Joint Statement of Lay Animators in Oceania

The final day of our Marist Gathering in Auckland began by considering spiritual pathways. Alan Parker invited us to consider a plant or a tree, to study it and then to see what it might teach us.

Over our days together Simone Boyd and Br Darren Burge have been working on an overall statement which summarises the spirit of our gathering. At our final session we agreed to the following joint statement.  

'We are unified in our belief that God has touched us and given us a Marist heart.  We are unable to live any other way, as we are Marists. We are guided by this same Spirit to explore new ways of living the charism.

The charism of Marcellin is a gift of God to the entire ecclesial community. Hence, our respective vocations are lived in a spirit of communion. A clear and strong identity for both Brothers and Lay people is essential for the vitality of this relationship to take us into the future. 

There is an urgent need to define and develop the Lay identity to enable new pathways of engagement and belonging. We see the importance of a new paradigm for Lay Marist vocation. We are committed to researching the practicalities of this and implementing the model.

There is a desire to provide opportunities for Lay Marists to explore their vocation at greater depth through a variety of formative experiences. We are keen to build on the strong foundation that already exists in our formation programs and develop new ways for all Lay Marists, young and old to access our spirituality.

This is our moment in Marist history. Now is the time to act. There is urgency within those gathered to identify specific ways forward, to abandon the answers of the past that do not satisfy and, with Mary, go in haste to a new land.'

John McMahon

Nurturing Lay Marist Life

The Franciscan Centre environment in which we were living and working over these days gave our discussions on the third day a fitting context.  The 7.00 am Mass attracted not only our own participants but Friars and locals from the nearby suburbs of Auckland.  Together, we, religious and lay across our two traditions, marked the beginning of Lent with our Ashing Ceremony. After breakfast we began by recognising the giant strides lay Marists have taken in our countries over the last decades. Yet the challenge before us was to know which next steps to take. A key insight shared during the day was to link lay Marist life with human life.  Lay Marist life does not have to be continuous, but it can, if one wishes, last throughout the whole span of one's life.  Over recent years we have often linked lay Marist initiatives with people in particular ministries, such as particular schools, but now it is clear people come together for Lay Marist activities from a range of Marist ministries, or simply as Marist people. The day concluded with affirmation of the widening range of Marist formation programs now available, the desire by some lay Marists for personal accompaniment, the seeking of linkages  by lay Marists with Marist Brothers and the centrality of persoal relationships for us all.

John McMahon

The spark of fire

Participants at this Lay Marist Gathering come from four regions or administrative units - Melanesia, New Zealand, the Sydney Province and the Melbourne Province. Time today was spent in reflecting on the different ways each unit animates its lay Marist involvement. We then moved to reflecting on our Marist document 'Gathered Around the Same Table' which, in Melanesia is called 'Gathered Around the Same Fire' highlighting a cultural difference. What goes on around a table in the West goes on around a fire in Melanesia.  The discussion led us to focusing on an explicit discernment process in which we take the theological dimensions of our discussions and make them practical and we map the shifting of our structures as we continue on our shared journey. We then reflected on key Marist moments across our lives and what made them significant, how they have brought us to where we are today and how they may even sustain us in our Marist lives into the future.  Marist moments for us included receiving a call from an individual, experiencing accompaniment, prayer experiences be they individual or communal, the witness of others, opportunities to evangelise, Marist togetherness and being loved through our struggles. Michael Callinan showed us a new video on the influence of being connected suggesting 'With everything connected, our world changes.' This took us finally to a review of our shared formation experiences and the nature of 'deep formation'. In our administrative units we discussed how we might provide programs that lead us all into deep formation, thereby nurturing our relationship with God in our Marist way.

John McMahon

It is time to jump!

It is two years since the closure of the 21st General Chapter of the Marist Brothers.  That Chapter invited Marists from across the world to deepen their commitment to Brothers and Lay Marists working more closely together ... describing 'Brothers and lay Marists, based on communion,' [as] 'searching together for a greater vitality of the Marist charism for our world.'  Today in Auckland, the nineteen participants at our Oceania Meeting, focused on the desire of the International Bureau for the Laity to discern how we can grow Marist Life, especially lay Marist life, in Oceania.  Key questions remain: Who is a lay Marist? What formation programs do we have separately and what programs together? What forms of Association suit us best? What is the vocation of the lay Marist?  Tony Clarke presented us with a number of lay Marist initiatives from around the Marist world including examples from France, Italy, Mexico, Philippines, Guatemala City, Nigeria, Montreal, Fatima, Brazil and Trichy. Our desire to do something new was encouraged by Superior General Br Emili Turu in a video to the participants. He reminded us that 'it is difficult for us to accept that for something new to be born, somthing has to die.  We resist death' he continued  Emili recalled the initiation rites of the North American Indians where the elders tell their young: 'As you walk through life's path, you are going to find an enormous precipice ... jump!'

John McMahon

Moving Forward

The final day of our Gathering called us to prepare for the next steps in the establishment of our new Province. Many events will be held during 2012 involving Brothers and lay Marists alike. These include Regional Consultative Gatherings, the National Mission Assembly from 12th - 15th August, the Province inauguration on 8th December and the first Provincial Chapter from 8th - 12th December.

Click to read more ...

A Time for Leadership

The third day of the Gathering gave an opportunity for our animator, Br Ben Consigli, to focus on leadership, recognising that good leadership will be important in the formation of our new Australian Province. He named four qualities he saw as important for Marist leaders at this time:

1. The ability to work collaboratively

2. The desire to put Marist mission 'front and centre'

3. The commitment to allowing mental boundaries to be flexible.

4. The capacity not to shrink from change.

The day was also significant in that two Australian Brothers died. Br Charles Howard passed away at Campbelltown in the early hours of Saturday morning.  Charles had inspired many through his leadership at the school, Province and Congregational levels.  A participant at this gathering, Br Stephen Bugg also died on Saturday as a result of a cerebal haemorrhage he suffered the day before.  Steve had been Principal of Newman College, Perth, Sacred Heart College, Adelaide and Marcellin College, Bulleen.  We prayed for these Brothers at the evening Eucharist.