Today's Marists Volume 5, Issue 1 Spring 2019

Today’s
Spring 2019
Volume 5 | Issue 1
Marists
Society of Mary in the U.S.

Today’s
Marists
Spring 2019 | Volume 5 | Issue 1
Publisher
Editor
Editorial Assistants
Archivist
Editorial Board
Paul Frechette, SM, Provincial
Ted Keating, SM
Elizabeth F. Avila
Philip Gage, SM
Randy Hoover, SM
Susan Plews, SSND
Susan Illis
Ted Keating, SM, Editor
Paul Carr, Director of Development
Thomas Ellerman, SM
Joseph Hindelang, SM
Randy Hoover, SM
Bishop Joel Konzen, SM
Jack Ridout, Director of Vocations
Bill Rowland, SM
Today’s Marists is published three times a year by The Marist
Fathers and Brothers of the United States Province. The contents
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In this issue...
3 from the Provincial
by Paul Frechette, SM
4 Contemplation Meeting Action in Discernment
by Ted Keating, SM
5 Book Corner
6 Nurturing Life in All Its Forms
by John Larsen, SM
7 The Marist in Solitude
by Tom Ellerman, SM
8 Servant Leadership and Marist Values
by Mary Ghisolfo
9 News Brief
10 Oceania More than ‘Climate Change’
by Ben McKenna, SM
Society of Mary of the USA
12 Preparing for a Life of Compassion and Mercy:
Introduction
by Tony Kennedy, SM
13 Licentiate Program in Ecumenism
by Floyd Gatana, SM
13 Pastoral Experience in Ranong, Thailand
by Gabriel Mukong, SM
14 Final Profession and Diaconate
by Josefo Amuri, SM
15 Marist Vocational Discernment in Today’s World
by Jack Ridout
16 Movie Review: Of Gods and Men
by Brian Cummings, SM
18 The 150th Anniversary of St. Louis King of France
by Ted Keating, SM
19 Marist Lives: Rev. Arthur Duhamel, SM
by Susan J. Illis
20 One School’s Vision of “the Greatest Work”
by Kevin Mullally
21 A New Model of Vocation Accompaniment in
the US Province
by Ted Keating, SM
22 Society of Mary School Sponsorship in the USA
by Joseph Hindelang, SM
23 Donor Thoughts: Why I Support the Marists
by Nedom Haley
© 2019 by Society of Mary in the U.S. All rights reserved.
Printed on partially-recycled stock with a vegetable-based ink mixture.
Design: Beth Ponticello | CEDC | www.cedc.org
2 Today’s Marists Magazine

from the Provincial
Fr. Paul Frechette, SM
Annual Meeting of Marist Family Provincials
The provincials of the four branches
of the Marist Family (Marist Brothers,
Marist Sisters, Missionary Sisters of the
Society of Mary, Marist Fathers and
Brothers) met in Washington, DC from
April 30-May 1, 2019 at the Provincial
headquarters of the Marist Fathers and
Brothers for our annual meeting. We
shared ways of how to continue to build
bridges between our Marist Family here
in the USA. One example of this is our
annual joint Marist Vocation directors’
presentation to the students at Marist
School in Atlanta, Georgia which occurs
for one week every January. As always in
our dialogue, we shared the successes
and challenges that we face in each of
our branches. New religious vocations to
our way of life is always a challenge. In
discussing these challenges our focus is
always centered on the original dream
of our founders to make ‘the whole world
Marist.’
The original dream in the 1800s for the
Marist Family aimed at the formation
of one religious congregation (both men
and women under the leadership of one
superior general) and a lay branch. That
dream, however, was unrealizable. Today
the Marist Family refers to four separate
religious congregations as well as the laity
branch. Each branch has its own founder
“whose personality and temperament
shaped and colored the original insight.”
(Craig Larkin, A Certain Way)
Cover Explanation
Lord our God, the whole world tells the greatness of your name,
Your Glory reaches beyond the stars
I see Your handiwork in the heavens;
the moon and the stars you set in place.
What is humankind that You remember them,
the human race that You care for them.
You treat them like gods dressing them in glory and splendor
You give them charge of the earth, laying all at their feet.
(Ps. 8:2, 4-7)
Marist Brothers (FMS)
The Marist Brothers were founded in
1817 by a young French Marist Father,
Saint Marcellin Champagnat, in
response to the spiritual, educational,
and physical needs of the young and
poor. Champagnat’s energy and spirit
is present everywhere throughout the
congregation’s dedication to preparing
men to educate the young and exemplify
in their lives the love of Jesus through
Mary.
Marist Sisters (SM)
Establishing the Marist Sisters came
about from the strength, humility,
insight, and zeal of Jeanne-Marie
Chavoin. She along with two others
began the first community of Marist
Sisters in 1823. This congregation of
religious women is characterized “by
the desire to make the mystery of Mary
in the church the daily inspiration of its
life and action, not by any special work
nor by the promotion of any particular
form of Marian devotion.” (Marist Sisters’
Constitutions)
Missionary Sisters of the Society of
Mary (SMSM)
The beginnings of the Missionary Sisters
of the Society of Mary can be traced
back to Marie Françoise Perroton along
with ten other female pioneers who left
France from 1845 to 1860 to respond
to the request from the missions of
Our cover presents a young person deep in discernment over where the boundless creation calls in
the stark and awesome magnificence of what it means to be human.
Oceania to “send us some devout women
to teach the women.” The SMSM were
approved as a religious congregation in
1931. Despite the challenges they face,
the Missionary Sisters “wish to respond
to the calls of today with the daring and
zeal of the pioneers. We want to keep
alive this daring – simple, joyful, and
prudent – based solely on the love and
power of God in order to announce the
Gospel in its force and integrity, learning
to adapt ourselves to different cultures
and conditions of life.” (Missionary
Sisters’ Constitutions)
Marist Fathers and Brothers (SM)
The Society of Mary (Fathers and
Brothers) was founded in 1836 by Fr.
Jean-Claude Colin. The priests and
brothers of this international religious
congregation vow to live the spirit of
Mary and serve the Church and world
under her name. As Colin said, “Mary
supported the Church as it came to birth;
she will do so again at the end of time.”
Marist Laity
The lay branch of the Marist Family
was canonically established in 1850 as
the Third Order of Mary and has since
developed into a variety of Marist lay
groups, formal and informal, around the
world. Together with consecrated Marist
religious, the Marist laity work together
to express the Marist spirit and mission
of the Marian Church first envisioned by
Fr. Colin.
At our next annual meeting we hope to
continue our Marist Family dialogue
about the challenges we face in order to
continue to share our Marist founders’
dream of living the spirit of Mary in
our communities, manifesting the one
concern to think, judge, feel, and act in
every way as Mary would.
History Source:
www.maristsm.org/en/marist-family.aspx
Spring 2019 3

Contemplation Meeting
Action in Discernment
by Ted Keating, SM
The theme of the past year’s Today’s Marists threaded and
woven through several articles has been “the Marist Way,
a Contemplative Way.” This theme emerged out of deep
concerns from the 2017 Society of Mary General Chapter (an
international meeting of the Marists that convenes every
eight years) to deepen the contemplative dimension of our
lives. It became even more relevant with the publication of
Jean-Claude Colin: Reluctant Founder by Justin Taylor, SM,
an exhaustively researched biography of our Founder. One of
the book’s key areas of exploration is the spirituality of Father
Colin − his principal spiritual influences, how he responded to
them in his own life, and what he asked from Marists by way
of a life of prayer and conversion as a foundation for and an
exercise of mission and pastoral ministry. In this year’s Today’s
Marists we will focus on the theme of discernment described
by Thomas Green, SJ, in his classic on the topic, Weeds Among
the Wheat (Ave Maria Press, 1984) as “the meeting point of
prayer and action.” The title of Green’s book comes from
the Gospel parable, as you will no doubt recognize, of the
farmhand who asks the farmer what to do when he discovers
that someone has sown destructive weeds abundantly in the
field of good wheat. (Matthew 13:24)
Before we move on to that theme, however, we have to note
that it is not clear that Jean-Claude Colin actually used the
word “contemplative” to describe his prayer and spirituality.
But, now in recent decades of intense studies of two famous
American Trappist authors, Thomas Merton, OCSO, and
Thomas Keating, OCSO, we find many close connections
between Colin’s way of seeing prayer and spirituality and
the current use of the word “contemplation.” For example,
contemporary Jesuits describe themselves these days as
contemplatives in action, based on years of multiple new
studies about the spirituality of their own founder, St. Ignatius
of Loyola. Several of the approaches in this past year’s issues of
Today’s Marists have similarly presented this spiritual reality as
the “Marist Way, a Contemplative Way,” to follow the wording
of Michael Whelan, SM, a Marist theologian from Australia.
The General Chapter of 2017 placed deep prayer in this
contemplative sense at the heart of mission for Marists The
Catholic understanding of mission flows out of the Mission of
God among us, especially the Missioning of Jesus, which refers
to His being sent by the Father, as Jesus mentions frequently
in the Gospels. This Mission of Jesus is none other than the
mystery of the Incarnation, Jesus among us as both God
and Human. Jesus, in turn, tells us that “he will not leave us
orphans but will send us the Spirit” whose own Mission is to
remind us of all that Jesus taught. Therefore, Mission is first
the action of God among us, and our mission is only authentic
when it is exercised in the God “in whom we live and move and
have our being.” (Acts 17:28) It begins and ends as the grace
of God. We can live out our ministry only as it comes from
the grace of God in the light of the mystery of God. Prayer,
contemplation, and dwelling in the mystery of God must
somehow pour out into our ministries if they are not to become
secularized activities of “good works” rather than the work of
God among us in grace. Ideally, contemplation, mission, and
ministry are one.
Discernment is what unites all this. The world of mystery, faith,
and prayer has to “hit the ground” in action. Decisions must
be made using the best techniques involved in discernment.
Our human decision-making faculties, however, have to be
forged, tempered, and shaped by faith in the will of God for
the world, ‘not just by our own best strategic analysis’ using
only secular methods of decision-making. When ‘prayer meets
action’, transformation of even the best secular decisionmaking
methods help to shape our lives of prayer into actions
that will deepen our contemplative Marist Way, whether we
be vowed or lay Marists. We have to leave space for the Spirit
in our understanding and practice of mission in a manner
4 Today’s Marists Magazine

that infuses our decisions with the gifts and fruits of the Spirit
as we “become Mary” for the Church and the world. Without
Spirit’s prompting, we can gradually grow unconsciously
“secularized” in our efforts to serve the Church. Therefore,
discernment is inseparable from contemplation. It is where
and how our contemplation truly becomes “the energy source,
the mystical heart of Marist mission” as the General Chapter
expresses it. (2017 General Chapter, 30) This is how the clarity
of Colin’s vision of “thinking, judging, feeling, and acting as
Mary” becomes a reality in our spiritual lives as well as in our
everyday life and ministry, as individuals and as a group. As
Mary, we too become more like “icons” of the Holy Spirit. We
bring Mary as the Icon of the Spirit into the world through our
pursuit of contemplation.
The great gift St. Ignatius of Loyola and the Jesuits have
given to the Church is this “gracious” work referred to as
discernment. It is the principal focus of the book St. Ignatius
wrote, Spiritual Exercises, a classic in Western spirituality. It is
rooted deeply in the imagination, which was rather new at the
time. The aim is to search in our hearts through prayer and in
the midst of desires, consolations, and desolations, for clarity
about where God is calling us (drawing us by desire), while
also helping us to become conscious of the false desires that
tend to lead us away from God.
The very title of Thomas Green’s classic on discernment, Weeds
Among the Wheat, (a book designed to be read and discussed
with others in small groups) shows how challenging the work
of sifting the “wheat and weeds” of inner experience can be,
because false and destructive desires are often mixed together
with our greatest hopes for purity. This sifting can only be
done effectively when others are ready to help “keep us clear.”
It involves a boundless humility in our path to God of which
Ignatius himself spoke so frequently. Thus, we hope that you
will appreciate this year’s theme of discernment as the natural
next step flowing out of a life of contemplation moving into
action and service to our world.
Let me leave you with an excellent analogy used by Thomas
Green, SJ, that helps us understand how loving knowledge
shapes our way of making decisions even when we may not
know we are doing so. Discernment may be much more
common in our lives of love than we realize. Green imagines a
woman married for fifty years to her husband. She is shopping
for a necktie for his birthday. She looks at the neckwear
selection in the men’s store and immediately dismisses whole
racks of ties as not being what she is looking for. She zeroes in
on another rack and perceives that these might provide the gift
she wants. Finally, she spots the perfect tie for her husband.
She has lived with him lovingly for fifty years and knows
exactly what he likes. She goes home confident that he will love
the tie she has chosen. Similarly, knowledge flowing from our
love of God over many years gradually helps us to love what He
loves and helps us know how to make choices based on that
long relationship.
You will probably also enjoy reading in this issue the movie
review Brian Cummings, SM writes of the film Of Gods and
Men. It helps concretize how “knowledge born of love” shows
itself in action in community.
BOOK
CORNER
by Ted Keating, SM
As this issue of Today’s Marists was
being assembled, the news reported
the death of Jean Vanier on May 7,
2019 in Paris at the age of 90. He
was one of the great lay voices of
mysticism and prophetic action in
the post-Vatican II era. His death
was described as the death of a
“living saint,” like that of Mother
Teresa, a good friend of his.
Vanier radiated a holiness
manifest in profound and
persistent love to the
intellectually handicapped. His
death came as the end of a
long search to discern what
God wanted him to do with his life.
In his youth he had been a naval officer in the Canadian
navy, earned a doctorate in Catholic philosophy, and finally
his calling “found him” in the horrendous experience
of witnessing how the intellectually handicapped were
treated in in society. He saw his call, however, as not
to serve them in any traditional sense, but to befriend
them, to learn from them, and to discover Christ in these
thoroughly marginalized people. Vanier began a significant
lay movement called L’Arche (the Ark). He started with a
small residence and two intellectually challenged men. The
Arche Communities spread rapidly all over the world, even in
Buddhist and Muslim nations. He attracted and still attracts
large numbers of young people to these communities not to
serve the people, but to live with them, “encounter” them,
and learn from them the truth about the practice of love in
Jesus’s final command to live His “new Commandment.”
Jean Vanier published more than thirty books over the years,
many of them still in print, calling forth a life of love rooted
in engaging our own brokenness before and while we would
dare move forward to “serve others.” Henri Nouwen, another
great post-Vatican II mystical writer, lived several years in a
L’Arche Community. Both men made enormous contributions
to the nature of Christian ministry as “wounded healers”
who move not out of power to serve others benevolently,
but to bring one’s own “broken places” into ministries of
compassion, recognizing one’s own limits while at the same
time engaging the brokenness of others. Vanier wrote a
testament of his spiritual search and the surprising growth
of L’Arche in a book titled A Cry Is Heard: My Path to Peace,
published by Twenty-Third Publications in 2018.
Spring 2019 5

Nurturing Life in
All Its Forms
by John Larsen, SM, Superior General
In February, the presidents of the Bishops’
Conferences from around the Catholic
world responded to Pope Francis’
invitation to gather as shepherds in the
Church to consider a more just and honest
ecclesial response to the scandalous
tragedy of sexual abuse. Our own Marist
Bishop Paul Donoghue S.M., President of
the Pacific Bishops’ Conference, (CEPAC),
stayed with us here in Villa Santa Maria,
Monteverde, Rome, while he attended the
gathering.
Now is an opportune time for all of us
as Marists to examine our own lives
searching out any form of abuse, however
subtle they may be. We pray and discern
with great honesty, confronting our own
sinfulness, always aware of God’s grace.
Our penance can be designed, either
individually or as a community, as a way
of repentance and conversion toward the
true light of the Gospel and against the
darkness of any abusive attitudes.
The child abuse crisis is an abuse of
power. Our Marist charism clearly
opposes all over-reaching forms of power,
challenging us to humble service of the
poor. Sometimes our structures keep
us far away from the dreary, grinding,
anxious lives of the very poor. It is
important for us to make a conscious
effort to undertake some activity which
brings us personally to encounter in
friendship some of the poorest people
around us and to share with them what
they understand as “Good News.” Our
penance may also involve employing
our talents to confront unjust structures
which oppress and abuse those who are
powerless.
The Gospel and the charism of Marist
Religious Life, especially the vow of
poverty, demand a simple lifestyle where
everything is shared in common and
in a transparent way. For Marists, there
is no such thing as “my” money or car,
“my” time or bank balance. We live very
simply and share openly our lives and
our possessions with each other and with
the poor. We can consider a penance
that leads us toward repentance and
conversion to a more simple, transparent,
and generous lifestyle, sharing all things
in common. (Constitutions 106-113)
By our way of life, we can easily abuse the
created world around us. As Pope Francis
writes: “What is needed is an ‘ecological
conversion’ whereby the effects of our
encounter with Jesus Christ become
evident in our relationship with the
world around us. Living our vocation as
protectors of God’s handiwork is essential
to the life of virtue.” (Laudato Si’, 217) The
Marist General Chapter of 2017 echoes
this: “An ecologically sustainable style
of living is an intrinsic part of living the
Gospel today.” (2017 General Chapter,
44) In Fiji, Marists are developing an
Ecological Center, while in New Zealand
some Marists are calling for greater
accountability for our harmful carbon
footprint. 1 With these initiatives the work
of the new Marist Ecological Commission
is gaining momentum. A penance
might involve for all of us some work of
protection and healing of a particularly
abused corner of the world where we live.
The terrible story of abuse and coverup
in the Church and elsewhere cries
out for repentance and a profound
conversion of heart and lifestyle. May
each of us individually and all of us in
our communities, undertake focused
penances that affect a Gospel conversion
from any form of abuse towards more
just and compassionate communities,
ministries and environments.
The 2017 General Chapter gave us
a direction for deciding upon an
appropriate penance this year:
From our communities, where we care for
our Marist brothers as we care for all those
who are struggling to be faithful disciples,
Mary, the mother of the New Creation, calls
us to nurture life in all its forms, especially
among our most vulnerable brothers
and sisters and in our damaged planet.
(Declaration on Mission, 5)
Endnote
1 A new Marist justice and peace blog, well worth
following!
http://jpicblog.maristsm.org
6 Today’s Marists Magazine

The Marist in Solitude
by Tom Ellerman, SM
Over the years much time and energy have been devoted to
explaining the meaning of the expression, “unknown and
indeed even hidden in this world,” used to describe the Marist.
How can someone who spends a great deal of time in public
ministry and community life be “unknown” and “hidden” even
if they have combined “a love of solitude and silence … with
works of zeal.” (Constitutions) The answer to this difficulty lies
in the kind of solitary life that Father Colin expects the Marist
to live in the solitude and silence of his room. There he is truly
unknown and hidden.
Unlike some religious who are expected to spend most of their
day in the presence of others and use their rooms only for
sleeping, the Marist is expected to spend a good amount of his
day alone in his room. How do we know this?
In numbers 231 and 232 of the 1872 Constitutions, Fr. Colin
describes in some detail the bedroom of the Marist religious.
It is not the tiny cell that many religious traditionally have
inhabited. Its description, however, does sound as if Fr.
Colin had anticipated by 150 years the Japanese minimalist
movement of Marie Kondo and Fumio Sasaki. Although
the Marist room is spacious, it is the essence of minimalist
simplicity. Let us take inventory of the Marist room:
• A bed
• A straw mattress
• A woolen quilt
• Bed linens and blankets
• One table topped with three bookshelves
• Two chairs
• A kneeler (Prie-Dieu)
• One wardrobe
• A few devout pictures
• An armchair that gives evidence to poverty
• No covering on the walls (referring to what at the time
could be expensive elaborate wallpaper)
This list of furnishings reveals to us what the founder wanted
to take place in the Marist room. The room is a dormitory, a
private chapel, and a study with a small library. The Marist
sleeps, rests, reads, studies, and prays in his room. It is a place
of peace and quiet, where the religious engages in spiritual
reading, sermon or class preparation, ongoing professional
education, letter writing, personal prayers, meditation, his
examinations of conscience and God-consciousness. It is a
place of inspiration, creativity, and spiritual struggle. It is the
place where the Marist is alone with the Alone.
While the Marist room has an air of poverty and simplicity,
it provides for the necessities of its occupant. Father Colin
presupposes that every Marist house has an adequate common
library. Nevertheless, the Marist religious may keep up to three
shelves of books in his room for his personal and immediate use.
In number 42 of the Constitutions Colin writes: “To enable the
Society to attain its goal, it is absolutely essential that those
academic studies which can serve the salvation of souls be
cultivated within it.”
Even in the privacy of his bedroom, a Marist’s furnishings
are a constant reminder to him to spend time developing his
personal relationship with Jesus Christ and working for the
salvation of his neighbor. He seeks to understand more deeply
his Catholic Faith so that, with God’s grace, he may give an
account of the hope that is within him and thus attain more
fruitfully the purpose of the Society of Mary.
Fr. Colin’s room in Lyons, France
“The Marist sleeps, rests, reads,
studies, and prays in his room.
It is a place of peace and quiet...
It is a place of inspiration, creativity,
and spiritual struggle.”
Spring 2019 7

Servant Leadership and Marist Values
by Mary Ghisolfo, Former President of Marist Laity
“Have one ambition. While doing great things for the Lord, be unknown and even hidden
in the world. The aim is to make the school a family.” (Jean-Claude Colin)
I served at École Notre Dame des Victoires
(NDV), a Marist K-8 elementary school
in downtown San Francisco, California
for 37 years beginning as the sixthgrade
teacher followed by 31 years as
principal. For me, the concept of “servant
leader” was always a way of being in the
classroom or as principal. Responding
to the needs of others was my focus,
especially to those who struggled with
life’s challenges whether they came from
students, parents, or faculty and staff.
Creating a sense of community was
also a major goal for me in both of my
roles. Listening to the needs of students,
academic and social, or being present to
the needs of the faculty, staff, and parent
community, I considered of paramount
importance. We are all in this together, I
thought.
Being Present
“Let us show one another not only
charity, but also respect and honor.”
(Jean-Claude Colin)
I have always considered presence to be
significant. As a teacher, I was compelled
to move around the classroom observing
students as they worked, encouraging and
praising them for thoughtful choices, or
alerting them to an aspect of their work
that may need to be reworked, all of this
in an effort to help them succeed. Giving
positive feedback, along with caring and
constructive criticism was vital. With
the staff, I made it a priority to be where
the action was, which could range from
informal classroom walkthroughs to
being present in the hallways, on the
playground, gym, or cafeteria. I wanted
them to know that I was there with them
to ensure that “all was well.” Formal
teacher meetings were scheduled once
a month to discuss curriculum, student
needs, or other issues. It was a good
opportunity for teachers to share with
me what they were excited about that was
working in the classroom, and what posed
challenges to them. They also created a
list of questions, concerns, and comments
to share with me during these meetings.
Service
Embracing the spirit of service was
not only reflected in working with the
teachers in planning student service
projects, but also working alongside them.
One example of this was when the art
department sponsored an “Empty Bowls
Dinner” during the Lenten season. To
prepare for this special dinner, the faculty
painted bisque ware bowls which were
later used for the simple soup-and-salad
meal that the school and parish families
attended. Local eateries donated the food
and funds raised helped to support the
Gubbio Project, a ministry at a nearby
Franciscan church where the homeless
slept in the pews during the day and then
offered a meal as well as various support
services. (www.thegubbioproject.org)
Faith and Prayer
Creating opportunities for teachers’
personal growth in faith and prayer was
continuous. All faculty meetings opened
with a prayer, and during Advent and
Lent teachers were called to pray together
in the St. Peter Chanel Chapel on the
first floor of the school before faculty
meetings. These opportunities for prayer
provided them time to reflect upon and
hear more clearly the Good News of
Jesus. Faculty and staff also participated
in retreats each January prior to the
start of school. This gave everyone an
opportunity to learn more about Marist
spirituality and to reflect on ways to
implement it both within and outside
of school. For parents, “Coffee with the
Principal,” informal meetings, were held
twice a year to enhance home & school
communication. Each gathering opened
with a prayer that focused on a theme
(e.g., Peace, The Work of Mary, Patience
and Parenting).
Hospitality
Hospitality is the welcoming spirit that
makes people feel appreciated and
included, indeed a part of a community.
This spirit was extended to new students
through the “buddy” program. New
students were paired with a classmate
who helped answer questions and
who showed them around. A similar
arrangement was made for the new
parents whereby a “buddy family” was
assigned to help them navigate school
life and to provide guidance and support.
Hospitality was also extended to staff
members. Knowing that many mornings
teachers arrived without eating breakfast,
I would bring in bagels, cookies, fruit,
8 Today’s Marists Magazine

etc. They were most grateful and felt
appreciated. In addition, brief personal
notes of gratitude to faculty and staff
thanking them for their fine work
encouraged and supported them.
Compassion
“Set aside their own interests and plans in
favor of those of Jesus and Mary, and put
themselves in the shoes of the other person.”
(The Work of Mary: Marist Laity in the Society of Mary)
As educators, we are called to be
compassionate in our interactions
with members of the community. One
memorable situation occurred when a
seventh grader was asked, in the third
quarter, to leave the school due to poor
behavioral choices coupled with low
academic achievement. The student’s
teachers and I got together to discuss the
Marist value of “Being an Instrument
of Divine Mercy.” Since it was too late
in the school year for him to transfer
to another Catholic school, this was a
challenge for his family. The middle
school teachers and I worked together to
create a curriculum for the remaining
10 weeks of seventh grade so that the
student could complete that grade with a
licensed learning specialist outside NDV.
Additionally, after the school day, several
middle school teachers volunteered
to work with him on the assigned
curriculum at a youth center near his
home. I also worked with his parents
to ensure he was enrolled in another
Catholic school in the fall for eighth grade.
Collaboration
Collaborating with the faculty to
problem-solve and to create new
programs further enriched the learning
program. Sharing ideas, identifying issues
and concerns and working together to
rectify a problem, or create something
new helped to build community. At a
faculty meeting near the end of one
school year, many teachers were speaking
negatively about the students and their
poor behavior. The complaints concerned
students’ excessively disparaging or
insulting classmates, and it included
bullying others. Out of that discussion
came the idea to create a program that
reminded the students that the Christian
community we were a part of called us to
be respectful and kind. The RISE Program
(Respect, Include, Safety (emotional and
physical), and Effective Communication)
came about through the collaboration of
several teachers who volunteered their
time over the summer. We gave each
letter in the title (R, I, S, E) a description
of appropriate actions, and the program
helped the entire school community to
know what behaviors were appropriate
and what they looked like when put
into action. The program gave students
new vocabulary to speak about their
experiences, i.e., “I am not being included
in the game, I am being excluded.” The
program still helps students manage
conflict they may encounter at school, at
home, and in the community.
Concluding Thoughts
It took me a long time to grow comfortable
in the leadership position at NDV. It was a
slow process with many ups and downs.
Keeping my ears and heart open to the
call to serve was constant. Stepping back
and reflecting on all aspects of school life
was crucial. I frequently found myself in
a state of prayer as I knew I would need
the strength, courage, and guidance that
God would provide me to keep moving
forward in a positive and productive
manner. Jean-Claude Colin certainly had
his challenges with his work in education,
and he accurately observed, “A tree that
must bear much fruit over a long period
must have good roots, whether it is tested
by wind or by storm to ensure that its
roots are deeply planted in the soil. See
how slow it is to grow, to develop. Time
strengthens it.” (A Founder Speaks 174,
20) I was able to put down those roots in a
Society of Mary elementary school over a
period of time. It was a rich and life-giving
experience in so many ways.
News Briefs
A Marist Lives Follow Up from Fall 2018
On April 24, 2019 the cremated remains of Fr. Frank Brett, brother of Fr. Robert Brett, SM were borne to
Chaplains’ Hill in a beautiful funeral cortege at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, DC. His
remains were buried in the grave of our own Fr. Robert Brett, who was re-interred at Arlington in 1998.
A significant crowd of the extended Brett family along with veterans and military officers attended,
including veteran Larry McCarthy who drove in from Ohio. It is the first known instance of two Military
Chaplain brothers buried together at the site. Randy Hoover, SM and Ted Keating, SM attended the
service on behalf of the Marist U.S. Province.
Bishop Konzen Elected Interim Administrator of Archdiocese of Atlanta, Georgia
On May 24, 2019 Auxiliary Bishop Joel Konzen, SM was elected by the College of Consultors (group of
priests who advise the archbishop) as the interim administrator for the Archdiocese of Atlanta, Georgia.
He will fill the vacant role left by Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory who was installed on May 21, 2019 as
leader of the Archdiocese of Washington, DC. The news concerning Bishop Konzen came via a letter
that was sent to Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the Vatican ambassador to the United
States. In response to his new role Bishop Konzen said, “I ask for your prayers and support as I carry out
these responsibilities on behalf of the people of God in this local church.”
Bishop Konzen has served as auxiliary bishop of the Atlanta Archdiocese since he was ordained a bishop
on April 3, 2018. He will serve as administrator of the Archdiocese until Pope Francis appoints a new
archbishop to this role.
Spring 2019 9

Oceania - Some Impacts of the‘Anthropocene’
– More Than ‘Climate Change’
by Ben McKenna, SM, Assistant General to the Superior General
“Anthropocene” is a widely proposed name for the geological epoch which refers to how human beings impact the planet
earth. It is not synonymous with ‘climate change,’ nor does it simply mean ‘environmental problems.’ It is bigger and more
shocking, because it encapsulates evidence that human pressures became so profound around the middle of the 20th century
that we blew a planetary gasket. Hello, new Earth System. Hello, Anthropocene. 1
The focus of this article is to describe
some of the impacts of the changing
Earth systems, which include land, fresh
water, oceans, air, related food sources,
and people, in Oceania. The Marist
Province of Oceania is present in eight
South Pacific countries: Bougainville-
Papua New Guinea, Fiji, New Caledonia,
Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga,
Vanuatu, and Wallis & Futuna and has
104 ordained members, 18 brothers, 29
seminarians, and 2 novices.
The fact that the Earth Systems are
rapidly changing due to human impact,
was significantly addressed by Pope
Francis in Chapter One of the encyclical
Laudato Si’ (2015) where, along with
Climate Change, he also addresses
Pollution, Water, Loss of Biodiversity,
Decline in the Quality of Human Life and
the Breakdown of Society, and Global
Inequality. This is the world in which we
are called to minister.
The Marist General Chapter 2017
acknowledged that we are in a time of
global change, in a world all too often
scarred by fragmentation and by the
degradation of the poor and the earth -
and that – Mary, the mother of the New
Creation, calls us to nurture life in all
its forms, especially among our most
vulnerable brothers and sisters on our
damaged planet. 2
Caritas International is a confederation
of over 160 members that work at the
grassroots level with compassion
and professionalism to respond to
emergencies, promote development, and
advocate for a fair and just world. The
2018 Caritas State of the Environment
for Oceania Report: Waters of Life,
Oceans of Mercy 3 assesses the following
five areas of impact on people and
communities that are monitored by
Caritas: Coastal erosion, flooding and
sea level rise; Extreme weather; Food and
water; Offshore mining and drilling; and
Climate finance. This report also includes
recommendations in response to its
assessments. The following is a summary
of the key findings in the report.
1. Impact of coastal erosion, coastal
flooding, and rising seas – HIGH
ASSESSMENT
This considers the number of people
affected by relocation of houses, or
displacement to other centers; loss of food
or water sources; and scale and frequency
of disruption from high tides and storm
surges that flood roads, houses, or
surroundings.
Recommendations:
• The global community must create
legal protections for people who are
forced to relocate because of climate
change or other environmental
degradation.
• Oceania governments need to identify
populations most at risk from sea level
rise and identify options, strategies, and
solutions with those populations.
2. Impact of extreme weather –
MODERATE ASSESSMENT
This considers the number of deaths,
displacement, and illness due to drought,
heavy rain, floods, extreme winds, and
cyclones.
Recommendations:
• Government and non-government
agencies need to build resilience for
extreme weather events through
programs for food security, income
generation, mapping areas most at risk,
improved construction techniques,
water management, and other
preparedness measures.
10 Today’s Marists Magazine

• Local, regional, and central
government need to support local,
village, and community-level groups
who can provide immediate practical
assistance in case of emergency.
3. Impact on people’s access to
safe food and drinking water – HIGH
ASSESSMENT
This includes factors such as forestry,
palm oil production that results in
deforestation, mining, and super-cyclones
that affect access to safe and healthy
locally sourced food and water.
Recommendations:
• Oceania governments must prioritize
activities, policy, and budget to meet
the United Nations’ Sustainable
Development Goals.
• Oceania governments and community
organizations as well as all Pacific
Island governments must continue to
enhance food and water security for the
most vulnerable.
4. Offshore mining and drilling –
MODERATE ASSESSMENT
This considers the number of people
and communities affected by offshore
activities; the impact on food sources;
the impact on traditional and cultural
connection to the sea; and the indigenous
peoples most likely to be affected by
offshore activities.
Recommendations:
• The International Seabed Authority
and national governments must stop
issuing both mining and exploration
licenses for seabed mining until more
is known about the impacts.
• Oceania governments and others
implementing legislative frameworks
for seabed mining need to ensure they
give proper recognition to human and
environmental rights.
5. Climate finance – WOEFULLY
INADEQUATE ASSESSMENT
The primary focus of this area is the
adequacy of support which includes the
amount and quality of climate finance
which offers tangible and practical
support to those most affected, including
women, children, indigenous peoples,
and isolated communities.
Recommendations:
The global community, through the
United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change needs to:
• increase nationally determined
contributions and climate finance
contributions to keep global warming
below 1.5°C;
• ensure sufficient finances and other
resources to support adaptation and
resilience-building for small island
states and other vulnerable countries.
A Marist Response:
Communities as Living Parables
Br. Roger of Taizé saw his mission as
forming a ‘living parable of communion
on earth.’ 4 In our new era of the
Anthropocene we are called, as St Francis
was, to see all creatures as our brothers
and sisters in a vast web of life. ‘All is
inter-related’ as Pope Francis spells out
so clearly in Laudato Si’. We are called to
move from steward-ship of creation to kinship
with creation.
In Oceania, one place the Marists are
living this out is at Marist College,
Pacific Regional Seminary, Fiji. Under
the guidance of Fr. Donato Kivi, SM,
who recently earned his Doctorate and
wrote his doctoral dissertation Towards
a Marian Ecological Spirituality for the
Re-evangelization of the Vanua: The People
and the Land of Fiji, our community is
engaged in applying Marian Ecological
Spirituality in practical and formative
ways. 5
Another living parable of Marian
Ecological Living in Oceania is at Marist
Tutu Rural Training Center, Fiji. Under the
guidance of Fr. Michael McVerry, SM, this
project has enabled subsistence farmers,
young men and women, to learn skills
for self-employment in farming, through
time management, budgeting, planning,
human development, and spiritual
development for at least 40 years. The
Director of Caritas NZ, Julianne Hickey,
described this project as an “amazing
example for the Pacific.” Tutu has been
prioritized by the Oceania Province as a
key Marist mission. 6
Conclusion
The work of Caritas enables us to see the
factors at work in the changing face of life
in Oceania. As Marist we can respond in
small, but significant ‘living parable’ ways
to provide hope and direction for the
People of Oceania. Our confreres there
are living out the Call of Jesus to read the
‘signs of the times’, the Call of Laudato Si’,
and the Call of our own Marist General
Chapter of 2017. Many more ‘living
parable’ stories remain to be told.
Endnotes
1 Thomas, Julia A. “Why the Anthropocene is
not ‘climate change’ – and why that matters.”
Climate and Capitalism, 2019-01-31.
2 SM 2017 General Chapter. Declaration on the
Mission of the Society of Mary Today, nos. 3 & 5.
3 https://caritas.org.nz/state-environment
4 https://www.taize.fr/en_article19581.html
5 https://jpicblog.maristsm.org/marianecological-centre-suva
6 https://www.pacificfarmers.com/wp-content/
uploads/2014/07/Tutu-Book.pdf
Spring 2019 11

Preparing for a Life of
Compassion and Mercy
Introduction
by Tony Kennedy, SM, Rector, International Major Marist Seminary, Rome, Italy
A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.
(T.S. Eliot, Journey of the Magi)
When I was a high school student many
years ago in Australia, one of the poets
that my English teacher, Gerard Hall,
SM tried to teach my classmates and me
about was T.S. Eliot. One of the poems
we read was Journey of the Magi. Gerry
would be surprised to know that I have
been thinking about that poem recently.
In reflecting on the poem, I thought
about the similarities between the
journey of the Magi and the journey of the
seminarians in formation. At times the
three Magi were together, and sometimes
they were apart, going different places
and sometimes different directions.
This year our community of 19 religious
at Casa di Maria (CDM), the Marist
International Theologate in Rome, Italy,
began in the fall when we gathered after
our summer break. We spent time before
university classes began by reflecting on
the summer and the different pastoral
activities we had experienced.
The full journey of formation is a long
one for our seminarians. It starts with
an initial interest in the Society of Mary
and their request to be accepted into
formation house for a propaedeutic (or
preparatory) period, studying philosophy,
perhaps learning English, proceeding on
to the novitiate, and the first profession
of their vows. All this before they arrive at
Casa di Maria. This whole process takes
at least four years. They then stay in Rome
for four years of theology before returning
to their home units as perpetually
professed members of the Society and as
deacons.
Learning to cope with a new climate,
language, food, culture, and education
system are some of the challenges we all
face as we try to respond faithfully to the
call we have heard.
The long journey that the Magi undertook
changed them. They did not return to
their homes as the same people who
had set out on that journey. They had
witnessed a newly born Child and
realized that the world had changed.
Some things, in fact, had died. As the
poem concludes:
We returned to our places, these
Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old
dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death.
Formation challenges us to be the best
we can be. Some new attitudes and skills
need to be born in us, and some old ones
may need to be put aside to die, as it were.
We pray that the experience of Marist
formation provides each of us with the
necessary skills and attitudes to enable
our active participation in the mission of
the Society. We pray that it prepare us well
for the ministry of service which lies at
the heart of the Gospel.
Thank you for the support you give us in
so many ways and the interest you have in
our community. Your prayers are always
greatly appreciated. The following are
reflections from some of the seminarians
on their time in formation as each one
prepares for a life of compassion and
mercy.
12 Today’s Marists Magazine

Licentiate Program in Ecumenism
by Floyd Gatana, SM, Seminarian
As I reflect on my journey this year, I am
grateful for a new academic program of
study in Ecumenism. I thank the Society
of Mary for giving me another opportunity
to further my studies toward earning
a Licentiate in Sacred Theology. I have
come to appreciate and love the course
in ecumenism. It has broadened my
perspective on the whole curriculum of
theology. It teaches me to look beyond our
Catholic tradition and to reach out to other
Christians who proclaim Jesus Christ.
As I reflect on my experience, I can say that
we cannot deny the fact that ecumenism
has opened a new horizon in the Church.
It allows us to reach out to other churches
with openness and understanding. The
program teaches us how to dialogue and
share God’s word with other churches.
Today the Catholic Church has moved
into the new era of dialoguing with
other Christian churches. As Catholics
of today, we also need to adapt to the
changes within our Church and be open
to reaching out to other churches and
religions. The course in ecumenism helps
us find our common beliefs and makes us
understand and accept others with mutual
acceptance.
One of the things that I enjoy is being able
to study with my fellow classmates from
different Christian churches and religions.
I am also privileged to study alongside
my Marist confrere Kevin Medilo, SM
from the Philippines who is focusing
on Inter-Religious Dialogue. Studying
with Pentecostal, Muslim, and Eastern
Orthodox students is a rich experience that
I count as a privilege to have. It teaches
me a lot about how to be open and share
what we have in common. It is always
enjoyable when we discuss and share in
the classroom because we learn from each
other. We all have one goal in common
and that is to work for our salvation, but
each of us in different ways. The ultimate
end of God’s creative and saving action
will be realized when all things have been
made subject to the Son, “then the Son
himself will also be subject to him who
put all things under him, that God may be
everything to everyone.” (1 Cor 15:28).
The study of ecumenism has made
me realize how important it is to be
ecumenical in the Church. It is important
in our mission today because we are
surrounded by many different Christian
churches and religions, and we need to
have the skills to dialogue with them. The
course has also helped me grow in my
understanding of the Church and other
religions, particularly in what we have in
common.
When the early Marists sailed to Oceania,
they had no idea what was awaiting them.
The local people had their own culture
and ways of worshipping. Their lifestyle
was naturally different from that of the
arriving Marists. This makes me imagine
the challenges those missionaries went
through to evangelize the people. As a
Marist, I have come to appreciate what
this course has given me. It makes me
see dimensions of what it means to be a
missionary. We are called to be open and to
share with others what we have. Taking up
ecumenism prepares me to be more ready
and better equipped for what lies ahead.
Gabriel Mukong during pastoral experience in
Ranong, Thailand
Pastoral Experience in Ranong,
Thailand
by Gabriel Mukong, SM, Seminarian
Soon after completing my first year of
theological studies, I was asked by my
superior, Tony Kennedy, SM, if I would go
to the mission in Ranong, Thailand for a
pastoral experience during the summer of
2018. The mission, called the Marist Asia
Foundation (M.A.F), is run by our Marist
confreres from the district of Asia. It was
time for me to experience missionary life
in a completely different cultural context,
predominantly Buddhist. The answer
was YES, even though I had been giving
thought to going somewhere else for a
pastoral experience. Nevertheless, I knew
that my superior is the one who sees
best and knows to a greater degree my
potential, and he also understands needs
of the Society. So, therefore, my YES was
sincere as to these two aspects: that others
are there and have been there, and that
my superior sees in me useful potential for
this mission.
My specific mission at M.A.F was to
teach at the school and to assist the
health committee that oversaw patients
living with HIV/AIDS. This sounded
interesting to me because teaching has
always been my passion, and I feel quite
compassionate when it comes to serving
vulnerable people. So, I left for Thailand
full of energy and enthusiasm for this
mission.
My experience at M.A.F as an assistant
teacher and in serving the health
committee was quite enriching and helped
form me in several ways. First, I learned a
lot about humility, especially through my
daily interactions with the innocent kids I
taught. Second, I learned how to become
more spiritually altruistic by shifting the
attention from me and focusing more on
others, especially praying more for the
sick that I served and for the future of
continues on page 14
Spring 2019 13

Pastoral Experience, continued from page 13
the students I taught. Third, I learned to
appreciate different cultural beliefs and
religions. Learning some of the “Do’s” and
“Don’ts” of this culture helped me in my
growth as a future Marist missionary. I
was advised always to show respect to the
King and to Buddha, especially whenever
I came across a Buddhist shrine, where
the appropriate gesture is bowing low with
hands clasped upright across the chest as
a Christian might do when making a good
sign of the cross. Most of all, my greatest
learning was how to listen to people in
pain and difficulty without using many
words. It was at this moment that I came
to a deeper understanding that the work I
was doing was not mine but rather God’s
and Mary’s.
My feelings after this pastoral mission were
that of great satisfaction and fulfilment. I
am happy to have been sent there for this
experience and, God willing, I hope one
day to return to M.A.F for a longer period
of service.
My prayer is that God will continue to
bless and use our confreres who dedicate
themselves indefatigably to this daily
mission, and that God will also replenish
the resources of our benefactors and all
those who support the mission in one
way or another, by their prayers and good
thoughts.
All for the greater glory of God and
for the honor of the Mother of God.
Final Profession and Diaconate
by Josefo Amuri, SM, Seminarian
Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose
herald you now are, Believe what you
read, teach what you believe, and
practice what you teach. (The Rite of
Ordination of a Deacon)
During my last four years in formation,
I have witnessed many of my brothers
profess their perpetual vows in the
Society of Mary. This academic year I
had the privilege of witnessing our only
fourth-year student, Kenneth Akua,
make his lifetime commitment to God
as a Marist. This year, however, I feel
that my experience has been a little
different, a little more personal. This
is because I have seen the progress of
(Left to Right) Tony Kennedy, SM, Kenneth Akua, SM,
Bishop Tom Burns, Cyprian Akua (Kenneth’s brother), and
John Larsen, SM after the Diaconate Ordination
true discernment, growth and sacrifice that Brother Kenneth has experienced during
the past eight years of his formation. Being myself a Marist, I can imagine Mary smiling
with great joy on that day as another new member joined her family. I am happy to say
that the Society bearing her name is still growing. At this point in formation it is truly
amazing that someone could give himself so completely and wholeheartedly to the
Lord, that someone could have the confidence and assurance of publicly professing
that he wants to dedicate himself to serve the Lord as a religious living the evangelical
counsels.
A month later, on November 3rd, the formation community at Casa di Maria along
with other members of the Marist Family here in Rome, including our confreres,
benefactors, and friends, gathered to attend Kenneth’s ordination to the Diaconate.
On this wonderful occasion, the words of the prophet Jeremiah echoed in my mind:
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I
appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” (Jer. 1:5) It also reminded me of a phrase
from Pope Francis:
“One who serves is not a slave to his own agenda, but ever ready to deal with the
unexpected, ever available to his brothers and sisters, and ever open to God’s constant
surprises.” (Mass for the Jubilee for Deacons, May 29, 2016)
Moreover, these two great experiences celebrating Kenneth’s final profession and his
diaconate ordination brought me humbly before God with confidence to say that my
life is not totally known to me and is not even under my own control. It is only God
who knows all and is in control of all.
We Appreciate Your Donation!
“Here I am Lord I come to do your will”
We ask for your prayers for our seminarians and for Marist vocations. If you
are able to help financially, please use the envelope in this magazine to
send your gift. Please check the circle “Recruitment and Education of new
Marists” on the inner flap of the envelope. Thank you for your generosity!
Perpetual profession
14 Today’s Marists Magazine

Marist Vocational
Discernment
in Today’s World
by Jack Ridout
When young people today talk about what they want to do
with their life, the word forever does not easily appear in the
conversation. Serious consideration about religion and living a life
in a religious context does not have the same attraction as it did in
times past. Thinking about what to do with one’s life crosses young
minds today, but if the thoughts get too serious or a commitment
seems too permanent, then the process can be quickly dropped.
Many times the supports of family, school, parish life, teachers, and
institutions have been diminished, and in spite of these positive
influences, individuals can either increase their faith in other ways
or move onto other arenas of living. Instead of loving support,
people are left with a smattering of social media only to rely on that
for social acceptance and conformity. This is not to say that our
youth do not commit themselves to lofty motives, but the “noise” of
the world tends to deafen the eternal call of what God wants one to
do in life.
Marist discernment begins with reflecting on the commitments
made at Baptism, and how God continues to call a person to be a
follower of Jesus and to live that life as a member of the Church as
a married person, a single celibate, a consecrated Sister, Brother or
Priest in a religious community or as a diocesan priest.
How does one discern God’s call? What does this decision mean in
one’s daily life? Why do this at all? Consider the consequences of the
decision, but be happy about that decision. To make any decision
a person will have to say “no” a thousand times before they can
say a single “yes” to God! Taking time to discern is necessary, but it
should not take forever.
One needs to PRAY, both in silence and in the use of guided books
and a trusted spiritual director, continue to receive the sacraments,
and prayerfully read the Bible. Is this a call from God? People
throughout the ages have responded to that call by joining a
religious congregation, and have taken vows of poverty, chastity,
and obedience, and they do this for the honor of God, and the
salvation of the world.
Marists believe themselves to be called by Mary to be instruments
of her presence in the Church of today as she once was present and
active in the church of the Apostles.
Is God calling you?
Spring 2019 15

MOVIE REVIEW
“Of One Heart and One Mind”
Prayerful Reflection with the Movie Of Gods and Men
by Brian Cummings, SM, Director, Pā Maria Marist Spirituality Centre, Wellington, New Zealand
The movie Of Gods and
Men first appeared in 2010.
It tells the story of the
abduction and murder in
1996 of seven monks of the
Monastery Notre-Dame
de l’Atlas of Tibhirine in
Algeria.
These Trappist monks
lived a simple life serving
the poor community
surrounding the
monastery. During the Algerian Civil
War they are threatened by rebels but
decide as a group to stay in the country,
among the people they had chosen to live
with, and not to seek safety by returning
to France.
One night the monastery is raided,
and seven of the nine monks present
are abducted and held as hostages for
several months before being murdered,
exactly by whom has never been clearly
established.
Earlier this year Pope Francis met the
last surviving member of the Tibhirine
community when visiting Morocco.
Father Jean-Pierre Schumacher, OCSO
is now 95 years old (the other survivor,
Brother Amédée, died in 2008). Father
Jean-Pierre continues to serve both as
a reminder of the tragedy of Tibhirine
and also as a witness of the Church’s
commitment to seek a new and deeper
relationship with Islam.
As an important aside, Jean-Pierre
Schumacher has a particular
significance for the Marist Fathers and
Brothers. Educated by the Marist Fathers
in France, he later joined the Society of
Mary and was ordained a Marist priest.
He can claim a direct link with the US
Province of the Society of Mary in that
Fr. Etienne Siffert, SM, in San Francisco,
California, was a contemporary of Jean-
Pierre Schumacher in the seminary.
After several years as a Marist priest,
Jean-Pierre Schumacher sought
and received permission to follow
a contemplative vocation with the
Trappists and eventually came to
Tibhirine.
Of Gods and Men (directed by Xavier
Beauvois) is a dramatization rather than
a documentary of the lives of the monks
of Tibhirine. As such, one could wonder
just how much of an appeal to general
audiences the movie would have. That
question was resoundingly answered
when the film received a standing
ovation upon its first release at the
International Film Festival at Cannes.
The motion picture focuses almost
entirely on the monks wrestling - as
individuals and as a community - with
what their vows mean and the nature of
their commitment to stay with the local
people even though they knew that that
it was likely (in fact, probable) that to
remain at Tibhirine would result in their
deaths.
Naturally, not everyone agrees with their
commitment to stay.
For example, the late, highly regarded
movie reviewer Roger Ebert said in 2011,
“Did they make the right choice? In their
own idealistic terms, yes. In realistic
terms, I say no. They have the ability
to help many who need it for years to
come. It is egotism to believe that their
help must take place in this specific
monastery. Between the eight of them,
they have perhaps a century of life of
usefulness remaining. Do they have a
right to deprive those who need it of their
service? In doing so, are they committing
the sin of pride?” (Review, March 10,
2011)
The responses to such questions depend,
to a large extent, on how one views
things.
The movie directly confronts the
question of discernment: how and why
did the monks reach their decision.
The Canadian Jesuit, Monty Williams,
has said, “A decision is not necessarily
a deliberate, self-conscious choice, and
it does not necessarily occur in the
context of prayer. Discernment does
both. With discernment, we enter into a
dialogue with God, after establishing a
right relationship between ourselves and
God. In that mutual sharing and trust,
an answer emerges. Then we not only
see as God sees, but we act as we believe
God would want us to act.” (The Gift of
Spiritual Intimacy, Novalis Books)
Of Gods and Men is about a group
discernment, but every group
discernment necessarily involves
the individuals who make up the
group engaging in their own personal
discernment.
Some of the most powerful and moving
scenes in the film depict individual
monks wrestling with the question
of whether they should seek safety or
remain, and it becomes abundantly clear
that there is no straightforward, obvious
answer for any of them.
The scenes depicting the Community
Meetings show over time how
individuals shifted in their position
because of prayer, discussion, and
listening to each other. When the final
decision [to stay] is reached by all, it is
the result of a right relationship having
been established between the monks as
a community and between each monk
with God. There is mutual sharing
and trust which is the only way such a
consensus could have been achieved.
It is that depiction of discernment in
action that makes Of Gods and Men
more than simply a story, albeit a very
powerful and moving story, about the
monks of Tibhirine.
16 Today’s Marists Magazine

It shows audiences how and why it is
possible to come to fundamental and
far-reaching decisions in a way that
avoids coercion, intimidation, and group
pressure on individuals to conform to
the majority opinion.
And that is an approach to which we as
Marists are called.
In our Constitutions, we read: “When
they make profession, Marists declare
before the Church and one another their
intention to live out their baptism more
fully. They choose to follow Christ more
closely by a radical commitment to the
spirit of the Beatitudes in a community
that has one heart and one mind.”
(Constitutions 93) Our Founder, Fr.
Colin, put it this way: “The Society began
like the Church, so we must be like the
apostles and those who joined them and
were already numerous. One heart and
one soul.” (A Founder Speaks)
For Marists, discernment, both on an
individual as well as on a group level, has
to be a hallmark of the way in which we
operate.
We need to avoid the temptation to be
expedient in reaching decisions on key
matters, to avoid deciding our individual
position on the grounds of self-interest,
and to resist being guided only by what
seems intellectually logical and prudent.
Rather, we need to commit, as
individuals and as a community, to
“entering into a dialogue with God after
establishing a right relationship so that
in that mutual sharing and trust, an
answer emerges.” (The Gift of Spiritual
Intimacy, Novalis Books)
Of course, that can be our desire, but
how do we know if we are in fact living a
discerning life?
One way is to look at the effects of the
decisions and choices we make. We can
measure them against the fruits of the
Spirit, which St Paul tells us are love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
(Galatians 5:22)
We can ask who or what motivates us
in the making of our decisions and
choices?
We can look at the lives of others who
have engaged in discernment.
And we can from time to time view again
Of Gods and Men.
Jean-Pierre Schumacher describes the
film as “an icon, that is, it contains more
than what it shows.” (The Last Monk of
Tibhirine, Freddy Derwahl, Paraclete
Press, 2013)
As with all icons, one needs to sit with it
and reflect on it to learn what it is saying
to us today.
Spring 2019 17

The 150th Anniversary of
St. Louis King of France
by Ted Keating, SM
The church of St. Louis King of France,
in downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota,
celebrated its 150th Anniversary on
Sunday, November 4, last year. Originally
a little wooden building intended for
ministry to French-speaking Catholics
was dedicated and blessed on December
20, 1868, by Bishop Joseph Crétin, who
became the first bishop of Saint Paul
in 1850. By sheer coincidence, Bishop
Crétin had done his priestly studies in
France at the same seminary where
future Marist St. Peter Chanel was also a
student, and they knew each other well.
The third bishop of Saint Paul was John
Ireland, who came from Saint Paul, and
who was sent by Bishop Crétin to France
for his priestly studies at a seminary
run by Marists. It seemed only logical,
then, for Bishop Ireland to entrust the
“the little French church” to the Frenchspeaking
Marists during his term as
shepherd in 1886.
Through these many years, St. Louis,
King of France parish has been known
for both its devotion to the French
language, and for gorgeously celebrated
Liturgies. People come from all over the
Twin Cities to appreciate the magnificent
church, the parish organ
(often in concert), and the
many singers and musicians
who lift their voices to God
with their sweet music.
Our Marist archives are
full of letters from different
archbishops thanking the
Marists for the frequency with which
the Sacrament of Reconciliation is
offered every day, and for hearing
the confessions of many priests in
the diocese as well. The Marists hear
confessions before the 6:45 a.m. and the
noon Mass. It is an important ministry
of the church, and it is obvious that the
Marists have cultivated this ministry of
Mercy over many years, and the parish
has become well known for it.
The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet
staffed the parish school from 1878-1962.
The Marists were also chaplains to their
large convent opposite the rectory which
housed up to 90 sisters at its peak. Only
four nuns at a time taught at the parish
school, while the rest went by streetcar,
bus, or on foot to teach at other nearby
schools. Over the years, there were also
several School Sisters of Notre Dame who
LEFT: Congregation at 150th Anniversary Mass
RIGHT: Marists Ron DesRosiers, Roland Lajoie, Ben
McKenna, Paul Frechette, Paul Morrissey, Jim Duffy and
Joe Hurtuk
BOTTOM: Pastor John Sajdak, SM and Archbishop
Hebda welcome the congregation
lived near the church and were involved
in the parish. The Christian Brothers,
some of whom lived at Central Towers,
also ministered at the parish.
Among the over 100 Marists who served
at St. Louis, King of France were: Fr.
Alcime Cyr, SM, Provincial of the Boston
Province of the Marists and later the
first American Marist to be elected
Superior General of the worldwide
Marist community; Fr. Joseph Buckley,
SM, who was born in St. Paul, became a
provincial of the Washington Province
and later also Superior General of the
Society and a member of the Second
Vatican council, delivering a key address
continues bottom of page 19
18 Today’s Marists Magazine

MARIST LIVES
Rev. Arthur Duhamel, SM – A Marist Missionary Priest
by Susan J. Illis, Archivist, Archives of the Society of Mary, US Province
“But you need not worry for me no matter what happens here. We can never tell just how things will
turn out and just what are Japan’s plans. So far it is peaceful and quiet and I hope it remains like this…”
Reverend Arthur Duhamel, SM, thus reassured
his brother from the Marist mission at Ruavatu,
Guadalcanal on January 4, 1942. Eight months later
he was dead - bayoneted by the Japanese.
Born in Massachusetts, Duhamel (1908-1942) felt
called to religious life at a young age. However,
both his father’s disapproval and his personal
concerns about his academic abilities delayed his
studies for the priesthood. Ordained as a priest
in 1937 in the Society of Mary, he celebrated his
first Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in
Methuen, Massachusetts where he had once served
as an altar boy. Rev. John André, SM, who had
encouraged his vocation, preached at the
first Mass.
Two years after ordination, Duhamel arrived at the Marist Ruavatu
mission in the Solomon Islands. His insecurities returned as he
struggled to learn the native language. However, his years spent
working in the mills in Massachusetts paid off as his mastery of
tools and mechanics earned the respect of the natives from the
very beginning. They called him “wonder-worker.” He contracted
malaria, but persevered, writing, “…when we work for God,
difficulties become sweet. My one desire is that God will give me
health and the necessary means to keep on marching forward
for the salvation of these poor Solomonese, among whom His
Providence has called me to work.”
The escalating war in Europe created new challenges as his fellow
Marist missionaries (Rev. Hendrik Oude Engberink, SM and Marist
Missionary Sisters M. Odilia, M. Sylvia, and M. Edmée), all from
Europe, had their funding from home cut off. Thus,
the contributions that Duhamel solicited from the
United States became their only source of support.
The arrival of the Japanese on the island, however,
signaled a far more imminent threat.
The Marists refused to leave their mission,
remaining there until the Japanese forced them
to an internment camp. Sr. Edmée, SMSM was
sick and stayed back with the children. There
are several descriptions of what happened next.
A contemporary account says that when the
Japanese ordered Duhamel to carry a message
to the U.S. Marines while they held the others
hostage, he refused. Another version suggests
Duhamel visited some Americans, attending to their spiritual
needs, despite Japanese prohibition. Still another says that Japan’s
secret headquarters were bombed, and Duhamel was accused
of informing U.S. troops of its location. A final version, from Rev.
Emery de Klerk, SM, claims that “he was killed by the Japanese for
war reasons.”
Although the precise cause for the Japanese executions may never
be known, the four Marists were bayoneted by the Japanese in
September 1942.
A mere five years after Duhamel’s ordination, Fr. John André, SM
preached again at a Mass for him, this time as the eulogist at his
funeral Mass held, appropriately, at Mount Carmel. André declared
it “a day of sadness, as well as glory, − glory because Mount Carmel
has been selected to offer such a sacrifice for the faith…an apostle
has fallen, and he is one of your own.”
continued from page 18
there on religious freedom; Fr. Leo Foley,
SM, Ph.D., professor of philosophy at
The Catholic University of America; and
Fr. Thomas Dubay, SM, PhD, a native
of Minneapolis, and a well-known
national speaker and author in the U.S.
Church. There are a host of other Marists
who are remembered by Mary and the
generations of parishioners whose lives
they so deeply touched.
The 150th Anniversary of the church was
celebrated with a special Mass followed
by a dinner and silent auction at the
Town and Country Club. “The Mass was
just spectacular,” Fr. John
Sajdak, SM, the pastor, said. The church
was festooned with flowers with all the
candles of the church lit, and the music
by the dedicated choir was magnificent.
An estimated 250 worshippers filled the
nave. Special guests for the anniversary
celebration included Archbishop Bernard
Hebda and several visiting Marists,
including Fr. Ben McKenna, Assistant
General from Rome, Paul Frechette,
Provincial, and Paul Morrissey, former
pastor.
Saint Louis, King of France parish in
Minnesota, Notre Dame des Victoires
in San Francisco (taken on in 1885), and
Our Lady of Victories in Boston (taken on
in 1886) are three great Marist centers of
ministry for French speakers coming to
the Unites States. Over the years, these
parishes have served about a million
French Canadians coming into the
United States.
Spring 2019 19

Being Marist:
One School’s Vision of “the Greatest Work”
by Kevin Mullally, Principal, Marist School
I must be the exception, because I actually
enjoy strategic planning, that laborious
and time intensive process through which
an institution sets forth a vision and
roadmap for the future. There is great
worth in the scholarly research and rich
discussions that are the prerequisites of
the process as well as the need to clarify
the values and goals that are the sine qua
non of the institution. It is important to
step forward and say: “This is who we are,
this is what we believe, and, therefore, this
is where we are going.”
Marist School, in Atlanta, Georgia, has
spent the last 18 months in prayerful
reflection and lively discussion producing
its next strategic plan, which will take us
to 2025 and beyond. The School identified
five strategic priorities that will be the
focus of growth. They are:
• Be Unwaveringly Marist
• Excel in Academics
• Educate the Whole Child
• Form Global-Ready Servant Leaders
• Secure the Future
The overarching essential question we
worked on as we identified these five
areas was: How do we capture, preserve,
communicate, and demonstrate the Spirit
of the Society of Mary to ensure that the
charism of the Marists is still experienced
by everyone in our school, and in local,
and global communities? We see the value
that a Marist School education makes in
the lives of our students, guiding them
to think, judge, feel and act as Mary in
all things, so they can be Mary’s much
needed presence in the world today.
The first priority, to Be Unwaveringly
Marist, responds especially to the
challenge the school faces as the presence
of vowed Marist religious diminishes. For
almost two decades now, our Marist Way
program has developed lay leadership,
and over the next five years we will
advance the Marist Way into a continuous
and progressive program that meets the
needs and readiness of all Marist School
employees, wherever they are in their
understanding and commitment to those
qualities that make us Marist.
The second priority, to Excel in
Academics, is a prerequisite expectation
of families today and represents
the School’s commitment to one of
Fr. Colin’s threefold duties towards
students, “to teach them letters and the
various sciences.” Here, we balance the
tradition of excellence and the heritage
of Catholic education with preparing an
academic program that is contemporary
and comprehensive, dynamic and
personalized. Our goal is for students to
learn all the things that are required for
a superior education, while also learning
as much as they possibly can about
the things they personally love and are
interested in.
The third priority, to Educate the Whole
Child, recognizes that an education
does not just occur in the classroom, but
includes opportunities for growth and
experiences aimed at the whole human
person. Said directly, the physical,
emotional, spiritual, social, and aesthetic
development of our students is just as
important as an academic education. This
aims at a second of Fr. Colin’s threefold
duties, “to impart to [students] all solid
virtues, so that they may grow up into
honest and upright citizens.” Through
the panoply of rich, comprehensive, and
balanced programs, we graduate students
of integrity, who are comfortable in their
own skins, and who have cultivated a
sense of purpose and meaning in life.
To Form Global-Ready Servant Leaders,
the School’s fourth priority, represents its
commitment to the remaining duty that
Fr. Colin outlines, “to form [students] into
strong and faithful disciples of Christ.”
As Catholic and as Marist educators, we
are counter-cultural; we work against the
strong and frequent voices of a permissive
culture that is increasingly secularized
and polarized. Because of that, it is more
important than ever that graduates of
Marist School be prepared to engage
continues bottom of page 21
20 Today’s Marists Magazine

A New Model of Vocation
Accompaniment in the US Province
by Ted Keating, SM
Jack Ridout, in his parting comments
about his work as vocation director in the
US Province after eleven years (see page
15), describes the cultural “noise” in the
ears and heads of today’s young people
attempting to make any serious decision
about a meaningful “call” or choice of life
and career in our world. Listening to the
quiet voice of God in the heart (Ignatius
describes it as “weak as a light breath
which scarcely agitates the air”) requires
guidance, encouragement, and time off by
oneself. Offering such guidance has been
Ridout’s role during these years while also
drawing in vowed Marists. A major part
of his work was “stirring up” concern for
vocation work among the members of the
Province.
A recent study of groups that acquire
vocations regularly found that prospects
visit communities who: 1) are devoted
to prayer and sharing faith; 2) show
a stunningly clear sense of identity
and values to the Church; 3) show a
“culture of vocations” through the active
participation of all members of the group.
The US Province has been working on
these three goals for many years. The
third element is the most difficult one -
widespread participation in the vocation
work of the province.
Building upon Ridout’s work, we are
moving toward a widespread involvement
of Marists in each of the geographic
regions of the Province. With our new
approach, all inquiries about joining
the Society of Mary will initially come
to Marist College in Washington, DC.
Ted Keating, SM and Randy Hoover,
SM will clear the names for probable
contacts/candidates. If a Contact,
being of proper age, seems viable after
one thorough interview, and if he is
clearly close to a region, the regional
vocation coordinator(s) will meet
with him, complete another general
interview, and work toward a clearer
sense of his viability as a future Marist.
During this time the Contact would
be in constant communication with
the regional vocation coordinator and
would be invited to community and
regional celebrations. When the Contact
is prepared to take the next step into
candidacy, he would participate in a Live-
In experience in a Province community in
order to get to know the Marists better and
for us to get a better look at the candidate.
The candidate could then be called to
Postulancy in Washington, DC where he
may begin studies, if appropriate. While
the regional coordinators have the lead
role, they can include other local Marists
in the process at any time, allowing for
active participation of all Marists in this
vocation work.
Please keep our new approach in your
prayers.
continued from page 20
in constructive dialogue, community
outreach, and spiritual practice. Like
Mary and her Son, we want our students
to be integrated as individuals and to
understand those who have different and
varied backgrounds or perspectives. Thus
they will be well equipped as they seek to
serve and to lead those in greatest need,
the least favored among us.
Finally, it’s important that we Secure
the Future because we have seen the
transformational power of a Marist
education. We want to make sure that
such an education is accessible as we
continue to support programs and
provide facilities that help us to live our
mission to form the whole person in the
image of Christ. We know that the work
we do to achieve our mission is under the
guidance and protection of our heavenly
Patroness, and we see our mission as
contributing to her work, and we seek to
do it in her way, the Marist way.
While my enjoyment of the strategic
planning process might come as a
surprise, I trust my love of my profession
- education - does not. As Fr. Colin said,
“What a great work education is. It is the
greatest work.” We on school staffs are
humbled to participate in this “second
creation” of the young people who are
entrusted to our care, and the good work
we do at Marist School will continue
and move greatly forward through our
strategic plan.
Spring 2019 21

Society of Mary School
Sponsorship in the USA
by Joseph Hindelang, SM
Soon after the newly united Province of the Society of Mary
in the U.S. began in 2009, a committee was formed to plan for
the future of Marist educational ministry. The committee was
responsible for looking at current schools of the Marist Fathers
and Brothers as well as those schools which would like to form a
partnership with the Society of Mary.
Father Jean-Claude Colin, Marist founder, saw education of
young people as an important ministry that the Society could
do for the Church and for the world. He reluctantly took on
leadership of the high school Seminary at Belley in France at
the repeated request of his bishop. During the summer Fr. Colin
wrote up educational instructions for the staff and then worked
with them to bring the instructions to life as they interacted
with the students. These brief “Instructions” contain a rich
tradition which Marist Fathers and Brothers have drawn upon
as they established schools in various parts of the world since
the 1830s.
Within two years of arriving in the United States (actually the
Confederate States of America at the time), the Marist Fathers
and Brothers established their first school at Jefferson College in
Louisiana. From 1864 until today, education has been a primary
ministry of the Society of Mary in this country. The philosophy
of education begun by Fr. Colin has been shared with lay faculty
and staff members to benefit the students at Marist schools.
To preserve and build upon the Society of Mary’s philosophy of
education, Ted Keating, SM (former Provincial of the Society of
Mary U.S. Province), and Paul Frechette, SM (current Provincial
of the Society of Mary U.S. Province), invited a group of
educators within the Province to form a committee to work on
the future of Marist education in the USA. With the help of Sean
Sammon, member of the Marist Brothers of the Schools (FMS),
who acted as facilitator and secretary, the committee developed
the following vision and mission.
(Left to Right) Paul Frechette, SM, Kevin Mullally (MS), Joe Hindelang, SM (NDPMA),
Julie Pack (NDPMA), Mike Coveny (MS), Mary Ghisolfo (NDV), Jim Strasz SM
(NDPMA), Bill Rowland, SM (MS)
Vision: To preserve and renew Jean-Claude Colin’s vision for Marist
education and to advance that unique mission into the future.
Mission:
• To provide a framework that will help to preserve and deepen
the fundamental characteristics of our Marist schools;
• To establish guidelines that govern what is to be expected from
those involved with these communities of learning and faith;
• To create a common language and set of actions that can
be used to measure adherence to the larger mission of the
Society of Mary;
• To share our common understanding within the Province
and wider Society of Mary about the spirit that guides and the
principles that animate the programs and progress of schools
within our Marist mission and ministry.
The committee set goals and tasks, chose sub-committees, and
began work. This will be an on-going project with documents
that will evolve and grow as they are implemented by laity
working with Marists in schools of the Society of Mary or
sponsored by the Society: Marist School in Atlanta, Georgia
(MS); Notre Dame Prep and Marist Academy in Pontiac,
Michigan (NDPMA); Notre Dame des Victoires in San Francisco,
California (NDV); and Notre Dame Academy in Duluth,
Georgia. At our most recent meeting in March at Marist School,
the committee finalized a document to be used at schools
sponsored by the Society of Mary. The document is a reminder
to these schools of the importance of preserving Catholic and
Marist belief and practice in the daily lives of students and staff,
in addition to all the other important aspects of school life.
This document, “The Relationship Between Sponsored Schools
and the Society of Mary” will be posted on the Province
website, www.societyofmaryusa.org, along with other papers
and documents prepared or gathered by members of the
committee and by various working sub-committees. These
materials can be helpful resources for all of those interested
in the Marist philosophy of education. Since the committee’s
inception, the following people have worked on various aspects
of this project: Mike Coveny (MS); Paul Frechette, SM; Mary
Ghisolfo (NDV); John Harhager, SM (current Vicar General
in Rome); Joe Hindelang, SM (NDPMA); Ted Keating, SM; Ed
Keel, SM (Our Lady of the Assumption, Atlanta, Georgia); Joel
Konzen, SM (current Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of
Atlanta); Kevin Mullaly (MS); Leon Olszamowski, SM (NDPMA);
Julie Pack (NDPMA); Bill Rowland, SM (MS); Sean Sammon,
FMS; John Sajdak, SM (St. Louis King of France, Saint Paul,
Minnesota), and Jim Strasz, SM (NDPMA).
The committee will meet again in September to discuss how to
present materials to administrators and boards of schools that
are currently operated by or sponsored by the Society of Mary.
22 Today’s Marists Magazine

DONOR THOUGHTS
Why I Support the Marists
by Nedom Haley
When I was growing up, my family were members of Sacred
Heart Church, in downtown Atlanta. At that time, the
Marists had three parishes in Georgia: Sacred Heart in
downtown Atlanta, Saint Joseph in Marietta, and Saint
Francis Xavier in Brunswick, on the Atlantic coast. As
many Catholic parishes, Sacred Heart had a grammar
school, where I attended through eighth grade.
At the time Sacred Heart Church was adjacent to
Marist High School, then known as Marist College. My
family had several contacts with the Marists, including
my grandmother who ran the cafeteria that served both
Sacred Heart grade school and Marist High School. For
several years, my mother was the secretary for two
Marist High School principals, first for Fr. Philip Dagneau,
SM and then for Fr. Vincent Brennan, SM.
My mother, brother, and I lived in a section of my
grandmother’s house; there was no father in the picture. That role was shared by a close
family friend as well as the Marist Fathers. The Marists were frequent guests at our house for
Sunday dinner and holidays. They were treated, appropriately, like family.
I belonged to the Scout troop sponsored by Sacred Heart Church, which enjoyed an annual
camping trip to what was then a rural area. Fr. Valentine Becker, SM came to the campsite one
Sunday morning to celebrate Mass and then joined us for a breakfast cooked over a campfire.
The breakfast was hardly edible, but Fr. Becker ate it anyway.
As noted above, the Marists had a parish in Brunswick, Georgia, on the coast. Several families,
including mine, would camp at the state park on Jekyll Island, just off the coast at Brunswick.
Fr. Jim Cummings, SM would come out to say Mass on Saturday afternoon, using a picnic table
for the altar, and then joined us for supper (cooked, naturally, on a campfire).
When I was a senior at Marist High School, I was sometimes responsible for answering the
front door and telephone in the Rectory adjacent to the school. The priests would stop by to
inquire how my family was doing. For several years, I served as president of the Sacred Heart
Catholic Youth Organization (CYO).
Next to my immediate family, the Marists had a profound influence on everything I did in high
school. I’ll mention that I went to the Marist High School mostly on scholarship.
In short, my life would have probably been much different (for the worse) had it not been
for the presence of the Marist Fathers while I was growing up. I was aware of many others
my age who grew up without a father at home; some never had constructive guidance and
unfortunately had trouble later in life.
My daughter (Marist School class of 1993) has the same affection for Marist School and the
Marist Fathers. She spends her afternoons in the spring as a part-time community coach. Her
daughter was baptized in the school chapel at Marist by Fr. Frank Kissel, SM.
The Marists have a strong commitment to service to others as evidenced by such programs
at Marist School as “Reach for Excellence.” The Marist tradition means that it is not enough to
provide for one’s own needs. The Marist Way is to provide for others.
I give to the Marists because I want them to continue to do what they do. I do not want the
lack of financial resources to be an impediment to carrying on the Marist Way.
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From Scripture to papal documents to poetry to pop culture
references – the” All About Mary” website of the Marianists at the
University of Dayton is true to its name. “This website is the largest
and most comprehensive site about Mother Mary,” says Marianist
Father Johann Roten, SM, director of research, art and special
projects for the Marian Library / International Marian Research
Institute. “It is a wonderful way for people around the world to
learn more about her.”
The University of Dayton’s Marian Library recently launched the “All
About Mary” website - an updated version of the Mary Page, a site
that was initiated two decades ago by Father Roten. The website
puts centuries of information about the world’s most famous
mother at anyone’s fingertips. The intent was to make the site
accessible to anyone with an interest in Mary - a graduate student
researching a thesis, a priest looking for text to support a homily,
a catechist completing a homework assignment, or someone who
simply wants to know why marigolds are named after Mary.
Checkout the website (https://udayton.edu/imri/mary) for :
• Biblical references to Mary
• Devotions, meditations, and liturgical celebrations
• Miracles and apparitions
• Artistic portrayals of Mary
• Mary in film –from “Lord of the Rings” to “Pinocchio”
• Shrines and Churches associated with Mary in the USA and
worldwide
• Information on Mary in popular culture, including Marian
symbols in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”
• Why a parrot is sometimes depicted in artistic works of Mary
Are you or
someone you
know interested
in discerning a call
to priesthood or
brotherhood?
See contact information below.
No commitment necessary.
24 Today’s Marists Magazine