UISG - USG Document: Contributions for the Synod on the Synodality In a significant move towards shaping the future of the Catholic Church, the International Union of Superiors General (UISG) and the Union of Superiors General (USG) have released their 2024 contribution to the ongoing discussion on "How To Be A Church In Mission?" This collaborative effort responds to questions posed by the General Secretariat of the Synod on March 14, 2024, reflecting a global perspective from religious leaders worldwide. The contribution synthesizes responses from UISG and USG members across the globe, organized into five key themes: - Co-Responsibility for Mission; - Authority, Governance and Participatio...

25 Years of Service in Notre Dame Refugee Centre [from Euro-Info SM – July] Notre Dame Refugee Centre (NDRC) in London, founded in 1996, had the opportunity to celebrate an important anniversary on 21 June, 25 years of service of Brian Mitchell, who is currently the senior immigration advisor. During his time in this post, personnel, both Marist religious and lay, have revolved around him! He is an exceptional example of dedication to this vulnerable community, and it can honestly be said that Brian has been instrumental in shaping the Centre into the service it is today. Brian writes, "I am genuinely appreciative of the experience NDRC has offered me. I came to the centre in 1999 with very ...

Our Marist Foundational moment of Fourvière - the Pledge of Commitment to found the Society of Mary - is just one week away. This week we indicate something new: the Marist Camino , organized by Marist Laity Australia - as an expression of renewing the original Commitment at Fourvière.  At the same time we offer a Prayer Service to commemorate the occasion in our communities.  Notre moment fondateur mariste de Fourvière - le Serment d'Engagement pour fonder la Société de Marie - n'est qu'à une semaine. Cette semaine, nous vous indiquons quelque chose de nouveau : le Chemin Mariste, organisé par Marist Laity Australia, comme expression du renouvellement de l'Engagement originel de F...

On May 11, 2024, I, Lauro da Silva Ferreira, at the request of the Assistant General Father Ben McKenna, I joined the Meeting of the Commission for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation – JPIC Roma, of the USG [Union of Superiors General-men]/UISG [International Union of Superiors General – women]. The meeting took place at: Piazza di Ponte Sant'Angelo. Pour la traduction française voir ci-dessous The first factor that struck me was the number of participants. Representatives from more than seventy different religious congregations. The vast majority were first-time members of the commission. For this reason, I believe, the meeting took place with an introductory bias, in the sense of pre...

Fr Ted Keating - USA Marist - continues to give us the main points of a recent Recollection Day: on Spirituality and Consciousness: Spirituality and Consciousness: Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ                          Traduction française - voir ci-dessous (Talking points from PowerPoint presentation by Ted Keating, SM) Human Consciousness and the Incarnation •Genesis says that after the creation of the natural world, Adam and Eve were created by God by blowing His breath into their nostrils giving them life out of the very breath of God. (Spirit) •They were also created in the image and likeness of God making it po...

Fr Ted Keating - USA Marist - gives us the main points of a recent Recollection Day: on Spirituality and Consciousness:  Spirituality and Consciousness: Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ              Traduction française - voir ci-dessous (Talking points from PowerPoint presentation by Ted Keating, SM) Consciousness    •What you are sitting in here and using today. •No good definitions because we would have to use what we are trying to examine in examining it—consciousness. •This is a new inquiry and analysis for humanity likely touching into a new evolution of consciousness itself while we are reflecting on it. •Comparison to the Axial Age...

TALITHA KUM2nd GENERAL ASSEMBLY, Rome May 2024                                Voir la traduction française ci-dessous 150 delegates and participants from 71 countries, representing 60 Talitha Kum networks throughout the world …including two Kiwis, Ms Jeanette Atabelo & Sr Catherine Jones, smsm, and two Fijians, Sr Esther Powell DOLC & Ms Andrea Manueli …. gathered around the theme, "Journeying together, to end Human Trafficking: Compassion in action for Transformation."It was a special gift to begin on Pentecost Sunday, as we let the Holy Spirit guide us through the synodal process of listening ...

Title: Cultivating Sustainability: A Visit to Bishop O'Dowd Catholic School In January, I traveled with my colleague, Mike Burns, to explore the thriving culture of sustainability at Bishop O'Dowd Catholic School in Oakland, CA. With our President of Marist School Atlanta, J.D. Childs, having come from Bishop O'Dowd and spoken highly of their sustainability initiatives, we sought to learn how they have built an ingrained culture of sustainability. Our first stop was the Bishop O'Dowd Center for Environmental Studies, a LEED Platinum Certified Building that serves as the epicenter of their environmental science and engineering program. The seamless integration of indoor and outdoor spaces was...

Fr François Grossin SM, NC Marist Vicar Delegate,  send this Introduction on May 24 - to the Churches Appeal made on Pentecost Sunday:  Traduction française - voir ci-dessous : Has the Joint Declaration of the historical Churches in New Caledonia read in all places of worship, churches and chapels on Pentecost Sunday brought back peace to its peoples ? It would have been a miracle! Neither did the unexpected quick visit of President Macron (18 hours all together), on May 23, who met many local leaders and representatives of all kinds except the religious ones (a serious mistake). The fights are continuing and bringing more violence and desolation to the areas concerned, Nouméa...

Dear confreres and friends Laudato Si' Week "Seeds of Hope", started on May 19, Pentecost Sunday, and closes on May 26, Holy Trinity Sunday. This year the Laudato Si Movement are proposing different themes and actions for each day of the week, ways to put it into practice, its importance and impact on our planet. Please, find the celebration guide at the following links and share within your network: link in Spanish link in English link in French link in Italian link in Portuguese Also consider that in the "resources" section it is possible to download the social media kit for a better promotion (including the logo). Chers confrères et amis, la Semaine Laudato Si' « Semences d'espérance », a...

Fr Paddy O'Neil, Kiwi Marist based in Brazil, writes:                                        Traduction française - voir ci-dessous : Recently I had the opportunity of visiting Tabatinga, a town on the Rio Solimõesin the remote Amazon region where Brazil, Peru and Colombia meet. Arriving in Tabatinga one late afternoon I was warmly welcomed by members of the International Community of the Marist Brothers, which at the moment consists of Brother Luke Fong, FMS from Fiji and three lay volunteers: a married couple (Marcio from Brazil and Laura from Mexico) and Alessandra from Guatemala. They run ...

This week's blog is Chapter 2- Communities for Mission, from Fr John Larsen's recently released Letter to the Society of Mary: Like Mary, Bearers of Hope.         Pour la version française - voir ci-dessous.        Nazareth From our first beginnings Nazareth has always been an important symbol for us as Marists. For Father Jean-Claude: "Our spirit, the spirit of the Society … I personally find it in all its fulness in the house at Nazareth" (F.S. 188, 12) Nazareth speaks of a small village where people grew together in faith together with Mary, Joseph and their son. It was far from the centres of power, whether Jerusalem or Rome or elsewhere,...

Tim Duckworth: Climate of Fear - In Korero, April 2, 2024. New Zealand Marist Bulletin It is very easy to push away ideas that we do not like or we do not welcome. It is easy to say – I'm not the cause of these problems, I'm not badly affected by them, I'm going to ignore these problems because they are unlikely to have a huge effect in my life. One of the most important issues that confronts us today is the effect of environmental degradation. Those issues are identified quite clearly in Pope Francis's encyclical Laudato Si'. Laudato Si' identifies these major areas of concern related to the environment: pollution, climate change, water scarcity, loss of biodiversity, and global inequality....

Deep Time - Deep Adaptation - Deep Transformation    :    Peter Healy SM  Temps profond, adaptation profonde et transformation profonde  :  Peter Healy SM  :  Traduction française ci-dessous The following is a Summary of a Presentation given by Peter Healy, Kiwi Marist, to our Ecology Commission on 20th March 2024. Peter spoke, in the summer months, to a Gathering of Young Activists for social and political change. They were not specifically Catholic, or Christian. He felt privileged to be called to speak – as he is called to do by their organizers each year. He spoke of Deep Time and Deep Adaptation – using as a Visual a painting he has...

NEW TUTU NURSERY TO ASSIST IN GROWING AGRICULTURE IN THE GARDEN ISLAND            Traduction française ci-dessous #StrengtheningPartnerships   Tutu Rural Training Centre in Taveuni reached another milestone recently, as their new state of the art nursery was commissioned by the Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Waterways, Honourable Tomasi Tunabuna on Thursday 21st March. "The opening of this nursery was only made possible through collaboration between British American Tobacco (BAT) and Tutu Rural Training Centre. The nursery will provide fruits and vegetable seedlings to around 100 farmers based here in the Garden Island of Taveuni," said Hon. Tu...

OUR LADY OF CONSOLATION CENTER – BAMBILI, CAMEROON, AFRICA CENTRE NOTRE DAME DE LA CONSOLATION - BAMBILI, CAMEROUN, AFRIQUE -   Voir ci-dessous Our Lady of Consolation Center (OLCC) for Children and Persons Living with Special Needs Bambili is a daycare center supported by the Marist Fathers of the Society of Mary. It has been serving the community for 17 years. Located in Bambili, Tubah subdivision some 14km from Bamenda town. It cares for 30 children, 17 of them are girls while 13 are boys with a dedicated staff of 4 including a physiotherapist, social worker, driver, and a steward. With these, the objectives are to gather children living with disabilities and make them feel like...

CALLED TO BE EUCHARISTIC PEOPLE                                               Traduction française - voir ci-dessous Our world has plunged into a frightening darkness. LIGHT has diminished, almost extinguished. The threat of evil hovers large today, in the suffering and horror of wars: in the cries of the women, The bewilderment of the children, The hunger and exhaustion of the elderly, The helplessness and powerlessness of the innocent and suffering. The list is endless, Yet, in the midst of this God reminds us- He is alive. He LIVES in me. He LIVES in you. He LIVES in me ...

Mary Burkett is a wife, mother, grandmother, retired nurse, and sometimes-gardener: she discovered a Gift for drawing loving attention to children who have been victims of violence and slavery. Her work is an invitation to our world today, where so many of victims of war and violence are children .Here is her story, and below are links to her work:                 Traduction française ci-dessous My work is simple. I draw pastel portraits of children who were killed in the Holocaust. This is an unusual work for a number of reasons, not the least of which being that I am not an artist. I have no art training; I have no background in art; I know litt...

One of the most serious violations of justice is slavery. An International Day of Prayer and Awareness was instituted on February 8, the feast of St. Josephine Bakhita, a Sudanese girl who was sold into slavery in the 19th century and later became a nun. This is an opportunity to recall the importance of these crimes, which often remain in the shadows, and which States rarely pursue. Organizations like Talitha Kum are constantly fighting against slavery and human trafficking, and they ask for our prayers and support. https://preghieracontrotratta.org "Journeying in Dignity": Listen, Dream, Act is the theme of the X° International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking, celebra...

A quick look at our Constitutions SM enables us to see that we are inherently Synodal.  156: All Marists imitate Mary's delicate responsiveness to the promptings of the Spirit and to the needs of God's People.  158: those who exercise authority develop a network of interchange and solidarity to promote unity for mission. 160: this mission requires structures of consultation and participation at the local, provincial, and general levels. 161: unity in the Society and effective action require that its members be consulted and participate in decision making. As good stewards of the Gospel we bring out of our treasury things both old and new: the 'old' treasures in our Constitutions ca...