearing people.
Historians call this period of time the Enlightenment. But Jean-Claude Colin, Founder of the Marists, was among those who saw this time in history as a time of great evil. The first Marists considered the era so evil they called it “the end of time.” It was, in fact, the end of a time when God and the Church held strong positions in society and culture, and it was the beginning of a time when God and the Church were pushed aside. The resulting change in the structure of society is now called “secularism.” Contemporary dictionaries define secularism as a system in which religion and religious considerations are either rejected outright or are considered to be irrelevant.
The first Marists understood that God gives religious orders and movements to the Church and the world for specific purposes. Some are called to minister to particular peoples in the world. Some are called to do particular types of work.
The founders of the Society of Mary were inspired to found a religious movement to bring God to people who deliberately and systematically excluded God from most parts of their lives. The mission of Marists is to a “time” in history—not to a particular people, place or type of work. The founders understood that the presence of Mary, the spirit and ways of Mary are essential to this religious movement. In Scripture, they saw Mary as an essential support of the newborn Church. The first Marists believed that if they integrated the spirit, the values, the virtues and the manner of Mary into their work, they could better serve the people of Revolutionary and post-Revolutionary times. We live in a world much changed by the ideas of those times.
And so the mission of those who embrace the spirituality of the Marists is to bring God to the people of our times.
What a lofty goal—to bring God to the people of our times. The first order of business is to understand both Mary’s spirit and the world in which we live. We must understand ourselves and others as we live and grow during times when the Church and the world are seemingly opposing forces. We need to recognize and understand what is of God and what is not of God in our time and place.
During our journey into the spirituality of the Society of Mary, we will consider many topics: vocation, spirituality, church, laity, formation, ministry and evangelization, the spirit of the world we live in—and the spirit of Mary.
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WE REQUEST THE PLEASURE OF YOUR COMPANY
This material is intended to help each of us discern whether or not we are called to the Marist spirituality with its specific call to minister to the times in which we live.
God and Mary are saying, “Come and see.” They beckon to each of us, “Come, try on, a little at a time, this way of living and decide how you feel about this collection of ideas and experiences. Come, travel with us. Come, let us love you.”
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We will begin every chapter with quotations from Scripture, Church documents and the writings of Marists.
Scripture:
“It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain . . .”
John 15:16 These words are some of the last words Jesus spoke to the apostles at the Last Supper.
Church Documents: “From the fact of their union with Christ the head flows the laymen’s right and duty to be apostles. Inserted as they are in the Mystical Body of Christ by baptism and strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit in confirmation, it is by the Lord himself that they are assigned to the apostolate.”
Vatican II, Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People, 1965 (emphases added) (Apostolate means any work that serves God, the Church and other people.)
Marist Documents:
“That suits you.”
Jean-Claude Colin, S.M., Father Colin, Founder of the Society of Mary, explained that upon hearing the idea of a Society named for Mary he said to himself, “That suits you.”
Does anyone have comments about these quotations?
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THIS CHAPTER INCLUDES:
What is a vocation? What is a spirituality? What does the Marist phrase “Gracious Choice” mean?
WHAT IS A VOCATION?
We’ll begin by reading “Setting Out,” page 107, in A Certain Way. In this reading we are reminded that every disciple of Jesus experiences choice, testing (and formation), and mission.
Let’s begin, therefore, with “Choice.”
What is God calling me to be and to do? In a universal sense, we all have the same vocation: to respond to being unconditionally loved by God by loving God in return and by loving other people. “As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.” (John 13:34)
We also use the word “vocation” to mean a call from God to “a certain way” of life within the context of the universal call to love. Many of us remember being taught that every person is called to a state of life: marriage, religious and/or ordained, or single. Sometimes we use the word “vocation” to refer to roles and occupations, such as parent, teacher, student, builder, manager, firefighter. Most people assume a number of roles during their lifetimes.
It’s important to note that every person has one or more vocations. Vocations are not the sole property of those called to ordained and/or religious life. My vocation is what God and I do together with the life and gifts and circumstances God has given me. My vocation is the story of my life, and it all happens in my own unique “here and now.” The here and now of my life is holy; it’s where God has put me and where I will find God and the work I am to do.
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WHAT IS A SPIRITUALITY?
Another important question is this one: What kind of relationship am I called to have with God?
A relationship with God is called a “spirituality.” The particular spirituality we are called to live will determine not only how we relate to God, but also how we relate to other people and the world God created. The Holy Spirit has given the Church many charisms, or gifts, in the form of spiritualities. Another way of defining a spirituality is that it is a particular way of living the Gospel. It is also a way of loving God and others.
In the world of our times many people would respond to this question by stating that a relationship with God is impossible or irrelevant or no one else’s business.
Let’s explore these ideas in A Certain Way by reading “Consider the rock” on page 9. (Note: the title A Certain Way refers to what we are discussing here—a certain way of living the Gospel.)
This reading is really all about niches. A niche is a place, a job, or an activity that fits a person. When we have found a place to live and a kind of work and a group of associates that suit us, we say that we have found our niche. This reading explains that we all live in niches even in terms of how we live the Gospel. There is only one Gospel, but the work of the Spirit of God is infinite; and God places each one of us in niches within that infinity.
Actually, we already have chosen a way to live the Gospel, or in other words, each of us already is in a certain niche. But we may not have given that choice much thought; it may just be an untitled something into which we have drifted.
As we begin to experience the spirituality of the Marists, we will give this choice, or niche, a great deal of thought. First, we acknowledge that we have been called to love. Then we ask ourselves this question: Have I been chosen to love God and my brothers and sisters by living the Gospel as Mary lived it? Is this my niche? Does this suit me?
Does anyone wish to share thoughts on these ideas or anything in the readings?
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WHAT DOES “GRACIOUS CHOICE” MEAN?
Marists use the phrase “gracious choice” to express this idea of being chosen to live the Gospel as Mary lived it.
Here’s a brief explanation of “Gracious Choice” taken from the booklet, “The Marist Laity”:
Fundamental to the Marist project is the conviction that Mary herself called it into existence. She expressed her wish in these words: “Here is what I want… a Society which will have my name, which will call itself the Society of Mary, whose members will call themselves Marists.” She chose and called the first Marists by giving them her name.
To be Marist is to have a sense of being called and chosen by Mary. The term “gracious choice” describes this particular gift. This grace invites us to participate in her spirit and her work of bringing the gospel of Jesus to our world. (emphasis added)
What words or phrases in this passage particularly attract you?
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QUIET TIME
We will take 10-15 minutes to ponder what we have been reading and discussing. Remember pondering is something Mary herself did. “And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19) A page is provided for you to record your thoughts.
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Review of Invitations
Closing prayer: Mary, please direct my efforts to discern if I am being graciously called to be Marist.
The Pondering Page for Quiet Time
Does This Suit Me?
Let’s rediscover our Baptism.
The Church teaches that through baptism we are “inserted into the Mystical Body of Christ,” that we become beloved sons and daughters of God, that we are assigned to the apostolate. (Remember, apostolate means all activities that serve God, the Church and other people.) Have you ever thought about baptism this way before?
Do you feel a call to change your relationship with God? Becoming Marist means to bear Mary’s name, to accept Mary as the director of our relationship with God, and to receive her spirit. Do these themes appeal to you?
Please pause the audio and journal for 5 to 10 minutes and complete the questions....
INVITATIONS
Once we discern our vocation, we never cease responding to God’s call andcooperating with God’s continued efforts to form us. Invitation, however, does come before mission. Jesus began a relationship with his disciples by saying, “Come and see.” Jesus did not begin his relationship with them by assigning duties.
Therefore, you are invited, not assigned, to participate in the prayers, readings and other activities suggested after each chapter. These invitations are issued because a spirituality is something we live. Reading, thinking and discussing are not enough. As you respond, refer to the passage from Scripture and the references from Church and Marist documents.
An exercise on reflection and pondering is included in the appendix and may be helpful.
Prayer: Pray this prayer every day: Mary, please direct my efforts to discern if I am being graciously called to be Marist.
By praying this prayer we begin to live the spirituality of the Marists in an important way. Marists place ourselves, with confidence, under the directorship of Mary. We are asking Mary to help us know the answer to the question, “Does this suit me?”
Reading: In Like a Bridge, read and ponder the section titled “Gracious Choice,”pages 65-70.
Action: You have already taken on certain roles and work in your life. Think and write about what these have been and how you have responded. What are you called to do now and how are you responding? A page is provided for your notes.
It is helpful to share your thoughts with someone you trust. Record whatever insights other people provide about your life’s work.
Our Marist Ways . . .
. . . include the practice of praying for Marists throughout the world every day. During your learning and discernment process, you are being prayed for by many. You are invited to join in this tradition any time you wish.
(Audio Available)
