All in Aust Marist Community
The love of God is inspiring. I find it hard to fathom the depths with which God loves us and the fact that God loves us the way we are! It amazes me just how God can be with us as life unfolds. On any particular day, we have intentions about what we are planning to do, or with whom we are intending to speak. Sometimes our day looks quite different in the morning to what it turns out to be in reality. God is flexible!
This year, our Superior General, Br. Emili Turú is inviting us to participate in a three year preparation period for our Marist Bicentenary celebrations in 2017. He is suggesting we adopt three stages inspired by three icons:
Our 2014 Conference at Mittagong took place from 13th - 16th March. The Conference began with community leaders participating in the #Serve program led by Br Michael Akers and Ryan Gato from the Mission and Life Formation Team.
For many years Joe McCarthy has been nurturing Marist life. His approach flows over from his day to day work with the Australian Marist Community to his own family life.
Forty nine of us gathered at Mittagong near Sydney on Friday 23rd August, 2013 for a two day forum about the possible establishment of an Australian Marist Association.
Maureen and Tom Smyth have had a long association with Marists in Australia.
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.
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.
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.
Towards the middle of the day, a link was established through video conferencing with a similar meeting taking place at Drummoyne in Sydney. The two groups shared their experiences. Sharon and Carmel, representing the Lismore group, explained how Marist hospitality, service and spirituality take place at Lismore.
