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Today’s<br />

Fall <strong>2020</strong><br />

Volume 6 | <strong>Issue</strong> 1<br />

<strong>Marists</strong><br />

Society of Mary in the U.S.


Today’s<br />

<strong>Marists</strong><br />

Fall <strong>2020</strong> | Volume 6 | <strong>Issue</strong> 1<br />

Publisher<br />

Editor<br />

Editorial Assistants<br />

Archivist<br />

Editorial Board<br />

Paul Frechette, SM, Provincial<br />

Ted Keating, SM<br />

Elizabeth Ann Flens Avila<br />

Communications Coordinator<br />

Philip Gage, SM<br />

Randy Hoover, SM<br />

Susan Plews, SSND<br />

Susan Illis<br />

Ted Keating, SM, Editor<br />

Michael Coveny<br />

Mark Dannenfelser<br />

Thomas Ellerman, SM<br />

Mike Kelly<br />

Joseph Hindelang, SM<br />

Randy Hoover, SM<br />

Bishop Joel Konzen, SM<br />

Jack Ridout<br />

Nik Rodewald, SM<br />

Bill Rowland, SM<br />

Today’s <strong>Marists</strong> is published three times a year by The Marist<br />

Fathers and Brothers of the United States Province. The contents<br />

of this magazine consist of copyrightable material and cannot<br />

be reproduced without the expressed written permission of<br />

the authors and publisher. We wish to provide a public forum<br />

for ideas and opinion. Letters may be sent to:<br />

smpublications@maristsociety.org<br />

Editorial Office<br />

Editor: 202.529.2821 phone | 202.635.4627 fax<br />

Today’s <strong>Marists</strong> Magazine<br />

Society of Mary in the U.S. (The <strong>Marists</strong>)<br />

Editorial Office<br />

815 Varnum Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20017<br />

smpublications@maristsociety.org<br />

www.societyofmaryusa.org f<br />

In this issue...<br />

3 from the Provincial<br />

by Paul Frechette, SM<br />

4 A Plea for a Marian Church<br />

by Ted Keating, SM<br />

6 A Slice of Life in <strong>2020</strong> on the Southern<br />

Border<br />

by Tony O’Connor, SM<br />

8 Compassion and Mercy for a Pastoral<br />

Conversion!<br />

by Ricardo Navarrete Gutiérrez, SM<br />

9 News Brief<br />

10 Movie Review: Contagion<br />

by Brian Cummings SM<br />

Society of Mary of the USA<br />

12 A Glimpse of the Pandemic’s Effects on Our<br />

International Marist Ministries<br />

by Albert Kabala, SM, Ivan Vodopivec, SM and Isaia Wairoga, SM<br />

16 ‘Bright spots’ in the Midst of a Pandemic<br />

by Mike Kelly and Michael Coveny<br />

21 Remembering the <strong>Marists</strong> and the<br />

1873 Yellow Fever Epidemic<br />

by Susan J. Illis<br />

22 The Pandemic - Making Us Rethink Charity<br />

and Mutuality<br />

by Nik Rodewald, SM<br />

23 Teaching Adult Faith Formation Online<br />

by Mark Dannenfelser<br />

24 Obituaries<br />

26 Jean-Claude Colin and Caretaking<br />

by Tom Ellerman, SM<br />

27 Supporting the <strong>Marists</strong><br />

by Denise D’Amico<br />

Marist Provincial House<br />

815 Varnum Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20017<br />

Marist Center<br />

4408 8th Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20017-2298<br />

Marist Center of the West<br />

625 Pine Street, San Francisco, CA 94108-3210<br />

Distributed freely by request to churches, schools and other<br />

organizations. Home delivery is available by free subscription.<br />

Contact our Editorial Office. Our website offers additional<br />

information of interest to friends of the <strong>Marists</strong>. It is refreshed<br />

regularly.<br />

© <strong>2020</strong> by Society of Mary in the U.S. All rights reserved.<br />

Cover Explanation<br />

The iconic photo of Pope Francis during the Urbi et Orbi Blessing and Address on<br />

the coronavirus on March 27, <strong>2020</strong> shows the emptiness and darkness of St. Peter’s<br />

Square amidst a steady rain. There is a similarity between this photo showing Pope<br />

Francis counseling us and Jesus reassuring the disciples during the turbulent storm:<br />

“Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?” (Mark 4:35-40) Pope Francis entrusts us<br />

to the Lord through the intercession of Mary. We <strong>Marists</strong> know her as the hope that<br />

believes that “nothing is impossible with God.”<br />

Printed on partially-recycled stock with a vegetable-based ink mixture.<br />

Design: Beth Ponticello | CEDC | www.cedc.org<br />

2 Today’s <strong>Marists</strong> Magazine


from the Provincial<br />

Fr. Paul Frechette, SM<br />

How the Pandemic has affected<br />

our Marist communities<br />

Every June the majority of our members of the USA province<br />

head to the Midwest part of the United States for our annual<br />

retreat, assembly and occasional workshop on a timely<br />

topic. Many of us look forward to this break. It is a time for<br />

prayer, celebration of the Eucharist, fraternity, friendship and<br />

reflection on our ministries, since outside of that week many<br />

of us are absorbed in the daily responsibilities of our own<br />

ministries.<br />

This year – everything suddenly changed. In an instant, it<br />

seemed, we were reminded that we ultimately are not in<br />

control.<br />

For many <strong>Marists</strong>, the forced quiet allowed time to immerse<br />

ourselves more fully in prayer and to renew relationships<br />

with the Lord and with others in our local community. We<br />

had more time to reflect upon our life as religious and our<br />

responsibilities as brothers during these stressful times. We<br />

saw how the pandemic affected our friends, our families and<br />

our communities. According to the United States Department<br />

of Labor, about 60 million unemployment claims have been<br />

filed since mid-March. As of late September, the Center for<br />

Disease Control (CDC) reported over 202,000 deaths from<br />

COVID-19.<br />

A few weeks ago, I asked members of the United States<br />

Province to share their reflections with me regarding these<br />

challenging times. Their responses moved me. One member of<br />

the Province wrote that the pandemic “freed up my time to do<br />

other things for mind, spirit, and body. It forced me to reflect<br />

more carefully what I am doing next. … It also automatically<br />

slowed me down. Slowing down helps reflection, prayer,<br />

reading, exercise and the intentionality for what I am doing or<br />

receive any visitors. Our national Mission Office felt the impact<br />

of the pandemic as many of the Mission Co-Ops planned for<br />

May and June had to be cancelled because of the shelter-inplace<br />

policies that were in effect in many states. In an article<br />

within this Today’s <strong>Marists</strong> issue, “A Slice of Life in <strong>2020</strong> on<br />

the Southern Border,” Fr. Tony O’Connor, SM reflects on the<br />

challenges faced by asylum seekers he and fellow parishioners<br />

minister to at San Felipe de Jesús Parish in Brownsville, Texas.<br />

Fr. Tony emphasizes a message from Pope Francis regarding<br />

the pandemic, “We have realized that we are on the same<br />

boat, all of us fragile and disoriented, but at the same time<br />

important and needed, all of us called to row together, each<br />

of us in need of comforting the other.” (Urbi et Orbi, March 27,<br />

<strong>2020</strong>)<br />

Furthermore, in the Centerspread of this issue, you will<br />

read about the impact the pandemic has had on some of our<br />

international Marist communities, specifically in Africa,<br />

Brazil, England, and Oceania. A common thread that runs<br />

throughout the Centerspread is the question “When will<br />

this pandemic end?” Although no one can answer this with<br />

precision, we are reminded that we are in this fragile time<br />

together, and with the grace and strength of God and united in<br />

prayer we will get through this pandemic.<br />

In conclusion, the pandemic is teaching us the fragility of<br />

our world. As <strong>Marists</strong> we are called to be bridge builders,<br />

instruments of hope and bearers of the Good News. This is<br />

the time for us to be bearers of hope as we respond to this call<br />

and answer the question “Who is my neighbor?” As the Marist<br />

Superior General John Larsen, SM reminds us, “countries have<br />

closed their borders and so many people can be tempted to<br />

close their hearts out of fear of the virus, there is a special need<br />

One member of the Province wrote that the pandemic “freed up my time to do other things<br />

for mind, spirit, and body. It forced me to reflect more carefully what I am doing next."<br />

not doing. But there is [also] a negative side [to this slow down]<br />

- my ministry came to a sudden halt. I was not able to have<br />

access to those I meet daily in the ministry, whether school<br />

or parish. We had to shelter in place which limited our social<br />

experiences. There is the normal anxiety of what happens next<br />

and will this ever end?”<br />

Several of our <strong>Marists</strong> residing in nursing homes found the<br />

lockdown time to be lonely and isolating as they could not<br />

for the freshness of the love of the Holy Spirit breathing life and<br />

joy among all of us Christians.” He continues to remind us that<br />

the Society of Mary “speaks of open borders, open hearts and<br />

unity of purpose.” We can encourage and accompany those<br />

whose worlds may be closing in on them. The global dimension<br />

of our congregation is an expression of hope as we reach out to<br />

our neighbors. Be assured of our continued prayers and may<br />

the gentleness of Mary be our strength.<br />

Fall <strong>2020</strong> 3


A Plea for a Marian Church<br />

by Ted Keating, SM<br />

“The Society (of Mary) must begin a new church over again. I do not mean that in a literal sense,<br />

that would be blasphemy. But still, in a certain sense, yes, we must begin a new Church…”<br />

(Venerable Jean-Claude Colin, A Founder Speaks)<br />

The year <strong>2020</strong> will long be remembered. One of the most<br />

frequent conversations for most of the year had to do with<br />

“Who could have predicted this?” “How could so much have<br />

changed so rapidly from even the early months of the year?”<br />

“Will we ever get back to the normal we once knew?” Often the<br />

words to describe most of this year are beyond us because they<br />

are clearly beyond anything that would have described our life<br />

before this year.<br />

We were sharing back and forth on Zoom and other forms of<br />

social media in early Spring <strong>2020</strong> about what “sheltering in<br />

place” (almost a new normal itself at that point until it got<br />

“old”) was doing to or for us. There were conversations about<br />

monastic living, contemplation, and having the time to read<br />

and reflect. Parents were home with their children as both<br />

the workplace and classroom turned virtual. A volume could<br />

be put together of poems shared back and forth to describe<br />

the experience. Artists and other musicians began using the<br />

internet to meet our aesthetic needs and keep our spirits up.<br />

Then the thundering reality grew into its own crescendo<br />

of illness and death as the virus took its widespread and<br />

shocking toll. We became aware of the frightening reality of<br />

the elderly succumbing just because they were elderly. Then,<br />

African Americans were dying in numbers grossly exceeding<br />

white people, and, then, immigrants and refugees were next<br />

in line. Like a prophetic voice from the Jewish Testament,<br />

successively tearing down the illusive veils that cover so much<br />

of our society, we had to face the unspeakable realization of<br />

how many were suffering without basic health care. The lack<br />

of access to hospitals in cities and states where the virus was<br />

most crushing, and the frightening impact on our economy as<br />

it gradually shut down so as to protect people from physical<br />

proximity and possible contagion. As so often happens, this<br />

pandemic most impacted the poorest members of society as<br />

well as many who had been maintaining a basic, relatively<br />

comfortable life until widespread unemployment began to take<br />

its toll. The statistics about how many people in our society<br />

live one paycheck away from homelessness were suddenly and<br />

graphicly revealed to us as we watched miles and miles of cars<br />

in line seeking just daily bread.<br />

Our politics in so many ways cracked and shattered into<br />

weakening partisan rhetoric that made direct and persistent<br />

work to hold back the virus almost impossible.<br />

And then the brutal images of a black man being purposely<br />

strangled under the knee of a white police officer as he<br />

pleaded for his life. “I can’t breathe” led to a powerful national<br />

movement including large numbers of supportive people from<br />

all ethnic backgrounds, determined to take up the issue of<br />

racism in the United States through widespread protests and<br />

a new consciousness of white privilege that remains mostly<br />

unconscious.<br />

The year <strong>2020</strong> will not be forgotten. A Plea emerges from our<br />

human heart in the name of justice and equality, compassion,<br />

sensitivity to one another, reconciliation, and forgiveness that<br />

tests our capacity to love one another as a nation, as a people,<br />

and as the “the Beloved Community” to use that missionary<br />

phrase of Dr. Martin Luther King. The “face mask” has<br />

gradually became a sacramental manifestation of our love for<br />

one another. It doesn’t protect us so much as our brothers and<br />

sisters around us. The other great symbol that remains in our<br />

imagination and memory is the widespread national protests<br />

by ethnically diverse groups of people joining with blacks and<br />

whites, marching together for a more just and loving nation<br />

that can become a model and witness of a newer world afflicted<br />

by all these challenges.<br />

The poetic depiction of our Marist vision of a Marian Church<br />

calls us to move beyond mere poetry to a lived Plea for a<br />

Marian Church on behalf of our Founder, Fr. Jean-Claude<br />

Colin’s broader call to “the whole world Marist.” We <strong>Marists</strong><br />

do not seek to become world famous as a Congregation, but<br />

we do seek to project a Marian Church pouring its mission,<br />

ministries, and proclamation of the mysteries of Christ into<br />

a world that represents the values of “The Marian Church.”<br />

Vatican II in the Church in the Modern World clearly sought<br />

to create a Church aware of its mission to all humanity. The<br />

Council was bold enough to declare that the Church is the<br />

Sacrament of the reconciliation and oneness of all humanity,<br />

which is also the definition of each celebration of the Eucharist.<br />

So, our Plea here may seem terribly idealistic, but as <strong>Marists</strong> we<br />

understand that Mary is the one who knows that we worship a<br />

God for “whom nothing is impossible.” So the causes we face<br />

are as large as God’s desires even when to others these causes<br />

appear hopeless.<br />

In recent months, Pope Francis has written extensively about<br />

his concerns for a post-pandemic world. He may be the only<br />

world leader reflecting on these challenges and putting them<br />

on the frontlines of mission and ministries, especially in<br />

areas where people live daily with poverty, limited health<br />

care, social instability, and growing difficulties in feeding<br />

themselves. These populations are also the first to suffer from<br />

the dangerous shifts in climate that are showing their paths of<br />

destruction in the enormous increase in hurricane intensities<br />

and the ferocity of massive fires in many parts of the world,<br />

including the U.S. He is calling for an attentive widespread<br />

reflection and plan of action for after the most devastating<br />

4 Today’s <strong>Marists</strong> Magazine


of the virus outbreaks lessen. Pope Francis has established<br />

a Vatican group addressing this topic. They are currently<br />

analyzing and strategizing and will seek to come up with a<br />

large coalition going into the post-pandemic world.<br />

The Vatican Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue<br />

along with the World Council of Churches in Geneva has<br />

already published in recent weeks a document titled Serving<br />

a Wounded World in Interreligious Solidarity: A Christian Call<br />

to Reflection and Action During COVID-19 and Beyond. The<br />

purpose of this document is to establish a Christian basis<br />

for interreligious solidarity that can inspire and confirm,<br />

for Christians of all churches, the impulse to serve a world<br />

wounded not only by the pandemic but also by many other<br />

wounds.<br />

As this issue goes to press, Pope Francis has released what<br />

is perceived as the Encyclical that he hopes will define his<br />

ministry as the Pope for now and into the future. According to<br />

John Carr, the Director of Initiative on Catholic Social Thought<br />

and Public Life at Georgetown University in Washington,<br />

DC, “Fratelli Tutti is a powerful expression of faith in a time<br />

of doubt, a call to hope in a time of fear, and a challenge to<br />

love in at time of anger and division. Pope Francis’ letter is a<br />

combination of Franciscan themes and Jesuit discernment,<br />

shaped by Argentinian pastoral experience and traditional<br />

Catholic social teaching. The encyclical affirms and applies<br />

the principles of Catholic social teaching to the “new things”<br />

of <strong>2020</strong>: a global pandemic, an economic crisis, political<br />

polarization, and social isolation and exclusion.” How will<br />

<strong>Marists</strong> throughout the world respond to Pope Francis’s call<br />

in Fratelli Tutti? We are sure that we will be reflecting carefully<br />

on this document in future Today’s <strong>Marists</strong> issues.<br />

In the preceding paragraphs you find the concerns and<br />

inspirations that arose from our planning for this first issue<br />

of Today’s <strong>Marists</strong> in Volume 6. We have gathered articles from<br />

around the Marist world on the impact the pandemic has had<br />

on our Marist missions and ministries. You will read about the<br />

experiences of <strong>Marists</strong> in Africa, Oceania, Mexico, and London.<br />

Here in the United States, you will read about the impact that<br />

COVID-19 has had on our schools in Pontiac, Michigan and<br />

Atlanta, Georgia, with some early reflections on what may be<br />

the long-term impact on education in the future, here in the US<br />

and perhaps around the world.<br />

In the second issue of Volume 6 we hope to bring reflections<br />

that bear on the reality of racism in our changing world. The<br />

third issue of this volume will include articles focusing on<br />

the adjustments the pandemic has brought to education and<br />

worship in our world.<br />

The poem “A Marian Church” by François Marc, SM<br />

(www.societyofmaryusa.org/our-mission/marian-church)<br />

offers guidance for our plea for a Marian Church as we are<br />

called to serve a wounded world with compassion and love.<br />

When we face the brokenness of humanity, a Marian Church<br />

is “…moved by compassion and, with infinite tenderness, she<br />

tends their wounds. She is the safe harbor, who is always open,<br />

the refuge of sinners, ‘Mater Misericordiae,’ Mother of Mercy.”<br />

AN EXCERPT FROM<br />

A Marian Church<br />

By François Marc, SM<br />

The Marian Church knows she is the object of a gratuitous<br />

love, and that God has the heart of a mother. She has seen<br />

God on the doorstep, on the lookout for the improbable<br />

return of a son; she has seen him throw his arms around his<br />

neck, place the festal ring on his finger, and himself organize<br />

the home-coming feast. When she pages through the family<br />

album, she sees Zacchaeus in his sycamore, the woman taken<br />

in adultery, the Samaritan woman, foreigners, the lepers,<br />

beggars and a common prisoner at his place of execution.<br />

So you see, the Marian Church despairs of no one, and does<br />

not quench the smoking flax. When she finds someone<br />

on the side of the road wounded by life, she is moved by<br />

compassion, and with infinite tenderness tends their wounds.<br />

She is the safe harbor, who is always open, the refuge of<br />

sinners, “mater misericordiae”, mother of mercy.<br />

The Marian Church lets in the wind of Pentecost, the wind<br />

which impels one to go out, which unties tongues. In the<br />

public square, not for the sake of hammering doctrine, nor to<br />

swell her ranks, she proclaims her message: the promise has<br />

been kept, the fight has been won and the Dragon crushed<br />

forever. And this is the great secret which she can only<br />

murmur: to win the victory God has laid down his arms. True,<br />

we are in an intermediate time, the time of human history.<br />

And that history is a painful one.<br />

Yet every evening at the end of Vespers the Church sings<br />

the Magnificat. For the Church knows where her joy is to<br />

be found. And look: God has not found our world or its<br />

afflictions, its violence or its wickedness uninhabitable. It is<br />

there that He has met us. And there, on the Cross, we have<br />

seen the “mercy”, the open heart of God.<br />

Full poem available at:<br />

www.societyofmaryusa.org/our-mission/marian-church<br />

Fall <strong>2020</strong> 5


A Slice of Life in <strong>2020</strong><br />

on the Southern Border<br />

by Tony O’Connor, SM, Pastor, San Felipe de Jesús, Brownsville, Texas<br />

Persevering does not mean always doing<br />

the same thing. We leave behind what<br />

does not work. We adapt to the everchanging<br />

needs. We listen to the spoken<br />

and unspoken words of the people. The<br />

pandemic demands that we reach out<br />

with heart and mind, beyond the local<br />

surroundings as best we can, even just<br />

across the river to the other side of the<br />

same valley, to the cities of Brownsville,<br />

Texas and Matamoros, Tamaulipas in<br />

Mexico.<br />

A Tale of Two Cities<br />

Brownsville and Matamoros are a tale<br />

of two cities. They have been united and<br />

divided for centuries. In normal times<br />

the three bridges that connect the two<br />

cities are traversed with great frequency,<br />

but well before the beginning of the<br />

pandemic the United States government<br />

began to restrict border crossings and<br />

COVID-19 became a good excuse for<br />

increased restrictions. This means that<br />

aging parents in Matamoros are not<br />

being visited and supported so much by<br />

their kids in the United States and the<br />

less expensive medical services used by<br />

our simple folk in Brownsville who have<br />

no insurance is also impeded, including<br />

treatments for COVID-19. What was a<br />

tale of two united cities has become even<br />

more a tale of two divided cities.<br />

The asylum seekers, who were illegally<br />

impeded from crossing the bridges<br />

before the pandemic, now await their<br />

suspended court hearings. On Tuesday,<br />

August 18, <strong>2020</strong>, Edwin Rodrigo Castro<br />

de la Parra, a Guatemalan and an asylum<br />

seeker camp leader was found drowned<br />

in the nearby river, survived by his wife,<br />

his two little girls, his grandmother and<br />

his sister who had just given birth to a<br />

baby girl. One of his friends said, “Only<br />

God can help us at this moment. It is<br />

only desperation that drives the brave to<br />

meddle with the Rio Bravo.”<br />

We had a group of ladies who crossed<br />

the river to take food and clothing to<br />

the migrants. Now a friend takes money<br />

donated to us at San Felipe de Jesús and<br />

gives it to a small non-governmental<br />

organization (NGO) that uses it to buy<br />

basic necessities, especially medicines<br />

for those with COVID-19.<br />

The Sides of a Great Divide.<br />

The city of Valle Hermoso in Mexico has<br />

poor neighborhoods, Barrio 18 is one<br />

of them. Mayra is our link to helping<br />

people in these parts of Valle Hermoso.<br />

She miraculously crosses the bridges and<br />

border controls to take food and clothing<br />

to many people. In the early morning<br />

of August 18, <strong>2020</strong>, Mayra took a load<br />

over the bridge. Stopping for breakfast<br />

at a local stand, a little boy, maybe 8 or<br />

9 years old, told Mayra he was hungry.<br />

Mayra bought him breakfast. He sat with<br />

her but only ate half. He said that the<br />

other half of the breakfast was for his<br />

little brother outside who was hungry<br />

too. So, Mayra bought the brother<br />

breakfast, however both boys left half of<br />

their breakfasts untouched. You see they<br />

live with their grandparents who were<br />

hungry too.<br />

Here in Brownsville no one is really<br />

hungry. On the other side of the river<br />

there are many who literally are. The<br />

divide is immense, not just the currents<br />

in the river or the line marking the two<br />

countries, but in the risk that there is in<br />

sharing.<br />

This is not to say that there is no need<br />

in Brownsville. Living in the United<br />

States is very expensive, especially here<br />

in Cameron Park, one of the poorest<br />

neighborhoods on the southern Border.<br />

You need money for rent, to own and<br />

drive a car, for bills, medicines and food.<br />

Although little boys and girls here are<br />

generally not hungry, some grandparents<br />

feel the pinch. Hunger and great need<br />

can be found here on this other side of<br />

our great divide, on this other side of the<br />

river.<br />

At San Felipe de Jesús we spend hours<br />

under the hot Texan sun giving out food<br />

from agencies and occasionally putting<br />

up with the bad mouthing of some who<br />

feel the world owes them a favor. Most of<br />

the time it is pleasing to serve the food<br />

and a way of keeping close to the people,<br />

a union of hearts, minds and bellies.<br />

At the same time our heart bleeds for<br />

those two little boys in Barrio 18, their<br />

grandparents and other families too.<br />

6 Today’s <strong>Marists</strong> Magazine


Top: Proud fathers with newly baptized<br />

Bottom Left: Funeral service for Sandra<br />

Bottom Right: Wedding ceremony for Clarissa and Frank<br />

Death<br />

With the casket at the church door I was<br />

prepared: Holy Water for the blessing<br />

and the white baptism veil to cover the<br />

casket. When the casket was at the altar,<br />

it was time for the funeral Mass to begin.<br />

I have buried my mom, my dad and a<br />

kid sister, and I managed to get through<br />

these services, but this time my eyes<br />

were clouded and no words came. There<br />

was silence. Someone finally led the “I<br />

confess” to get the Mass started.<br />

Jesus cried at the tomb of Lazaro and<br />

cried when he saw Martha and Mary<br />

so upset. But me? The deceased was<br />

no intimate friend. That’s what the<br />

pandemic is doing. Even when the<br />

families come later with the ashes of<br />

their loved ones - it is the same. It is as if<br />

the church is charged with sadness and a<br />

void. Not having been with the deceased<br />

in their agony, nor seeing them lying in<br />

state, but rather just left in the end with<br />

a little cardboard box or urn to hold<br />

onto tenaciously until it is placed on a<br />

table before the altar. The air is charged<br />

with tears, whether it be for 48-yearold<br />

Sandra who suffered from Down<br />

syndrome who died on July 14, <strong>2020</strong>,<br />

or Miguel y Mia whose wife died from<br />

COVID-19 on July 21st. Now a month<br />

later the family is gathered for a ritual<br />

farewell: two urns on a table, the couple’s<br />

photo, the bright paschal candle and<br />

beautiful flowers. Scenes at the cemetery<br />

can be worse.<br />

New Life<br />

But with death comes life. Due to the<br />

pandemic, to get a body or ashes back<br />

takes two weeks. Meeting and accepting<br />

the pain takes longer than that, but<br />

morning light does break through the<br />

dark.<br />

A Pandemic Wedding<br />

Some churches are reluctant to do<br />

weddings. But not here. Clarissa and<br />

Frank were the first not deterred from<br />

having their wedding. A lovely mature<br />

and gracious couple, now happily<br />

married, and I believe until death do<br />

them part. A new life cycle begins.<br />

Death has lost its sting.<br />

The same rituals in church with<br />

“protocols” in place but joyfully new: We<br />

keep on baptizing! An individual bottle<br />

of water for each kid, cotton buds for<br />

anointing, mask wearing and keeping<br />

six feet apart. On August 22nd dads<br />

were proud to present 15 kids for the<br />

sacrament of Baptism. A day for families<br />

to celebrate after a tiring COVID-19 filled<br />

summer.<br />

Fall <strong>2020</strong> 7


Compassion and Mercy<br />

for a Pastoral Conversion!<br />

by Ricardo Navarrete Gutiérrez, SM (Newly Ordained on September 26, <strong>2020</strong>)<br />

On September 7, <strong>2020</strong> I was preparing to<br />

celebrate the Liturgy of the Word in one of<br />

our Marist parishes in Mexico City. I read<br />

a reflection on the Gospel for that day<br />

where Jesus, healing a man’s paralyzed<br />

hand on the Sabbath, is criticized and<br />

opposed by the scribes and pharisees.<br />

How is it possible, Jesus wondered, that<br />

the Sabbath, a day made for the benefit<br />

and consecration of people, had turned<br />

into a rigid ritual and a burdensome<br />

observance? The whole Jewish religious<br />

system, apparently, had forgotten<br />

compassion and mercy!<br />

The global pandemic, similarly, has<br />

been forcing us to avoid human contact<br />

and closeness to others. Certainly, to<br />

stay away from our neighbor is the<br />

safest solution, but in a country like<br />

Mexico where not everybody has the<br />

basic resources to survive, even when<br />

there is no pandemic, and many people<br />

need to go into the street to seek some<br />

money, contact is inevitable. So, for us,<br />

compassion and mercy have been part of<br />

our pastoral discernment as we strive to<br />

attend to the needs of those who are poor.<br />

Times of crisis, like the one we are facing<br />

these days, are not moments of paralysis<br />

for us, especially when there are people<br />

out there dying of hunger and disease.<br />

At the beginning of this year the pastor<br />

of Immaculate Conception Church<br />

proposed the renovation of an old<br />

building in order to create the “Dining<br />

Hall of Mercy” for feeding those who are<br />

poor. The renovation was completed just<br />

before the pandemic hit. News about the<br />

“Dining Hall of Mercy” spread quickly,<br />

and many people in need started coming<br />

forward to receive food. Then, the virus<br />

struck. This wonderful parish ministry<br />

was at risk of being shut down. Was it safe<br />

for hungry people to come and expose<br />

themselves to COVID-19? No. From<br />

the outset, it was not safe, but to have<br />

abandoned them to their uncertain fate<br />

could have cost more lives. The dining<br />

room has continued to operate during the<br />

pandemic but with strict precautions in<br />

place. We are still serving about 130 meals<br />

to those who have lost their jobs or are<br />

experiencing difficulties.<br />

Aside from this enriching and challenging<br />

experience, all the <strong>Marists</strong> in Mexico, as<br />

in other places of the Marist world, have<br />

been trying to implement creative ways<br />

to reach those to whom we minister.<br />

Unfortunately, in our Marist schools we<br />

have seen a 20% drop-out rate of new,<br />

incoming students. This decrease in<br />

enrollment reflects the struggle families<br />

Top: Man collecting a one-month supply of food donations<br />

for his family<br />

Bottom: Dining Hall of Mercy - due to the pandemic<br />

food cannot be served inside the facilities<br />

8 Today’s <strong>Marists</strong> Magazine


News<br />

Brief<br />

Marist Laity<br />

Framework<br />

by Michael Coveny, Marist Way Director,<br />

Marist School, Atlanta, Georgia<br />

Dining Hall of Mercy has switched to distributing food outside for visitors to take home to their families<br />

are facing to keep themselves afloat.<br />

Moreover, our schools have had<br />

to adapt to virtual learning. Some<br />

teachers found it hard at the beginning<br />

to change from in-person teaching<br />

methods that they were trained in,<br />

to televised classes where everyone<br />

maintains distance. If some teachers<br />

were initially reluctant to bring<br />

technology into their teaching, the<br />

pandemic has forced them to update<br />

their skills. We recognize, however, that<br />

online lessons do not offer the same<br />

experiences as in-person teaching.<br />

Children need attention and the help<br />

of good teachers to acquire necessary<br />

knowledge and skills. We admire the<br />

hard work that the kindergarten and<br />

primary school teachers undertake<br />

to keep their pupils engaged, even<br />

if virtually. Nevertheless, the Marist<br />

schools are quite blessed compared to<br />

government schools where sadly those<br />

who do not have their own personal<br />

computer have to follow classes on<br />

a shared TV set. Some parents and<br />

grandmothers who come to the<br />

“Dining Hall of Mercy” complain about<br />

the scattered school lessons that are<br />

broadcast on TV.<br />

A few weeks ago, we were allowed<br />

to re-open our churches and youth<br />

centers at limited capacities. The<br />

<strong>Marists</strong> here also decided to live<br />

stream Mass and other liturgies on the<br />

internet. Many people have expressed<br />

their appreciation for these services<br />

because at least in this way we can<br />

enter families’ homes. The concept<br />

of sacraments as visible and effective<br />

signs of God’s grace and the gathering<br />

of Christians to celebrate Liturgy might<br />

not be happening, but God may be<br />

operating in other ways with families at<br />

home who follow our prayer services.<br />

Challenging times demand creativity<br />

from our Marist communities. Some<br />

Marist lay people have already been<br />

engaged in promoting prayer and<br />

spiritual support through the internet.<br />

This gives us a glimpse of what aspects<br />

we might have to modify in our Marist<br />

pastoral work.<br />

The News media often describe<br />

this time as a global crisis. Crisis, in<br />

its original meaning, is not about<br />

everything collapsing and people just<br />

giving up. A crisis is a time when we<br />

realize that our human systems are<br />

not working, and they need to change.<br />

Crisis means to separate, discern and<br />

make decisions to do things better. So,<br />

it is for the Church and our Marist work,<br />

too. As <strong>Marists</strong>, we believe that Mary<br />

accompanies the Church at all times,<br />

and thus, we must emulate her spirit.<br />

We hope that when we come back to a<br />

safer reality, we may have undergone a<br />

pastoral conversion and become better<br />

ministers of mercy.<br />

Delegations of World Marist Laity met in<br />

Dublin in August 2019 and appointed a<br />

leadership committee to develop a future<br />

framework for Marist Laity. The leadership<br />

committee assigned to the task included Bev<br />

McDonald (New Zealand), Elizabeth Piper<br />

(United States), Jorge Lopez (Mexico) and<br />

David Sanz (Spain).<br />

That framework was presented to the<br />

Society of Mary governance in Rome for<br />

deeper study and guidance and exchange<br />

throughout the year <strong>2020</strong>. These discussions<br />

are ongoing between the World Laity<br />

leadership committee and the Society of<br />

Mary, focusing on essential questions such as:<br />

• What is the minimum vision for<br />

Formation to be considered a “Marist?”<br />

• What is the appropriate or necessary<br />

private and public Commitment — a<br />

commitment made in response to the<br />

Call from Mary to do her work?<br />

The Laity Framework has been inspired<br />

by the Society of Mary mission statement<br />

from the General Chapter of 2017 and the<br />

same call of the Marist Fathers and Brothers<br />

as found in the Marist Constitutions - that<br />

is “to be truly missionary: they are to go<br />

from place to place, announcing the word<br />

of God, reconciling, catechizing, visiting<br />

the sick and the imprisoned, and doing the<br />

works of mercy. They attend especially to<br />

the most neglected, the poor, and those<br />

who suffer injustice. They are ready to carry<br />

out these tasks anywhere and at any time.”<br />

(Constitutions of the Society of Mary, #12)<br />

Fall <strong>2020</strong> 9


MOVIE REVIEW<br />

We Must Choose<br />

Prayerful Reflection with the Movie Contagion<br />

by Brian Cummings, SM, Director, Pā Maria Marist Spirituality Centre, Wellington, New Zealand<br />

Watching Steven Soderbergh’s movie Contagion is somewhat<br />

disconcerting, although that has not stopped many people<br />

around the world from watching it in recent months. In one sense,<br />

it’s an “older” movie, since it first appeared in 2011. In another<br />

sense, it’s uncannily close to depicting our world in <strong>2020</strong>.<br />

Essentially, the plot is straightforward and one with which we<br />

can readily identify. There is a rapid spread of an unknown virus<br />

originating in Asia which graphically begins to claim lives within<br />

the first 20 minutes of the film.<br />

We recognize the admonition to wash your hands frequently,<br />

avoid touching your face and to stay home from work or school<br />

if you feel unwell, all the things that have been constantly<br />

reinforced in our current world. In addition, people undergo a<br />

major level of social disruption and chaos, as well as multiple<br />

conspiracy theories and an unscrupulous individual seeking to<br />

take advantage of peoples’ fears.<br />

I would call it a gripping movie with an impressive list of wellknown<br />

actors including Laurence Fishburn, Kate Winslet, Jude<br />

Law and Gwyneth Paltrow. As well as being attention-grabbing,<br />

Contagion also won high praise for the way in which it depicts<br />

how a deadly disease could explode around the world.<br />

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy<br />

and Infectious Diseases, has said of the movie, “It’s one of the<br />

most accurate movies I have seen on infectious disease outbreaks<br />

of any type. It depicts what would be an extremely rare possibility<br />

of a worst-case scenario. Audiences will look at this and say,<br />

‘Could it happen?’ Certainly it could happen, but it’s extremely<br />

unlikely to happen.” (cf Robert Roos, Sep 09, 2011, CIDRAP<br />

[Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy]).<br />

The really interesting point about those comments is that they<br />

were made in 2011, not <strong>2020</strong>. Dr. Fauci is, of course, still very much<br />

part of today’s COVID-19 world, and the “extremely unlikely to<br />

happen” scenario has become a reality.<br />

What makes Contagion disconcerting is that we feel that we are<br />

watching our world, but through a somewhat distorted lens. So<br />

much of what is depicted in the film is, indeed, our experience<br />

today, but with differences.<br />

Those differences were highlighted recently by director Steven<br />

Soderbergh in an interview in The New York Times in response to<br />

the question: “Is there anything happening now that you didn’t<br />

foresee when making the film?”<br />

Soderbergh replied, “What I couldn’t have predicted was the<br />

fracturing of society that it [COVID] would generate, and all of the<br />

things it would expose when the tide goes out, so to speak. I didn’t<br />

anticipate that it would reveal so starkly the sort of economic<br />

disparity that we’re aware of intellectually, but that a lot of us are<br />

also able to insulate ourselves from being directly affected. Now,<br />

nobody escapes it. There are very few people whose lives will not<br />

be completely altered by COVID.” (cf ‘Steven Soderbergh and<br />

Amy Seimetz Made the Pandemic Movies of the Moment,’ Kyle<br />

Buchanan, July 31, <strong>2020</strong>, The New York Times)<br />

Pope Francis made a similar point recently at his first public<br />

audience in six months when he said “We do not come out of a<br />

crisis the same way we were before. We either come out better, or<br />

worse. We must choose. Solidarity is the way to come out better.”<br />

He went on to explain that “solidarity” refers to “something more<br />

than a few sporadic acts of generosity. It presumes the creation of<br />

a new mindset, one which thinks in terms of community and the<br />

priority of every person’s life as opposed to the appropriation of<br />

goods by only a few. It is not merely a question of “helping others,”<br />

he said. “It is a matter of justice.” (cf Gerard O’Connell, September<br />

2, <strong>2020</strong>, americamagazine.org)<br />

At the end of Contagion life goes on – but not as it was previously.<br />

And that will also be true for us today as individuals and as a<br />

society.<br />

There can be no question of “surviving” in the sense of “riding out<br />

the storm” so that we can carry on with life just as it was before<br />

<strong>2020</strong>. As Francis says, “We do not come out of a crisis the same as<br />

before.”<br />

And so we need to ask ourselves as <strong>Marists</strong>, how do we cope with<br />

what is going on, and how do we help others? In order to address<br />

these questions, of course, we have to take time to reflect on just<br />

what is going on?<br />

10 Today’s <strong>Marists</strong> Magazine


Father Augusto Zampini-Davies, the adjunct secretary of the<br />

Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development<br />

in Rome, had this to say in an article in the London Tablet in<br />

May of this year, “This is a time to reset. What is essential? This<br />

is the question. What is essential for the Church to resume, to<br />

regenerate, and to allow the Holy Spirit to ignite the essential<br />

dimension of Christianity? If Christ is walking with us in this<br />

tragic moment, where does he want to lead us?” (cf ‘Reflecting<br />

on Post-Covid Catholicism,’ by Christopher Lamb, The Tablet, 30<br />

May <strong>2020</strong>)<br />

And so, once more, with Mary, we are called to ponder and to<br />

reflect on all these things in our hearts. To “ponder” is to ask that<br />

we may see as God sees, and so then to act as we believe God<br />

would want us to act. This activity is what we call discernment.<br />

As we look at ourselves, our Church, and our society and at what<br />

has been and is being revealed in our COVID-19 world, we ask<br />

“What would Mary do?”<br />

Inevitably, we are led to focus on our Marist call to be<br />

“instruments of divine mercy.”<br />

We strive to portray, as Craig Larkin, SM has written in A<br />

Certain Way, “the ‘feminine features” of God, and to help build<br />

a church which is not perceived in terms of power, planning,<br />

control, administration, or competition, but rather in terms of<br />

community, compassion, simplicity, mercy, and fellowship.”<br />

As an expression of that attitude, we are also called not only to<br />

help individuals in need, but also to actively work to change<br />

systems and structures that oppress people. “It is not merely a<br />

question of helping others. It is a matter of justice.” (Pope Francis)<br />

There can be “no return to normal” in our own lives, in our<br />

Church, or in our society.<br />

We are living through extraordinary times that have affected,<br />

continue to affect, each of us in so many ways: spiritually,<br />

physically, psychologically, emotionally, financially and so on. We<br />

need to ask ourselves the fundamental question, “Who am I in<br />

this present world, and what am I being called to be and to do?”<br />

We need to ask (as Zampini-Davies says) of the Church, “What is<br />

essential to resume, to regenerate, and to allow the Holy Spirit to<br />

ignite the essential dimension of Christianity?”<br />

And we need to ask similar questions of the society in which we<br />

live. “What is essential for it to resume, to regenerate….” To quote<br />

Pope Francis again, “solidarity [is] something more than a few<br />

sporadic acts of generosity. It presumes the creation of a new<br />

mindset, which thinks in terms of community and the priority of<br />

the life of every human being as opposed to the appropriation of<br />

goods by only a few.”<br />

We cannot ignore any of these questions. We cannot shut<br />

ourselves off physically or psychologically and wait until it is safe<br />

to emerge back into the world.<br />

As François Marc, SM has written, “A Marian church stands at<br />

the foot of the cross. She does not take refuge in a fortress, or in a<br />

chapel, or in cautious silence, when others are being crushed. She<br />

is vulnerable, in her deeds as in her words. With humble courage,<br />

she stands with the most insignificant.” (from Plea for a Marian<br />

Church)<br />

Our conclusion? Contagion is certainly worth watching. It may<br />

be nine years old, and it doesn’t exactly depict our present reality.<br />

But it does lead us into contemplation and it leads us to ask the<br />

question, “What would Mary do in a COVID-19 world?”<br />

Fall <strong>2020</strong> 11


A Glimpse of the Pandemic’s<br />

Effects on Our International<br />

Marist Ministries<br />

The Marist Mission in Africa<br />

and Coronavirus: The Effects<br />

on Education<br />

by Albert Kabala, SM, District Superior of Africa<br />

In Senegal (West Africa) and Cameroon (Central Africa),<br />

churches and mosques have reopened on a limited scale to<br />

welcome devout faithful who desire to personally implore the<br />

mercy of God. The pace of life during this pandemic, however,<br />

is still slow. While there are government-ordered hygiene<br />

measures (mask wearing and hand washing) as well as social<br />

distancing in place, people do not always follow them rigorously.<br />

We know that in Africa the contamination figures as reported<br />

do not reflect the reality. Some people think that across the<br />

continent various governments are increasing the numbers<br />

of COVID-19 cases reported, and others think that other<br />

governments are hiding the actual number of cases because<br />

African countries do not have the technical and financial<br />

resources to fight the virus. There are those who ignorantly deny<br />

the existence of the disease and ignore the safety measures in<br />

place because they believe that COVID-19 does not exist. Since<br />

not everyone who is infected with the virus has the means to go<br />

to the hospital, the actual number of COVID-19 cases in Africa<br />

is higher than what is reported. The need for medical services<br />

has caused our Caritas services and religious communities to<br />

crumble under the demand for medical help. People who are<br />

dying in their homes will never be counted. While the number of<br />

COVID-19 cases and deaths increases every day, many continue<br />

to deny it. Such reactions are due to the lack of means available<br />

to meet their daily needs. This is the new rhythm of life imposed<br />

on us by the coronavirus pandemic. The situation grows ever<br />

more alarming and deplorable.<br />

Top: Students social distanced in the classroom at the school in Dakar, Senegal<br />

Bottom: Parishioners socially distanced at St. Ann Parish in Yaoundé, Cameroon<br />

The <strong>Marists</strong> in Africa continue to educate and sensitize people<br />

to the existence and the danger of the virus. The Marist parish<br />

at Obili in Yaoundé, Cameroon has organized awareness<br />

campaigns as a way to keep encouraging the faithful to heed the<br />

safety measures already in place: wearing face masks in public,<br />

washing their hands at all times with soap and water and always<br />

carrying hand sanitizer. When virus symptoms appear, we tell<br />

them to isolate themselves and to call the emergency services.<br />

12 Today’s <strong>Marists</strong> Magazine


“So many people keep asking when will this pandemic end? No one can answer<br />

that with any kind of precision. ...together, we must continue to pray for all humanity.”<br />

This health crisis has also affected our schools. Although classes<br />

in Senegal and Cameroon have resumed, they are open only<br />

for students to come and complete their exams. The majority<br />

of children remain at home. The limited re-opening of schools<br />

will undoubtedly lead to a decrease in learning and an increase<br />

in the number of students who drop out of school. To help<br />

address the current situation, our Marist school in Senegal, in<br />

collaboration with the teachers, has organized ways for students<br />

to continue with their lessons so as to not fall behind. Teachers<br />

have prepared exercises and homework for students in order<br />

to keep them mentally active while at home. Furthermore, we<br />

created a WhatsApp group for the parents of the “CM2” students<br />

(students in the exam class). This provides a way to help with<br />

students’ questions and to offer them follow-up for our “CFEE”<br />

exam candidates. With the grace of God, we hope to return to<br />

school in-person for the new academic year which starts in<br />

November.<br />

So many people keep asking when will this pandemic end?<br />

No one can answer that with any kind of precision. Based on<br />

information from the World Health Organization (WHO), we<br />

understand that the world will have to come to live with this<br />

disease. One thing we have not forgotten, however, is that,<br />

together, we must continue to pray for all humanity who have<br />

been deeply affected, and pray that the Almighty may deliver us<br />

safely from this pandemic.<br />

Sandwich Service at Notre<br />

Dame de France Continues<br />

During the Pandemic<br />

by Ivan Vodopivec, SM<br />

Outreach Work Coordinator, Notre Dame<br />

de France, London, England<br />

Normally on a Saturday morning the parish center at Notre<br />

Dame de France (NDF) in Soho, London (Leicester Square)<br />

would be full of volunteers preparing sandwiches, potato<br />

chips, cakes, cookies, fruit and soup to welcome our 100-<br />

120 visitors. Most of our visitors are homeless or vulnerably<br />

housed. However, on March 14th all that stopped. The<br />

normally lively, bustling Leicester square with hundreds of<br />

thousands of people and tourists on the go became a still and<br />

quiet and somewhat eerie space. The lockdown had begun,<br />

and because of social distancing measures, our center was not<br />

allowed to welcome our guests so that we could do our part to<br />

keep everyone safe from the virus.<br />

Thanks to the volunteers in the sandwich service and<br />

members of the NDF team, we decided to offer a takeout<br />

service to anyone who needed food. Some of the people were<br />

continues on page 14<br />

The happy bunch of NDF volunteers<br />

Volunteers at NDF Sandwich Service – behind the masks are smiling faces<br />

Fall <strong>2020</strong> 13


COVID-19 and the Tutu Rural<br />

Training Center (TRTC)<br />

by Isaia Wairoga, SM<br />

Tutu Rural Training Center, Tutu, Fiji<br />

In the spirit of unity and togetherness during this trying time<br />

when the coronavirus pandemic is affecting us throughout the<br />

world, we are all experiencing uncertainty, even confusion.<br />

Guest being served at NDF Sandwich Service<br />

living on the streets, and others had some kind of living<br />

accommodations but lacked the funds to buy the food they<br />

needed.<br />

A big supporter for us has been Westminster Council (part of<br />

local government) whose coordinator swung into action and<br />

formed the Faith Volunteer Network. Together, churches and<br />

other organizations started a weekly Zoom conference with<br />

Westminster Council to plan a schedule for food distribution<br />

and the locations where people could take showers. It was<br />

through this exchange that NDF decided to provide our<br />

sandwich service on Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons<br />

and evenings. On average we welcome 80-100 guests at every<br />

service.<br />

At the Tutu Rural Training Center (TRTC) in Tutu, Fiji, we are<br />

indeed much affected by the worldwide impact of the pandemic.<br />

The purpose of the TRTC is to equip young people in Fiji to<br />

be successful farmers on their own land and to empower<br />

them to make a positive and productive contribution to their<br />

communities. Everyone went on lockdown when the first<br />

positive COVID-19 case appeared in Fiji, and it has definitely<br />

impacted our work. Implementing this safety measure of<br />

isolation, however, allows us to stay within our bubble, and we<br />

continue to provide our services from a distance. We have sent<br />

our six-month participants home earlier than expected for their<br />

safety. At this time of year, we usually have our young farmers<br />

for their ninth term. But since the travel ban within Fiji and the<br />

curfew have been implemented, we have delayed their arrival<br />

until the government lifts the restrictions.<br />

The coronavirus has taught us so many lessons. Our most<br />

affected sectors in Fiji are the landless farmers, daily wage<br />

earners, and the non-formal sector in the cities and rural areas.<br />

In these sectors people are very concerned about how to earn<br />

wages so as to buy food and pay their bills.<br />

We appreciate our government’s efforts in responding to the<br />

challenges and difficulties we face within our sector. There<br />

has been significant social awareness of COVID-19, mass<br />

virus testing, strengthening of the healthcare workforce and<br />

establishing treatment facilities for patients suffering from<br />

Covid-19.<br />

Our sandwich service at NDF continues. It is striking that as<br />

Leicester Square has become busier again with people returning<br />

to restaurants and shops, people stop and look at the long line<br />

outside our door and wonder what is going on. The more curious<br />

stop and ask what we’re doing?” And when we tell them, they are<br />

genuinely moved, and some ask, “How can I help?” Some give a<br />

donation, and others simply reply, “Thank you.”<br />

As I chat with our guests waiting in line and having to endure<br />

being stared at by passers-by (they sometimes have to wait for<br />

a long time), I am always impressed with how patient, quiet<br />

and good humored they are. When they receive their food, they<br />

always give us a heartfelt “Thank you.”<br />

One of our volunteers, Cosme, put it well when he said, “Sure,<br />

the sandwich service is ostensibly about food because people<br />

are hungry. But even if they are with us for only a few minutes,<br />

it is also about an encounter, a link, a connection, a means to<br />

reach out and talk with others.”<br />

Personally, when I see the exchange of a smile, the humor and<br />

laughter between our volunteers and guests, I see there the face<br />

of the living God.<br />

TRTC farm tunnel house with raised beds<br />

14 Today’s <strong>Marists</strong> Magazine


Farm tunnel model replicated at TRTC participant’s residence<br />

In addition to the pandemic restrictions and the increasing<br />

number of positive COVID-19 cases, most parts of Fiji were also<br />

impacted by the Category 4 Cyclone “Harold” in April. During<br />

that time the government deployed many services to the victims<br />

of this natural disaster.<br />

During the pandemic, our TRTC group, which consists of the<br />

course staff members, carpentry and maintenance workers and<br />

all other available hands, are all helping with the weeding and<br />

harvesting of the young farmers’ taro (dalo) and kava (yaqona)<br />

blocks. In order to prepare everyone for maintaining the young<br />

farmers’ crops while they are keeping safe at home, we initiated<br />

organized community training for all TRTC staff members and<br />

families.<br />

A positive outcome of the pandemic is that the gardening at<br />

TRTC has provided food security as well as a short-term cash<br />

crop to keep up with the center’s expenses, in a self-sustaining<br />

way. From our perspective, COVID-19 has made us aware of the<br />

need for short-term crops such as vegetables to realize a quick<br />

return. During our regular discussions, innovative ideas have<br />

been proposed such as the introduction of micro-hydroponic<br />

gardening. A trial of this type of gardening was piloted by the<br />

Lura Marist community and is attracting a lot of interest from<br />

farmers who have smaller growing areas.<br />

Another new farming technique implemented by the Lura<br />

Marist community is the building of a farm tunnel house that<br />

Food Development Unit selling locally sourced produce and goods<br />

included raised growing beds. This type of gardening for offseason<br />

vegetables provides a way for growers on smaller farms<br />

to combat the rise of non-communicable diseases and safeguard<br />

their families’ food security. These farming methods will help<br />

farmers move away from reliance on commercial agricultural<br />

methods. It also opens another door for food security and a way<br />

to generate income for the TRTC and families. We believe that<br />

the incorporation of these new farming techniques requires<br />

both changes in thinking as well as attitudes towards farming.<br />

Within the Tutu bubble, our newly established Food<br />

Development Unit has been busy converting the locally sourced<br />

breadfruit into breadfruit flour. The flour is then used to bake<br />

bread that is sold to local families while in lockdown. The<br />

resources available at TRTC enable us also to make jams and<br />

other assorted spices.<br />

We continue the mission of TRTC, “empowering people to<br />

become more autonomous and to take charge of their lives in a<br />

rapidly changing world.” The motto ‘act local and think global’<br />

will revolutionize, we hope, the agriculture industry as our “new<br />

normal.”<br />

We Appreciate Your Donation!<br />

We ask for your prayers for our international ministries<br />

during these challenging times. If you are able to help<br />

financially, please use the envelope in this magazine<br />

to send your gift. Please check “Marist ministries and<br />

outreach to those in need” on the inner flap of the<br />

envelope. Thank you for your generosity and be assured<br />

of our prayers!<br />

Fall <strong>2020</strong> 15


‘Bright spots’ in the<br />

Midst of a Pandemic<br />

Reflections gathered by Mike Kelly, Director of Marketing, Notre Dame Preparatory and<br />

Marist Academy, Pontiac, Michigan and Michael Coveny, Marist Way Director, Marist School,<br />

Atlanta, Georgia<br />

Introduction<br />

On the last day of classes before Notre Dame Prep’s annual Irish Week celebration<br />

in March <strong>2020</strong>, the coronavirus was not the topic on the of mind of for then-senior<br />

Meghan Kozole, and she certainly did not think her last few months on campus<br />

would end up being so disrupted either.<br />

“At that time, I was not concerned too much about COVID-19, and I for sure didn’t<br />

think that March 12 was going to be my last day of high school in the building,” she<br />

said. “Ultimately, I became sad because pretty soon I came to realize how much I<br />

was taking my school experience for granted.”<br />

However, Kozole accepted that new reality back then and says that she adapted well<br />

to the online learning environment.<br />

“The faculty was super understanding and it’s nice knowing that the teachers and<br />

even the staff — a shoutout to campus ministry, counseling and the office staff<br />

— care so much about the students even when we weren’t in a structured school<br />

environment,” she said.<br />

On Wednesday, March 18, <strong>2020</strong>, Marist School marked both the beginning of Term 3<br />

and the transition to virtual learning. In response to the global pandemic COVID-19<br />

and with just a 72-hour notice, Marist completely shifted academic learning online,<br />

calling on faculty, staff, and students to begin a learning journey they had never<br />

previously undertaken.<br />

For Grace Lorys, a student at Marist School in Atlanta, the onset of the pandemic<br />

was unusual, to say the least. “You hear about pandemics in your history classes, but<br />

actually finding yourself in the middle of one is a little surreal,” she said. “There are<br />

a few things that can prepare a person for complete isolation from everyone but their<br />

family for months on end.”<br />

Now back in class on campus, Lorys is equally stressed about staying safe and<br />

staying on campus. “There’s the matter of going to school in the midst of rising case<br />

numbers, eating lunch six feet away from friends, breaking through thick layers of<br />

cotton and filters and knowing that none of it will end anytime soon because young<br />

people still are going out on the weekends and partying - most definitely without<br />

masks and social distancing.”<br />

Lorys also notes that despite the many difficulties of last spring and this fall, there<br />

are bright spots. “All of this brings challenges as well as joy,” she said, calling out in<br />

particular the “spectacular level of innovation that our teachers have shown.”<br />

As with Lorys and Kozole, the stress and resiliency exhibited by students and<br />

teachers alike were readily apparent in thoughts shared about this most uncertain<br />

academic world in which we now live. The following excerpts will give you a glimpse<br />

of what teaching and learning have been like as a result of the pandemic.<br />

“You hear about pandemics in your history<br />

classes, but actually finding yourself in<br />

the middle of one is a little surreal,”<br />

16 Today’s <strong>Marists</strong> Magazine


Notre Dame Preparatory<br />

and Marist Academy,<br />

Pontiac, Michigan<br />

(The following are responses shared by<br />

students and faculty about a disappointing<br />

end to last school year and a hopeful beginning<br />

to the current school year.)<br />

Love and Care at Home or in School<br />

For Elena Schwegman, a senior at Notre<br />

Dame Preparatory (NDP) School in<br />

Pontiac, Michigan, the last few months of<br />

the 2019-20 school year were disruptive<br />

and highly unusual. However, the<br />

closing of the school’s campus due to the<br />

pandemic also provided an opportunity<br />

for her and her classmates to more<br />

clearly recognize what’s really important<br />

and what is not.<br />

“The way we finished our school year<br />

last spring gave us all a time to reflect<br />

on what really matters,” she said. “Being<br />

stuck in our homes and secluded from<br />

our friends, made us think about things<br />

quite different than what we usually<br />

think about. Personally, I realized how<br />

much I had taken in-person learning for<br />

granted. But NDP’s amazing teachers did<br />

an outstanding job making the difficult<br />

and unexpected transition to online<br />

teaching. However, online learning<br />

cannot compete with the massive<br />

benefits in-person learning offers.”<br />

She said there’s something special about<br />

being in the classroom rather than<br />

sitting at home behind a screen and she<br />

understands how lucky she is to be at one<br />

of the few schools that was able to figure<br />

out a way to enable in-person learning<br />

for the <strong>2020</strong>-21 school year. Schwegman<br />

also said that those few months learning<br />

from home last spring provided another<br />

unexpected benefit.<br />

“It gave me the opportunity to take a<br />

break from my normal daily hassles and<br />

enjoy the outdoors,” she said. “I went<br />

on more bike rides during quarantine<br />

than perhaps I have my entire life. Plus,<br />

in becoming more connected with<br />

the outside world - with creation - my<br />

eyes were opened to all of its intimate<br />

beauties. As Christian people, we are<br />

called to understand God’s perfectness<br />

and majesty, and I realized it doesn’t take<br />

any more than a step or two into nature<br />

to feel awestruck by His wonderful<br />

creation.”<br />

‘Craziness’<br />

Jacob Anderson, another NDP senior,<br />

echoed Schwegman’s somewhat more<br />

optimistic view of the campus shutdown<br />

last school year.<br />

“Those few months away from school<br />

gave me more time to reflect on myself<br />

and my goals in life,” said Anderson,<br />

who like Schwegman is a member of<br />

NDP’s student council. “Although it was<br />

a little more difficult to learn, I think<br />

it helped in some ways. I had so much<br />

going on that it kind of felt good to have<br />

everything slow down for a bit. After<br />

a while, I started to get a little crazy; I<br />

think we all did. I think it really helps<br />

that we are in-person right now at school,<br />

seeing all of our classmates, and getting<br />

rid of some of that craziness.”<br />

Dan Staniszewski, an NDP alum and<br />

longtime math teacher at the school, said<br />

he, too, learned some important lessons<br />

during that “craziness.”<br />

“I think the most important thing I took<br />

away from remote learning is that math is<br />

not the most important thing I teach,” he<br />

said. “Yes, I really want students to know<br />

the quadratic formula, how to take the<br />

sine of an angle and how to use implicit<br />

differentiation, but I learned that teaching<br />

is so much more than that. Check that...<br />

remote learning cemented in my mind<br />

what I already knew: teaching is more<br />

than conveying information: Teaching is<br />

performing! Teaching is loving! Teaching<br />

is having fun! And for all these reasons<br />

and more I teach!”<br />

Staniszewski also said that despite<br />

missing the normalcy he came to expect<br />

at the end of every school year, there<br />

were some “amazing” memories.<br />

“I got to watch movies remotely with<br />

many in the Class of <strong>2020</strong>,” he said. “I<br />

was able to deliver lawn signs to many<br />

of my favorite students to celebrate their<br />

completion of high school. I got to show<br />

up in my truck on graduation day, clap<br />

for them, see them again, and even take<br />

a few distanced selfies with them. And I<br />

got the chance to wear my cap and gown,<br />

be a part of their graduation ceremony<br />

and take some pictures with them<br />

afterward!”<br />

Notre Dame Prep math teacher Dan Staniszewski takes<br />

a selfie in front of Malorie Wilson NDP’20 during the<br />

special May 17, <strong>2020</strong> senior parade at NDPMA<br />

Adjusting Quickly in the Lower School<br />

For Kathy Dugan, another faculty fixture<br />

at Notre Dame, she and her fourth<br />

graders also handled remote learning<br />

last spring pretty well.<br />

“My students adjusted very quickly,”<br />

said Dugan, who has also taught prekindergarten<br />

and kindergarten classes<br />

during her 15 years in the lower school.<br />

“We had a great system in place that<br />

seemed to work very well for my students<br />

and for me. We were able to make great<br />

progress through our fourth-grade<br />

curriculum. Of course, I was working<br />

with an outstanding group of students<br />

who also make my job a delight.”<br />

Notre Dame senior Isabella Slifko said<br />

remote learning for her was difficult last<br />

spring in that she missed her classmates.<br />

“Peer interaction is something I am used<br />

to and need,” she said. “However, with<br />

that being said, NDP did a spectacular<br />

job with virtual learning. I could not<br />

have wished for anything more. The<br />

counselors, teachers and administrators<br />

were by my side every step of the way.”<br />

Now with the campus back to in-person<br />

learning for the <strong>2020</strong>-21 school year,<br />

continues on page 18<br />

Fall <strong>2020</strong> 17


With a blend of old and new technology, Notre Dame<br />

fourth-grade teacher Kathy Dugan conducts a virtual<br />

math lesson with her students last spring<br />

Slifko is glad to be with her classmates<br />

and friends once again in spite of all the<br />

rules and restrictions in place.<br />

Overall, these first few weeks of school<br />

have been great,” she said. “I am so glad<br />

to be back with my teachers and friends.<br />

I also believe the changes to our inschool<br />

routines are necessary and that<br />

NDP is doing their very best to keep us<br />

all safe.”<br />

Tender Ears<br />

Math teacher (and assistant varsity<br />

football coach) Staniszewski also is glad<br />

to be back to a reasonably normal school<br />

routine that still holds some challenges.<br />

“Now we’re well into the <strong>2020</strong>-21 school<br />

year, which is almost as different as<br />

the way last year ended,” he said. “Of<br />

course, I’m worried and anxious and<br />

scared about many things. I am worried<br />

about my health, the health of my family<br />

and the health of my students. And if<br />

you think that grocery shopping while<br />

wearing a mask is tough, try being a<br />

student and wearing one for 6 ½ hours<br />

a day in class, or even worse, try being a<br />

teacher and lecturing through your mask<br />

for 6 ½ hours a day!”<br />

He’s also trying to get used to all his new<br />

responsibilities given still uncertain times.<br />

“Things like cleaning desks between<br />

classes, taking temperatures, asking<br />

health-screening questions at football<br />

practice and acting as a pseudo-counselor<br />

when students just need a friendly ear to<br />

listen to them,” he said. “But with all that<br />

is weighing heavily on me currently, the<br />

most important lesson I can learn comes<br />

to me from my favorite prayer:<br />

“‘God, grant me the serenity to<br />

accept the things I cannot change,<br />

the courage to change the things<br />

I can, and the wisdom to know the<br />

difference.’”<br />

Staniszewski notes that even though last<br />

year did not end the way he expected,<br />

and this year did not start the way he’s<br />

used to, he’s trying to take it all in stride.<br />

“Yes, I’m more anxious than normal, my<br />

ears are a little tender (6 ½ hours in a<br />

mask is really rough on your ears) and I’m<br />

falling asleep at home on my couch earlier<br />

than usual. But I believe this is going<br />

to be a great year because I am putting<br />

everything into my job, whether I’m at<br />

school in a mask or home conducting<br />

class from my dining room table.<br />

“However, the most important thing for<br />

me is that my students know they are<br />

loved and cared for. And as long as they<br />

know this, I will consider myself a very<br />

successful teacher - even if they don’t<br />

know the quadratic formula.”<br />

Marist School,<br />

Atlanta, Georgia<br />

(The following are reflections written by<br />

students and faculty.)<br />

Anything but a Normal Senior Year<br />

For Alexandra Adair, looking back on the<br />

initial thought that there would be two<br />

extra weeks of spring break, it’s amazing<br />

to see how much has changed. When<br />

Marist went fully virtual, the whole<br />

dynamic of school switched, and many<br />

of those changes have stayed in place<br />

for this new school year. We technically<br />

still have the same curriculum, but the<br />

style of learning and assessments have<br />

changed drastically. Classes are split,<br />

where one half is in-person and the other<br />

is online, but sometimes we’re expected<br />

to become unison, which can be very<br />

challenging with the screen barrier and<br />

lagging computer speed. In other classes,<br />

there are lectures that are fully virtual,<br />

and half of the time the teacher has either<br />

muted themselves or the class. Lots of<br />

confusion is created due to the absence<br />

of direct dialogue about directions or<br />

due dates on assignments. Almost all<br />

tests have gone open note, which is a<br />

nice accommodation that teachers have<br />

made because they know that, if not,<br />

the students at home would have an<br />

advantage over those in the classroom.<br />

Although Marist has had to change many<br />

aspects of the normal school day to allow<br />

us to come to school, there are a few<br />

things that have stayed the same.<br />

Marist still allows after school sports,<br />

and they put their best effort into making<br />

it feel like a normal day with homeroom,<br />

lunch, and class changes. I find the block<br />

schedule less stressful because even<br />

though the classes are longer, you only<br />

have 4 a day, so you usually have less<br />

homework or tests for the next day. My<br />

senior year has changed a lot, but my<br />

friends and I have made the most of it. I<br />

try to look on the bright side by always<br />

reminding myself that even though it<br />

isn’t a normal senior year, at least I’m at<br />

school for it.<br />

Ups and Downs of Education<br />

During a Pandemic<br />

So far, this the start of the <strong>2020</strong>-21<br />

school year has been weird according to<br />

Babalola Awe. The splitting of the A and<br />

B groups makes it so that I kind of just<br />

forget half of my grade exists. Constantly<br />

wearing a mask just feels foreign; I didn’t<br />

realize how much I touched my face<br />

until the pandemic came. People seem<br />

so tense, rigid and uptight. I can’t really<br />

blame them though - this is an extremely<br />

sketchy time. It’s a little harder to have<br />

conversations with people in-person<br />

since you can’t see the lower half of their<br />

face. It’s a little bit harder to read body<br />

language, but overall, it’s not too bad.<br />

In terms of academics, I definitely<br />

do not like having to learn virtually.<br />

Although I get to wake up later, at the<br />

end of the day I just kind of feel like I’ve<br />

been sitting in meetings for the past 5-6<br />

hours. At the end of a virtual school day<br />

it basically feels like I’ve done nothing.<br />

It’s also extremely hard to focus virtually<br />

since there are so many distractions.<br />

Do I really want to learn about some<br />

ambiguous, arcane math concept when<br />

I could just as easily play a game, text my<br />

friends or watch YouTube videos without<br />

anyone knowing that I’m not paying<br />

attention? I think not.<br />

In addition to these downsides of<br />

the pandemic, there have also been<br />

upsides. For example, I think it has made<br />

people appreciate their daily, normal,<br />

‘boring’ lives per se, and made them<br />

18 Today’s <strong>Marists</strong> Magazine


appreciate the small things in life, like<br />

handshakes, hugs, conversations with<br />

their friends, etc. Although it may sound<br />

a bit pretentious or seem like a cliché, I<br />

know that at least for me this pandemic<br />

has made me appreciate other people<br />

more. I’m naturally a bit reticent and<br />

reserved, and before this pandemic I<br />

oftentimes would kind of be a weensy bit<br />

of a loner. I’m not saying one must always<br />

be talking with other people, as it is ok to<br />

sometimes be alone. I am fine with this<br />

aspect of my personality. However, as<br />

the quarantine grew longer and longer,<br />

I really noticed how lonely I felt. My<br />

friends and other people around me also<br />

felt this same loneliness. One does not<br />

appreciate the opportunities presented<br />

to them until they are no longer there;<br />

I think that this has been the case for<br />

me, socially. Now, I’m more willing to<br />

talk with people and connect with them<br />

since I know how it feels to not have the<br />

opportunity to do so.<br />

Coping with New Circumstances<br />

According to Grace Lorys, you hear about<br />

pandemics in your history classes, but<br />

actually finding yourself in the middle<br />

of one is a little surreal. There are a few<br />

things that can prepare a person for<br />

complete isolation from everyone but<br />

their family for months on end. Then<br />

there’s the matter of going to school in<br />

the midst of a rising number of virus<br />

cases; imagining eating lunch 6 feet away<br />

from friends, breaking through thick<br />

layers of cotton and filters, and knowing<br />

that none of it will end anytime soon<br />

because classmates are going out on the<br />

weekends and partying-most definitely<br />

without masks and social distancing. In<br />

elementary school, it was the kid in the<br />

back of the classroom who would not<br />

be quiet, preventing you from going to<br />

recess. Now, it’s the 18-year-old going out<br />

with his or her friends, preventing you<br />

from living a normal life.<br />

It’s nice to see people, don’t get me<br />

wrong, but it’s different. I feel isolated<br />

from my classmates - being yelled at<br />

when I come within 4 feet of my friends is<br />

difficult during senior year. Senior year.<br />

I waited 6 years of my educational career<br />

to get to this mark of adulthood, and it is<br />

nothing like the stories say, thanks to the<br />

kid going out without a mask. Of course,<br />

this brings joys and challenges, namely<br />

the spectacular level of innovation that<br />

our teachers have shown. Sure, it’s easy<br />

to just talk to their students and make<br />

class as ordinary as possible (we sit,<br />

they lecture), but if anything joyous has<br />

come out of this pandemic, it is how well<br />

I have learned to be resourceful from<br />

the example set by my teachers. Half of<br />

the time at school and half of the time at<br />

home caused a learning barrier that the<br />

teachers overcame with versatile lesson<br />

plans and their comfort (though it might<br />

be fake, it’s completely believable) with<br />

the new environment. Everything is new<br />

to us. It’s a learning process for all of us.<br />

Coping with the new circumstances is<br />

a feat beyond normal expectations. I<br />

have taken up teaching myself piano as<br />

a past time, channeling my occasional<br />

frustration and exhaustion into a<br />

performance that I can hear and share<br />

with other people. That’s only my<br />

approach, but people have done other<br />

things…TikTok, knitting and coloring,<br />

just to name a few. This whole “learning<br />

in a pandemic” thing has taught me the<br />

resourcefulness of humankind. I have<br />

seen an increase in empathy, intelligence<br />

and love for our neighbors despite<br />

the isolation. That’s why I still have<br />

patience for the kid who goes out on the<br />

weekends, because I would do the same<br />

if that was my way of coping. Everything<br />

is new. Everyone is learning.<br />

Hope is Not Lost for Amelia Humphrey<br />

Click, clack the sound of my sweaty<br />

fingertips smashes into my keyboard<br />

trying to resolve the technical error that<br />

has just appeared on my screen in the<br />

middle of my test. My teacher is yelling<br />

at me, but slowly becomes frozen due<br />

to my lack of internet, and there I am<br />

again, stuck while the screen reloads.<br />

I eventually cave and move my sweaty<br />

hands to form an apology email hoping<br />

the teacher will understand that yes, my<br />

Wi-Fi really is not working.<br />

When I think of Marist, I am flooded<br />

with memories of football games and<br />

group exercises on the front field. This all<br />

becomes a blur in this new school year<br />

as I trudge through the halls wearing<br />

my mask and staying six feet apart<br />

from everyone, barely being able to<br />

communicate a word. Yet, I am reminded<br />

of our success as a school to remain open<br />

and optimistic, and my emotions begin<br />

to fade.<br />

When I enter my classes, I am welcomed<br />

by comforting teachers who risk their<br />

own health to provide for others.<br />

Teachers who not only accommodate<br />

to all but continue to be a light to those<br />

suffering from loneliness during this<br />

unprecedented time. What used to be an<br />

open-air arena of laughter in the arcade<br />

area of St. Peter Chanel Hall is now a<br />

spread of chairs spaced with moderators<br />

in between. But hope is not lost.<br />

Our Marist community continues to<br />

prevail. Through celebrations of cross<br />

country meets and streams of online<br />

games - we continue to support each<br />

other unconditionally, even when our<br />

future is unknown. Although we may<br />

now all need blue light glasses, we<br />

“The pandemic may limit our ability to come to campus,<br />

but we will not let it dampen our spirits.”<br />

continue to participate and strive to do<br />

our best in and outside the classroom.<br />

The pandemic has brought less traffic, no<br />

more cafeteria lines, and above all a new<br />

fashion statement: masks. The pandemic<br />

may limit our ability to come to campus,<br />

but we will not let it dampen our spirits.<br />

Education Amid a Pandemic – An<br />

“Unprecedented Event”<br />

For Camille de St. Aubin …. I am sure<br />

everyone has heard that phrase more<br />

times than they could count on their<br />

fingers and toes. It is true that these<br />

times of face coverings and social<br />

distancing have never been experienced<br />

in our 17- or 18-year lifetime. The<br />

pandemic itself is associated with a lot<br />

of loss - loss that should be mourned<br />

and felt deeply. However, if not met with<br />

a small glimmer of optimism each day,<br />

that loss will swallow us whole.<br />

The bleachers that once were home to a<br />

cheering, joyful student section now sit<br />

in reflection. The silence is eerie, and it<br />

makes us uncomfortable. What used to<br />

be is no longer. We forget that everything<br />

follows that cycle of change; it is more<br />

the abruptness of this change that pains<br />

continues on page 20<br />

Fall <strong>2020</strong> 19


Hybrid learning in Gina Parnaby’s first period class<br />

us. Never did I or any other senior expect<br />

to be sitting in their basement instead<br />

of in the front row of the student section<br />

with a headache from yelling and color<br />

powder inside their ear drums. What<br />

pains us is the fact that we never got to<br />

say goodbye. That part feels unfinished.<br />

However, I cannot do myself or others<br />

reading this the disservice of forgetting<br />

what has filled those empty bleachers -<br />

the community within those four walls<br />

is still alive and well – only now those<br />

four walls look a little different. Rather<br />

than in the bleachers Marist students<br />

watch the games from their home. Two<br />

hours every Friday night the entire<br />

Marist community finds themselves<br />

encapsulated by the same event. We<br />

are together apart - Marist instilled<br />

that in us. While miles away from our<br />

classmates, together we complain over<br />

a bad call by the referee, together we get<br />

up and dance at each touchdown scored<br />

and we sing the alma mater because we<br />

are a family. We celebrate each other’s<br />

wins, and we lean on each other during<br />

the losses. By watching those games<br />

together, the Marist community, while<br />

it may not be physically together, never<br />

walked away from each other. We never<br />

let the fear of the unknown stop us<br />

from still being that family that every<br />

student, teacher, staff, coach, parent<br />

and alum is a member. Right now we<br />

may feel unfinished and our futures feel<br />

unknown, but we choose to walk into<br />

it together (6 feet apart of course). We<br />

choose to embrace each other closely<br />

and walk out to the other side.<br />

Teaching Methods Have Changed –<br />

The Message Has Not<br />

For English Department Chair Gina<br />

Parnaby, when Marist School announced<br />

on March 13, <strong>2020</strong> (Friday the 13th –<br />

how appropriate!) that we’d be learning<br />

from home beginning the following<br />

week, we believed it would be a shortterm<br />

solution. As spring continued and<br />

COVID-19 cases kept rising, it was clear<br />

that “short-term” was now “long haul.”<br />

The long haul has now extended into<br />

the current school year, and masks,<br />

hybrid schooling (half the students in<br />

the classroom and half at home) and<br />

social distancing have become our new<br />

normal.<br />

Although the medium has changed, the<br />

message has not. In 1873, the <strong>Marists</strong><br />

laid out the “threefold duty” of teachers<br />

to students: “to form them into strong<br />

and faithful disciples of Christ; to<br />

impart to them all solid virtues…; and<br />

finally, to teach them letters and the<br />

various sciences.” For the past 147 years,<br />

Marist education has held firm to these<br />

principles that continue to guide our<br />

work in the midst of crisis. Sr. Madeleva<br />

Wolff, C.S.C., shared with the women<br />

of Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame,<br />

Indiana in 1943 that “…we know that you<br />

can be secure only when you can stand<br />

everything that can happen to you. If<br />

your school has prepared you for this,<br />

it has been a good school.” That sort of<br />

preparation comes grounded in faith and<br />

guarded by virtue.<br />

Our daily classroom routine has now<br />

added squirts of hand sanitizer to prayer,<br />

but the conversations remain the same<br />

as they have for generations of Marist<br />

students: What does it mean to be and do<br />

good? What is God calling me to do? How<br />

can I use my gifts to serve others? In the<br />

model of thinking, feeling and acting as<br />

Mary, students and faculty are focused<br />

on caring for one another and building<br />

up our caritas, that loving care for other<br />

people, in particular ways. Teachers<br />

are using a variety of technology tools<br />

not only to teach content but to build<br />

connection. Extracurricular activities<br />

like drama, marching band, robotics,<br />

debate and athletics are continuing,<br />

adopting innovative adaptations to<br />

accommodate the current situation.<br />

With the start of the new school year,<br />

for me, it’s a comfort to hear students<br />

laughing and chatting with one another<br />

again, and to walk past the plaques and<br />

memorials to Marist’s past. We’ve guided<br />

students through wars, pandemics and<br />

depressions, and will continue to do so<br />

under the protection and guidance of<br />

Mary, our mother. Her spirit is palpable<br />

in these halls.<br />

20 Today’s <strong>Marists</strong> Magazine


Remembering the <strong>Marists</strong> and<br />

the 1873 Yellow Fever Epidemic<br />

by Susan J. Illis, Archivist, Archives of the Society of Mary, US Province<br />

In 1863 the <strong>Marists</strong> arrived in Louisiana<br />

to begin their mission service in the new<br />

land. While the languages, religion and<br />

culture were similar to what they had left<br />

in England and France, the missionaries<br />

encountered unfamiliar diseases, just<br />

as they did in Oceania. Primary among<br />

these was yellow fever, a mosquito-borne<br />

disease that caused deadly outbreaks<br />

in frequent intervals, preying mostly on<br />

newcomers.<br />

In 1873 vulnerable <strong>Marists</strong> experienced<br />

the “strangers’ disease,” as yellow fever<br />

was also known, and five <strong>Marists</strong> at<br />

Jefferson College in Convent, Louisiana<br />

died over a six-week period. Rev. Henri<br />

Gaud, SM, born in France in 1832, had<br />

been named president of Jefferson<br />

College in 1870 and was establishing<br />

his reputation as one of the most<br />

distinguished priests in the archdiocese.<br />

Although caring for sick colleagues was<br />

not one of his presidential responsibilities,<br />

it was a duty that he nonetheless selflessly<br />

undertook. Rev. Matthew McGrath, SM,<br />

prefect and professor, was the first to fall<br />

ill, followed by Brother Joseph Michard,<br />

SM, who died on September 15, 1873.<br />

McGrath died a few weeks later. After<br />

nursing his confreres for over a month,<br />

Gaud finally succumbed to the disease on<br />

October 8, 1873. Rev. Peter Freyssinet, SM,<br />

one of the original <strong>Marists</strong> at Jefferson<br />

College, also died a few weeks after Gaud.<br />

With a third of the faculty decimated<br />

by illness, the college reopened in early<br />

November with Rev. Jean-Baptiste Bigot,<br />

SM, as president.<br />

A few days after Gaud’s death, Papal<br />

bulls arrived from Rome, appointing him<br />

auxiliary archbishop of New Orleans.<br />

Had he not been a victim of the saffron<br />

scourge - a more fanciful appellation for<br />

yellow fever - Gaud would have been the<br />

first Marist bishop in the United States.<br />

Interestingly, in 1906 James Blenk, SM,<br />

became archbishop of New Orleans when<br />

his predecessor died during a second<br />

yellow fever epidemic in the area.<br />

Although all the Marist losses were keenly<br />

felt, Rev. Gaud was especially mourned:<br />

For forty days the good Father had been<br />

on his feet continually, he had valiantly<br />

fought against the epidemic. His<br />

attainments, his theological knowledge,<br />

his generous character, and his deep<br />

piety had made Father Gaud a man of<br />

eminence. At the time of his passing,<br />

the Bulls were on the way from Rome,<br />

preconizing him as the Coadjutor to the<br />

Archbishop of New Orleans. His passing<br />

was a matter of public mourning.<br />

In 1878, a second more severe outbreak<br />

of yellow fever ravaged the Mississippi<br />

Valley, claiming 20,000 lives. The<br />

<strong>Marists</strong> were spared fatalities early in<br />

the outbreak, with one contemporary<br />

commenting, “Heaven was satisfied with<br />

the tribute it had paid in 1873, when five<br />

of its members fell victims to the same<br />

fearful scourge.”<br />

Rev. John Muncaster, SM, had just<br />

completed one academic year of his first<br />

assignment at Jefferson College, where<br />

he was adored by faculty and students<br />

alike. Only 27 years old, he believed his<br />

youth and vitality would protect him<br />

from the disease. Fr. Muncaster spent the<br />

summer filling in not only at St. Michael’s,<br />

the Marist parish in Convent, Louisiana,<br />

but also assisted at other churches left<br />

unstaffed due to the outbreak and also<br />

attended to the spiritual needs of those<br />

stricken with the disease. Despite dire<br />

warnings from those familiar with yellow<br />

fever, Muncaster continued at a frenetic<br />

pace all summer.<br />

Fr. Muncaster was called back to Jefferson<br />

College from his ministrations in Bayou<br />

Lafourche, an area in southeastern<br />

Louisiana that had been hard hit by<br />

yellow fever. Unfortunately, he had<br />

already contracted yellow fever and died<br />

in Donaldsonville, Louisiana on October<br />

30, 1878 where he was initially buried.<br />

Rev. John Grimes, SM, recounted that in<br />

December 1878, when the <strong>Marists</strong> went<br />

to retrieve Fr. Muncaster’s remains for<br />

interment in Convent, Louisiana, they<br />

discovered that despite the unusually<br />

harsh winter weather, a small white lily<br />

was growing out of his grave. Although<br />

all the surrounding trees and plants were<br />

dead, the white flower — symbolizing<br />

purity and resurrection — survived on<br />

the young Marist’s grave.<br />

To learn more about the <strong>Marists</strong> history<br />

during multiple disease outbreaks, we<br />

invite you to view the online exhibit<br />

“United in One Mind and One Heart:<br />

The Society of Mary and Epidemics” at:<br />

https://bit.ly/3nV09F8<br />

Aerial view of Jefferson College, Convent, Louisiana, early 1900s<br />

Fall <strong>2020</strong> 21


THE PANDEMIC<br />

Making Us Rethink Charity<br />

and Mutuality<br />

by Nik Rodewald, SM<br />

In the Marist tradition, the yearning for the fullness of the<br />

coming of God’s Kingdom takes on the image of the Marian<br />

Church, a Church of mercy and compassion, simplicity and<br />

humility. By thinking, judging, feeling, and acting as Mary<br />

in the world, <strong>Marists</strong> work for the renewal of the Church. By<br />

being “hidden and unknown in the world,” <strong>Marists</strong> cultivate<br />

a listening heart that allows us to “hear the longings of the<br />

people of God and discern the signs of hope present in today’s<br />

world.” In the midst of a global pandemic that has claimed more<br />

than 200,000 lives in the United States alone, the creation and<br />

development of effective mutual aid efforts across the country<br />

has been a sign of hope and an invitation to us to reconsider our<br />

understanding of mission in the world.<br />

What is Mutual Aid?<br />

Activist and organizer Dean Spade defines mutual aid<br />

as, “a form of political participation in which people take<br />

responsibility for caring for one another and changing political<br />

conditions … by building new social relations that are more<br />

survivable.” (Spade, D. “Solidarity Not Charity,” Social Text 38,<br />

no. 1 (March <strong>2020</strong>): p. 136.) At the heart of mutual aid is the<br />

belief that a new world - complete with new, more sustainable<br />

social relations - is possible. Individual networks impact<br />

communities and allow them to be transformed; this communal<br />

transformation then becomes a sign of what a new social order<br />

might enable.<br />

Mutual aid philosophy is built upon the belief that charity, as<br />

it is understood in the contemporary world, creates a cycle<br />

of dependency that disproportionately affects minority and<br />

historically disempowered groups. Wherever charity (or<br />

government assistance) solicits assistance from empowered<br />

individuals and gives this assistance to marginalized<br />

groups, it does nothing to dismantle the system that enabled<br />

marginalization in the first place and classifies the poor as<br />

perpetual recipients of ‘handouts.’ Moreover, the assistance<br />

provided usually only reaches those who are least marginalized<br />

within the group of people who were supposed to benefit from<br />

the assistance. A common example of this is tuition assistance<br />

that is contingent upon an individual’s grades or academic<br />

progress: while this may indeed provide assistance to some<br />

students from low-income backgrounds, it will reach only those<br />

who have the highest intellectual capacity, leaving all others<br />

behind.<br />

Unlike charity, mutual aid employs ‘bottom-up’ strategies for<br />

enacting lasting change. By re-thinking the social hierarchy<br />

and eliminating any qualifications for receiving aid, mutual<br />

aid relies upon building solidarity between different members<br />

of the community. This encourages each member to give<br />

what they have and take what they need, thereby reducing the<br />

community’s reliance on systems of power, government or<br />

charity.<br />

The bonds of solidarity created between diverse people not<br />

only transforms communities, but also leads to individual<br />

flourishing. People learn new skills, collaborate across divides,<br />

and act out of a holy boldness. In the words of St. Paul, as the<br />

community flourishes and becomes a sign of the hope that lies<br />

in store for us, we are “no longer strangers and aliens, but …<br />

members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19).<br />

Mutual Aid and COVID-19<br />

During the COVID-19 pandemic, existing mutual aid<br />

organizations have grown exponentially, and many new<br />

organizations have formed. With many people stuck inside<br />

their homes, social media has become a critical tool in the<br />

organization of thousands of communities. I personally have<br />

witnessed mutual aid principles through my own involvement<br />

in Grassroots CUA and Ward 5 Mutual Aid Group, both in<br />

Washington, DC. Grassroots CUA is a group that formed at The<br />

Catholic University of America to support DC- area mutual<br />

efforts during COVID-19. Ward 5 Mutual Aid Group is an<br />

informal group of people who have come together as neighbors<br />

connecting people in need with people who want to help during<br />

the COVID-19 pandemic.<br />

Each of these mutual aid groups began with a simple mission:<br />

provide personal protective equipment (PPE) to those who need<br />

it. Non-contact community drives were formed, and those in the<br />

Brookland neighborhood of Washington, DC (Ward 5) provided<br />

more than 1,000 individual items to unhoused members of<br />

the Brookland community as well as those who work in area<br />

homeless shelters. This network quickly expanded, and Ward 5<br />

Mutual Aid Group set up a hotline where individuals could call<br />

continues on page 25<br />

22 Today’s <strong>Marists</strong> Magazine


Teaching Adult Faith<br />

Formation Online<br />

by Mark Dannenfelser, Director of Adult Faith Formation, Our Lady of Assumption, Atlanta, Georgia<br />

Introduction<br />

Recently, I was teaching an adult faith formation class online<br />

for Our Lady of Assumption Church (OLA) in Atlanta, Georgia<br />

when I received the error message: “Your connection is<br />

unstable.” What does that mean? Is my internet connection<br />

unstable or am I unstable? In a few moments the connection<br />

became stable again, and class went on with no other glitches.<br />

Later that evening I began to consider the importance of<br />

connections: mine and my computer’s.<br />

What is it about connection that is so important to us and how<br />

have our connections, both technical and relational, changed<br />

during these past several months? This issue of connection<br />

is an important one for any teacher to ask and it is especially<br />

important for those of us involved in facilitating faith formation<br />

for adults. Good catechesis asks us to pass on the faith, a faith<br />

that is rooted in relationship, so connection is important.<br />

For many Catholics, limited access to the church building and<br />

the sacraments has felt like a major source of disconnection.<br />

However, in the absence of traditional gatherings,<br />

opportunities for a deep sense of community have also<br />

emerged. Kelly, a parishioner at OLA, reported her experience<br />

of community following an online contemplative prayer<br />

meeting, “Going through so many new life changes during a<br />

world pandemic has been very difficult to say the least. Being<br />

surrounded by a church community through virtual meetings<br />

has truly helped me heal, learn new ideas and increase my<br />

spirituality.”<br />

This article focuses on teaching faith formation to adults using<br />

virtual technology. The discussion is framed through the lens<br />

of relationship, connection and community. Using an online<br />

platform like Zoom or WebEx requires some technical training,<br />

but this is easily accomplished by spending a bit of time<br />

experimenting with how the online platform works. In addition<br />

to the technical requirements needed to get connected, we<br />

must also consider faith formation in light of the relational<br />

issue of connection.<br />

At OLA we have been exploring the challenges of teaching and<br />

offering pastoral care in the midst of the pandemic. Like many<br />

parishes we have adapted our liturgies and faith formation<br />

offerings, mostly by moving these online. This adaptation has<br />

raised questions: How do we still assemble as a community<br />

during a time when we cannot be together physically? What<br />

is our relationship to the church building and to the spiritual<br />

community? How do we still participate in the sacramental<br />

life when we are not able to physically receive the sacraments?<br />

What does it mean to be church today?<br />

I will begin by reflecting on some broad concepts related to<br />

facilitating faith formation with adults in an online format, and<br />

then I’ll briefly discuss some practical considerations.<br />

Broad Concepts<br />

Challenges to create and maintain community during a<br />

pandemic have been many, yet so too have the opportunities<br />

for connection. While much has been lost, much has been<br />

gained during these unordinary times. OLA, like other<br />

parishes, has seen an increased attendance at many of its<br />

adult faith formation offerings. Several small Christian<br />

communities have moved their regular gatherings online and<br />

have reported a renewed interest by many of their members.<br />

At OLA, our meeting rooms have had a virtual expansion as<br />

well, and we find that people who have been away from church<br />

due to illness, family commitments or relocations, can now<br />

participate online. Meetings have become more integrated as<br />

people from other churches, or no church at all, have access to<br />

the online learning environment. This experience has led to<br />

our understanding of community as expansive, inclusive and<br />

needing to get beyond the physical parish boundary.<br />

More options have emerged regarding professional guest<br />

speakers whose schedules might not otherwise permit them to<br />

travel. Without needing to provide a physical space (meeting<br />

space is always an issue at our vibrant and active parish),<br />

we find that more groups can meet at the same time which<br />

increases our variety of offerings. This has also allowed for<br />

timely and streamlined responses to current issues. A good<br />

example of this was the prayer service about racial justice<br />

which we were able to create in the immediate aftermath of<br />

one of the deaths of a black man at the hands of police. To be<br />

able to offer such timely prayers and then to be able to follow<br />

the service with an educational offering to discuss race and the<br />

criminal justice system was both effective and meaningful.<br />

continues on page 25<br />

Fall <strong>2020</strong> 23


OBITUARIES<br />

Father Roland Henry Lacasse, SM<br />

1931-<strong>2020</strong><br />

Father Roland Henry<br />

Lacasse, SM, entered<br />

eternal life on May<br />

11, <strong>2020</strong> at the age<br />

of 88. He was born<br />

on October 24,<br />

1931 in Lawrence,<br />

Massachusetts to<br />

Wilfred and Eva<br />

(Ouellette) Lacasse. After graduating from<br />

the Marist minor seminary in Bedford,<br />

Massachusetts, he went on to complete his<br />

studies for the priesthood at Marist College<br />

and Seminary in Framingham, Massachusetts<br />

and The Catholic University of America in<br />

Washington, DC. He made his profession in<br />

the Society of Mary on September 8, 1953<br />

at Our Lady of the Elms Novitiate on Staten<br />

Island, New York. Fr. Lacasse was ordained<br />

a Marist priest at the National Shrine of the<br />

Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC<br />

on February 6, 1960.<br />

Fr. Lacasse, having prepared for ministries<br />

in secondary education, hospital chaplaincy<br />

and as a parish priest, was first assigned to<br />

Marist schools in Michigan, New York and<br />

Maine. He also served as chaplain at the<br />

Massachusetts General Hospital. Fr. Lacasse<br />

went on to minister as a curate and many<br />

times as pastor in seven different parishes<br />

in Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont. In his<br />

last assignment he served as a member of<br />

the Marist community at the Lourdes Center<br />

in Boston, helping to organize pilgrimages<br />

to Lourdes, answering letters from the<br />

sick, and writing a bimonthly column,<br />

“Marist Guidance” in the Echoes From<br />

Lourdes publication. Fr. Lacasse eventually<br />

retired to the Nevins Manor in Methuen,<br />

Massachusetts.<br />

Fr. Lacasse loved being a priest and<br />

his profound faith was nurtured by the<br />

deep Catholic faith of his parents and<br />

the examples set by the Good Shepherd<br />

Sisters and the Marist Brothers priests who<br />

educated him. When asked on his application<br />

to the Seminary why he wanted to become<br />

a priest he wrote, “To help people to be<br />

happy and holy” - a goal that he achieved “in<br />

spades” as his many surviving relatives, loyal<br />

friends and former parishioners will attest.<br />

He was a great homilist and would<br />

sometimes sing part of a song to illustrate<br />

the meaning of a Scripture passage. Fr.<br />

Lacasse also developed his writing talent<br />

as a curate at St. Anne’s in Lawrence and<br />

through a weekly column, “Insight,” he wrote<br />

for the Lawrence Eagle Tribune in which he<br />

reflected on the deeper meaning hidden in<br />

the everyday events.<br />

Fr. Roland is survived by his elder brother,<br />

Rev. M. Eugene Lacasse, OCSO, his younger<br />

sister Doris (Paul), Bitler, and numerous<br />

nieces, nephews, grandnephews and<br />

grandnieces. When COVID-19 restrictions are<br />

lifted, a Mass and mercy meal will be held.<br />

Memorial donations may be made to Marist<br />

Ministries at the Lourdes Center. Please write<br />

“Lourdes Center” on the inner flap of the<br />

enclosed donation envelope or donate online<br />

at: societyofmaryusa.org.<br />

Father James R. LaCrosse, SM<br />

1939-<strong>2020</strong><br />

Father James R.<br />

LaCrosse, S.M.,<br />

entered eternal life<br />

on July 7, <strong>2020</strong>. He<br />

was born on May<br />

19, 1939 to James<br />

F. and Ella (Davis)<br />

LaCrosse in Toledo,<br />

Ohio. He completed<br />

his elementary education at St. Vincent<br />

DePaul, Toledo, Ohio. Deciding to pursue a<br />

vocation to the holy priesthood, he entered<br />

St. Mary’s Manor Minor Seminary in Penndel,<br />

Pennsylvania, in 1954 with the plans to be<br />

a missionary priest of the Society of Mary<br />

(<strong>Marists</strong>) and serve in the South Pacific. Fr.<br />

LaCrosse made his profession in the Society<br />

of Mary on September 8, 1961 and then<br />

attended Marist College in Washington,<br />

DC where he completed his studies in<br />

philosophy and theology. On February 2,<br />

1967 Fr. LaCrosse was ordained a Marist<br />

priest by Bishop Thomas J. Wade, SM, in the<br />

chapel of Trinity College, Washington, D.C.<br />

In his initial assignments, Fr. LaCrosse, served<br />

as a parish priest and as Marist vocation<br />

director. However, he found he most loved<br />

ministering to young people as teacher,<br />

counselor, mentor and coach. His teaching<br />

assignments included St. Peter Chanel High<br />

School, Bedford, Ohio, Immaculata Seminary,<br />

Lafayette, Louisiana and St. Mary’s Manor,<br />

Penndel, Pennsylvania. In 1993 Fr. LaCrosse<br />

became the pastor of St. Vincent de Paul<br />

Parish, Wheeling, West Virginia, where he<br />

served for 15 years. Fr. LaCrosse then served<br />

eight years at Mater Dolorosa Parish, Paden<br />

City, West Virginia. While in Wheeling, in<br />

addition to his pastoral duties, Fr. LaCrosse<br />

served as chaplain, mentor and sports<br />

coach to several of the teams at Wheeling<br />

Central Catholic High School and became a<br />

beloved member of the school community.<br />

Fr. LaCrosse retired to the Continuous Care<br />

Center of Wheeling Hospital. Although Fr.<br />

LaCrosse never made it to be a foreign<br />

missionary, his youthful dream, his<br />

enthusiasm for sharing his Catholic faith and<br />

his love of people certainly made his life truly<br />

missionary.<br />

Fr. LaCrosse is survived by his two sisters,<br />

Mrs. Alice “Sue” Minsel and Mrs. Lois Smith,<br />

and one brother, Thomas LaCrosse. When<br />

COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, a memorial<br />

Mass and reception will be held. Memorial<br />

donations may be made to the Society of<br />

Mary (<strong>Marists</strong>) using the enclosed donation<br />

envelope or online at: societyofmaryusa.org.<br />

Father Dennis Joseph Steik, SM<br />

1942-<strong>2020</strong><br />

Father Dennis Joseph<br />

Steik, SM entered<br />

eternal life on August<br />

20, <strong>2020</strong>. He was<br />

born on July 2, 1942<br />

to Joseph and Thelma<br />

Steik in Whittier,<br />

California. He attended<br />

elementary school<br />

at St. Bernard’s in Bellflower, California and<br />

high school and college at St. Peter Chanel<br />

Seminary in San Rafael, California. Fr. Steik<br />

made his profession in the Society of Mary<br />

on September 12, 1963 at the Novitiate in<br />

Rhinebeck, New York. He then continued<br />

his education at University of San Diego,<br />

St. Paul’s College, Marist College and The<br />

Catholic University of America. On May 31,<br />

1969 Fr. Steik was ordained a Marist priest by<br />

Bishop Thomas J. Wade, SM at St. Rafael’s<br />

Church.<br />

Fr. Steik first served as associate pastor<br />

at Mary, Star of the Sea Church, Honolulu,<br />

Hawaii and as Director of Religious<br />

Education, religion teacher and counselor at<br />

Star of the Sea High School. From 1970-72<br />

continues on page 25<br />

24 Today’s <strong>Marists</strong> Magazine


THE PANDEMIC, continued from page 22 TEACHING ADULT FAITH, continued from page 23<br />

and ask if anyone in the community could meet their needs.<br />

Members would see Facebook and Slack messages asking for<br />

diverse needs: food, clothing, diapers, PPE, housing, legal<br />

counsel, and medical care. We met the needs as best as we could<br />

and asked other members of the community who we knew if<br />

they could provide some of the needed goods and services. A<br />

local businessman donated an empty building as a supply hub<br />

where many of the more common items could be stored in bulk.<br />

Spanish-speaking members of the community began helping<br />

translation needs. People met neighbors they had not previously<br />

known and the community grew stronger. In fact, DC’s mutual<br />

aid networks grew so strong that Mayor Muriel Bowser’s<br />

administration began directing calls from its COVID hotline to<br />

mutual aid networks.<br />

Those of us in Ward 5 Mutual Aid Group noticed that a<br />

disproportionate number of calls were coming from a particular<br />

homeless shelter in this part of the city where residents were<br />

complaining of rodents and spoiled food, as well as harassment<br />

and assault from security guards. True to mutual aid principles,<br />

we worked with formerly homeless activists and residents<br />

themselves to organize protests and amplify the voices of those<br />

who are unheard in our political process.<br />

Mutual Aid and Christian Subsidiarity<br />

Mutual aid is subsidiarity. Christian subsidiarity, “aims at<br />

harmonizing the relationships between individuals and<br />

societies” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1885). Mutual aid,<br />

by emphasizing human connections, keeps the dignity of the<br />

human person at its center. By breaking down barriers of race,<br />

class, religion, age and ability, it enables all participants to<br />

grow in solidarity with each other. By challenging systems of<br />

power and hierarchy, it amplifies the voices of those who find<br />

themselves on the margins of society. Finally, by challenging<br />

our prevailing notions of government assistance and charity,<br />

it challenges us to serve in a “hidden and unknown” way,<br />

ministering not from a position of social power, but from a<br />

position of membership within our local community.<br />

Want to get involved? Find a mutual aid network at:<br />

https://bit.ly/2Itv1MD<br />

OBITUARIES, continued from page 24<br />

Fr. Steik was Vocation Director at St. Peter Chanel Seminary in San<br />

Rafael, California and from 1976-77 was Vocation Director at Marist<br />

College Seminary in Washington, DC. Fr. Steik then served in campus<br />

ministries as Director of the Newman Center in Glendora, California<br />

and as Director and Superior of Campus Ministry in Azusa, California.<br />

In 1983 he was appointed Rector at St. Peter Chanel Seminary and at<br />

the same time served as Campus Minister for Holy Names College.<br />

Fr. Steik continued in Campus Ministry, returning to Azusa from 1986<br />

through 1988 where he was Director and Superior. From 1989-1995<br />

Fr. Steik returned to Mary, Star of the Sea Church in Honolulu serving<br />

as pastor and superior. This was followed by his assignment to Our<br />

Lady Star of the Sea Church in Santa Cruz, Ca., where he served as<br />

Campus Minister. Fr. Steik was elected first provincial of the newly<br />

restructured Atlanta Province of the United States from 2000-2006.<br />

After a sabbatical he was then assigned to Notre Dame des Victoires<br />

in San Francisco, California where he served from 2008 until he<br />

retired in 2017 to Marist Center of the West in San Francisco.<br />

Practical Considerations<br />

Some practical considerations born of my experience teaching<br />

adults online include taking the time to familiarize yourself<br />

with the online platform and its many functions, including<br />

breakout rooms, muting, chatting, screen-sharing, whiteboard<br />

and other functions. Making sure you have checked all your<br />

equipment before every session can help put you and the<br />

participants at ease.<br />

Two features that are important to manage are the camera<br />

function and the chat box. I ask everyone to keep their cameras<br />

on unless something very unusual is happening. I explain<br />

that keeping cameras on can help give us a sense that we are<br />

together in this virtual room. If people need to step away for<br />

some reason, we invite them to keep the camera on so that<br />

we know they are still there. The other function that I think is<br />

important to manage is the chat function. I ask people not to<br />

have side conversations in the chat box. Again, this helps to<br />

simulate the in-person experience of not having a bunch of side<br />

conversations during a meeting. At times, we dedicate specific<br />

moments to have the whole group use the chat function by<br />

answering questions or offering quick responses.<br />

We have also found the breakout rooms to be very helpful in<br />

mixing things up as well as offering another way for people to<br />

engage. Sue shared her experience of the online environment<br />

following the viewing and discussion about a racial justice<br />

film, “It has been a learning experience, but I have enjoyed<br />

seeing new people and hearing from others. Having both small<br />

group and large group portions of the call is really helpful.”<br />

It is important to consider creative ways to incorporate<br />

opportunities for groups to interact informally with each other.<br />

One of our prayer groups has created the habit of closing the<br />

prayer time and then inviting anyone interested to continue to<br />

stay on for social time.<br />

Conclusion<br />

Pope Francis encourages us to persevere in bringing Christ to<br />

the world and doing so with creativity and enthusiasm. “Instead<br />

of being just a church that welcomes and receives by keeping<br />

the doors open, let us try also to be a church that finds new<br />

roads, that is able to step outside itself and go to those who do<br />

not attend Mass, to those who have quit or are indifferent.” (“A<br />

Big Heart Open to God” cited in “The Quotable Pope Francis:<br />

He Has a Way with Words.” National Catholic Reporter, Sept. 17,<br />

2015.)<br />

While most of us are eager to see one another again in person,<br />

it seems that virtual faith formation has great value and we<br />

at OLA envision gathering online as continuing to hold an<br />

important place in our formation, prayer life and community<br />

well into the future. We are committed to adaptation and<br />

finding creative approaches to passing on the faith and<br />

deepening our connection to one another and to God.<br />

Fall <strong>2020</strong> 25


Jean-Claude Colin and Caretaking<br />

by Tom Ellerman, SM<br />

The present pandemic has rightly brought<br />

attention to caretakers all over the<br />

world. Many have been called upon to be<br />

caretakers for the first time in their lives.<br />

Caretakers are those who give priority<br />

to the well-being of others. They put into<br />

practice in many concrete ways their<br />

“most ardent charity to those with whom<br />

they come into contact.” Caretaking can<br />

take many forms and is vital to the life<br />

of human community. Though there<br />

were times in his life when our founder,<br />

Father Jean-Claude Colin, felt alone and<br />

abandoned, he continued to care for<br />

others. Perhaps more difficult for him was<br />

to accept care for himself. For him, as for<br />

some, being loved was more painful than<br />

loving.<br />

In this article, we examine “caretaking”<br />

of the sick and of the superior general.<br />

Caretaking is most important in the<br />

formation of novices and in the education<br />

of young people in our Marist schools, but<br />

we will leave those two topics for another<br />

time.<br />

The care of the sick and dying is treated<br />

in numbers 230-243 of the Constitutions<br />

of 1872. The infirm are to be the objects<br />

of special care. Here we are talking<br />

about more than medical care, “… all the<br />

services of a most sincere charity are to<br />

be performed for them with kindness,<br />

and nothing is to be omitted which may<br />

comfort them, and lift their spirits, taking<br />

care above all that they are never given<br />

the impression that they are tiresome<br />

or a burden.” (# 239) The superior has<br />

paternal obligations toward the sick<br />

Marist, especially when the illness is lifethreatening.<br />

In life, we encounter many people who<br />

are sick or suffering in some way. Of<br />

course, we would never want to add to<br />

their suffering, whatever its source. We<br />

can be a caretaker by treating them with<br />

kindness, comforting them, and lifting<br />

their spirits. We should never give any<br />

suffering person the impression that they<br />

are a burden to us, even though at times,<br />

suffering does not bring out the best in<br />

people.<br />

Usually we do not think of those in<br />

authority over us as needing care, but<br />

in numbers 337-344 Father Founder<br />

addresses the Society’s care for the<br />

superior general. The principles<br />

enunciated in these paragraphs can<br />

be applied to others who are also in a<br />

position of authority. The Society of<br />

Mary should “show the greatest care for<br />

its superior as a father, and effectively<br />

see to it in the Lord that he be sustained<br />

and helped with his burden.” (# 337)<br />

The Society’s care for the superior is not<br />

simply concerned with his office but also<br />

with the person. We should pray for those<br />

who have authority over us. If we are in<br />

a position to do so, we should try to keep<br />

the superior in good health, make sure his<br />

needs are met and try to keep him from<br />

being overly burdened with duties.<br />

With regard to the superior carrying<br />

out his office, the Society of Mary must<br />

concern itself with supplying all the help<br />

that he needs to ably carry out his duties<br />

for the benefit of all.<br />

What does Father Colin teach us in all<br />

this? Simply put, we all need care in some<br />

form or other, and we should all strive to<br />

be caregivers to others. This should come<br />

as no surprise, since we worship a God<br />

who not only loves us but wants to be<br />

loved by us. Could we possibly be God’s<br />

caregivers?<br />

Cause for Canonization of Venerable Fr. Jean-Claude Colin, SM<br />

Founder of the Marist Fathers and Brothers<br />

by Tom Ellerman, SM<br />

Father Colin was no stranger to crises of all kinds: wars, revolutions, climate<br />

changes, disputes within the Church, economic changes, political disturbances;<br />

yet through it all, he turned to Mary in prayer and to the Church of Rome for<br />

guidance. He remained at peace in the stormy sea of his life and times. He<br />

believed in the Savior, who told him not to fear.<br />

Please report any favors granted through the intercession of Jean-Claude Colin to:<br />

Marist Center | 815 Varnum Street, N.E. | Washington, DC 20017-2298 | USA<br />

For more information about the Cause for Canonization visit:<br />

www.jeanclaudecolin.org.<br />

26 Today’s <strong>Marists</strong> Magazine


Supporting the <strong>Marists</strong><br />

by Denise D’Amico, Administrator, Marist Development<br />

It was September 1995. Spread out before me on the kitchen table was the “Help<br />

Wanted” section of the local newspaper. Having just dropped my young daughters off<br />

at school, my search was on for a part time job. My eyes settled on an ad which piqued<br />

my interest: “Part Time Secretary, 10-15 hours/week, Marist Development Office, Marist<br />

House, Framingham, Massachusetts.” Not too far from home, the right number of hours,<br />

Development might be interesting, but who were the <strong>Marists</strong>?<br />

I was welcomed into the Marist family with open arms, and I quickly settled into my role<br />

as Secretary in the newly formed Development Office. I eagerly learned about donors and<br />

prospects, capital campaigns and mail files. I managed databases, generated reports and<br />

correspondence and I grew and flourished in the little office tucked away on the third floor<br />

of Marist House.<br />

While I was learning about all things Development, there was something else I was<br />

beginning to observe and understand...something that went beyond spreadsheets and<br />

reports…something that I realized was at the true heart and soul of the Development<br />

Office. That something was the <strong>Marists</strong> themselves.<br />

As a religious order with a history of working in parishes, schools, missions, retreat houses<br />

and nursing homes, the <strong>Marists</strong> have spent their lives touching the minds, hearts and souls<br />

of those to whom they minister. Spreading the Catholic faith through their ministries, they<br />

change lives and offer hope. Through education, the <strong>Marists</strong> have formed generations of<br />

well-educated and faith-filled members of society and live their lives through grace and<br />

under the prayerful guidance of the Blessed Mother.<br />

It was then that I understood that the Development Office IS the <strong>Marists</strong>. The donors who<br />

give do so because of who the <strong>Marists</strong> are. Whether educated by the <strong>Marists</strong>, connected<br />

through Marist parishes, or simply being aware of the extraordinary work the <strong>Marists</strong> are<br />

involved in, donations are given in gratitude and appreciation. From a single dollar bill<br />

wrapped in tissue paper to an extraordinarily large check, I learned a most valuable lesson<br />

about giving from the heart.<br />

It is September <strong>2020</strong>. I continue with my work in the Development Office, now tucked<br />

away at the Lourdes Center in Boston. I think back fondly on my early days at Marist<br />

House and of all the Marist Fathers, Brothers and staff I have been honored to have spent<br />

my days with over the years. I’ve worn many Marist hats in different roles within both the<br />

Marist Retreat House and the Mission Office, but there is a soft spot in my heart for the<br />

Development Office, where my Marist journey began all those years ago.<br />

This, however, is not a “normal” year, being in the middle of a worldwide pandemic.<br />

Since March I have worried about the impact on donations to the <strong>Marists</strong> through the<br />

Development Office. Would there still be donations coming in? Would the Marist ministries<br />

be affected? What about the Senior Religious? But those who have always supported the<br />

<strong>Marists</strong> have not forgotten them. The ministries and outreach as well as care of the Senior<br />

Religious continue because of the faithfulness and generosity of you, the donors. I breathe<br />

a sigh of relief and offer a prayer of gratitude.<br />

I would personally like to thank all of you who, throughout the years, have been so<br />

supportive of the Development Office. Through your faith in and support of the <strong>Marists</strong><br />

and their ministries, the <strong>Marists</strong> can continue to do the grace-filled work of the Church<br />

under the protective and loving mantle of our Blessed Mother. Please continue to keep the<br />

<strong>Marists</strong> in your hearts and prayers.<br />

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Are you drawn to a life of<br />

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28 Today’s <strong>Marists</strong> Magazine

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