Concluding the fall semester:   [Traduction française - voir ci-dessous] As the fall semester comes to an end at Centro Hispano Marista, Marist School Atlanta - Georgia, there is a palpable sense of accomplishment and growth among the students. The soon-to-be graduates echo their hard work and determination as learners and reflect on the challenges they've overcome and the knowledge they've gained. Teachers and students alike take pride in the progress made during these few months, celebrating not only academic achievements but also personal victories. We look forward to celebrating many GEDs passed and our upcoming 2023 Graduation Ceremony this December. For those students returni...

MARIST MISSION STUDIES 5 – 29 September 2023 Ranong, Thailand Report from Fr. Hermes Sabud, SM The aim of the Marist Mission Studies (MMS) 2023 was to "Inflame the passion for Marist mission" among the participants. The specific objectives are as follows: 1.Bring together younger Marists from different parts of the world of the Society of Mary. 2.Engage in creative reflection and study what it means to be a Marist missionary in today's context. 3.Create a space to learn from the Marist mission experiences of the participants. 4.Provide Marists with opportunities to deepen and nourish their passion for the mission of the Trinity. The participants of MMS 2023 were: 1.Fr. George Baruk...

Source: Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice:https://www.jcfj.ie/2023/10/04/laudate-deum-summary/ Posted on October 4, 2023 by Kevin Hargaden - Economic Justice, Environmental Justice, News, Poverty & Inequality News, Theology The Origin Story Eight years ago, Pope Francis published one of the most important works of environmental thinking in history, Laudato Si'. Praised by religious and secular figures alike, it had an immediate and lasting impact. It was written to engage the scientific, political, and religious communities – addressed really to "every living person on this planet" (§3) – and to summon us all to a renewed commitment to "care for our common home". Laudato Si' are the op...

Seeking God: Buddhist Meditation and Christian Mysticism I recently entered into a 10-day Buddhist Vipassana Retreat. A few Marists had shared with me that they had completed a Vipassana Buddhist Retreat and I thought I would try and enter such an experience. I was curious about the Buddhist psychology of meditation and I wanted to learn some more about Buddhist beliefs as most of the Myanmar and Thai people in Ranong, Thailand are Buddhist. I was also curious if I could make any connections between Buddhist meditation and the Christian contemplative tradition of St John of the Cross. John of the Cross has both haunted and inspired me since my Renewal experience at Le Neyliere in 2019. His S...

Fr Yean-Yves Denize sm writes from Marist Provincial House Paris:  Le P. Yean-Yves Denizel sm écrit de la Maison provinciale mariste de Paris :  voir ci-dessous Historical: Created in 1945, the "Secours populaire français" = "French Peoples Aid" is the heir of popular movements whose values it has, throughout these decades, preserved while evolving considerably. Its orientation, its missions, its independence make it possible today to bring together people of heart regardless of their personal commitments, their political, philosophical or religious sympathies, without any distinction of sex, age or social level. Day after day, here as elsewhere, the "Secours populaire", an as...

Share the Journey Pilgrimage Unites Community in Solidarity with Refugees and Immigrants  /  Partageons le chemin Le pèlerinage unit la communauté en solidarité avec les réfugiés et les immigrants  [ voir ci-dessous ] On Saturday, April 29, Marist School's chapter of Share the Journey organized and embarked on a pilgrimage to foster unity and offer prayers for refugees and immigrants. Students, faculty, and representatives from Marist, Cristo Rey Atlanta Jesuit High School, and St. Pius X Catholic High School were joined by representatives from the Clarkston Community Center and the Archdiocese of Atlanta's Office of Justice and Peace Ministries. The group set out on a five-mi...

For your consideration … "Overshoot" - Professor William Rees   /   « Overshoot », le dépassement des ressources de la terre   By Ross Flint – Marist Associate  /   Par Ross Flint – Associé mariste    -   faites défiler vers le bas pour la traduction française    This week (March 2023) I have been listening to an esteemed Canadian professor Bill Rees who gives a dire assessment for our future on this planet. His conclusion is that the climate change issue is actually a symptom of a more serious problem, what he calls "Overshoot". William E. Rees with Nate Hagens: "The Fundamental Issue - Overshoot" | The Gre...

POSITION PAPER: LAUDATO SI' AND MARIST OCEANIA                LAUDATO SI' ET L'OCEANIE MARISTE   traduction ci-dessous                                                  Fr Samu Tukidia sm Introduction This position paper specifically attempts to weave together certain themes in Laudato Si' and their applications and implications for us Oceanian Marists. It discusses three points. First, current steps taken by the Society of Mary to support the thinking of Laudato Si' is presented. Second, Marist ecological visions o...

Dear confreres and friends, the Laudato Si Movement is going to launch the Laudato Si' Animator training next April; kindly find at this link the promotional kit in all languages. Thank you for sharing widely within your network, on the Society of Mary's website and social media. Be aware that the training starts as follows and people can register accordingly: English (next 19th April), Spanish (next 17th April), French (next 19th April), Italian (next 19th April), Portuguese (next 18th April). Laudato Si Animator Training is recommended by our Marist Sustainability Covenant , approved by the SG and Council, 2022. Anyone interested in the Animator of Animators training, please let me kn...

Our blog this week has been submitted by Br Ivan Vodopivec SM - agreed by Anei - a South-Sudanese Refugee who made it to England. Anei requested to keep his original name for his article. Notre blog de cette semaine a été soumis par le Frère Ivan Vodopivec SM - accepté par Anei - un réfugié sud-soudanais qui s'est rendu en Angleterre. Anei a demandé de conserver son nom d'origine pour son article. Name / Nom: Anei                      Country / Nationalité : South Sudan                       Ethnicity / Origine ethnique : Shilluk I was born in Malakal Town South S...

Fr Donato Kivi SM presented the following "Care for our Oceans" to the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania - a regional grouping that comprises the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands and the Episcopal Conference of the Pacific (CEPAC) – which includes Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, New Caledonia, Northern Mariana Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Wallis and Futuna. At their recent Assembly held in Fiji from 5th – 10th February. Care for the Oceans Ferdinand Magellan and his exploration group g...

Our blog this week was referred to us by Fr Petero Matairatu sm, Director of Marist Training Centre, Tutu, Fiji. The booklet can be downloaded here – in English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. It is the fruit of a common endeavor between the Vatican Dicastery of Integral Human development and the Stockholm Environment Institute. It is a useful resource for groups, parishes, schools in addressing current issues in 'Our Common Home'. Notre blog de cette semaine nous a été référé par le Père Petero Matairatu sm, Directeur du Centre de Formation Mariste, Tutu, Fidji. La brochure peut être téléchargée ici – en français, anglais, espagnol, italien et portugais. C'est le fruit d'un effor...

Aotearoa/New Zealand poet, Brian Turner has written a poignant little poem called Sky. Made all the more poignant with the recent weather bomb in Tāmakimakarau/Auckland it reads; If the sky knew half of what we are doing down here it would be stricken, inconsolable, and we would have nothing but rain.[i] This poem points to what American ecologist Eileen Crist calls the human supremacy complex[ii].In such a complex the human community and all its noble endeavours reigns supreme. Human industry takes over our planet home in almost every sphere. Extreme, and all too common, examples of human supremacy show up in what are called sacrifice zones[iii]. Almost every nation on Earth has its sacrifi...

A Blest and Joy-filled Christmas and New Year As we celebrate God-with-us. "God gave all things life, and Mary is the mother through whom all things are given new life. Without God's Son, nothing could exist; without Mary's Son, nothing could be redeemed'. [Anselm of Canterbury: 1033 – 1109] Que Noël et cette Nouvelle Année soient bénis et remplis de joie, alors que nous célébrons Dieu-avec-nous « Dieu a donné la vie à toutes choses, et Marie est la mère par qui une nouvelle vie est donnée à toutes choses Sans le Fils de Dieu rien ne pourrait exister Sans le Fils de Marie, rien ne pourrait être racheté [Anselm of Canterbury: 1033 – 1109]

Le P. Pascal Boidin sm, membre de la communauté de Notre-Dame de France à Londres, atransmis ce témoignage pour publication dans le n°170 du feuillet EuroInfo de la Province d'Europe. Cette mémoire des migrants morts en Méditerranée montre la préoccupation pour la justice de ces étudiants européens. Fr Pascal Boidin SM, from the community of Notre-Dame de France in London, sent EuroInfo this account of a meeting of students from various countries, on the Italian island of Lampedusa, where a deadly wreckage caused the death of several hundred migrants. It is a remembrance of the need of justice cared for by many young people all over Europe. Bonjour à tous, je m'appelle Charles Vibert. Je sui...

Marist Charism and Peace-making This last week, on 01 December, Marists from 4 corners of the world made Presentations on our Marist Charism and Peace-making.The Marists Presenting were: Fr Hermes [Larry] Sabud – Ranong Thailand; SMSM Sisters Gisèle, Christiana, & Monique – Ngozi, Burundi, Africa; Fr Miguel Contreras – Peru, South America; and Fr Donato Kivi – Fiji, Oceania. The invitation came from the Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation Commission – JPIC Roma – who organize a workshop each year to train JPIC Promoters for Religious Congregations around the world. The Workshop was run this year from 28 November until 02 December, and had the Theme: Pacem in Terris and Laudato Si i...

Fr Hermes [Larry] Sabud reports on recent efforts at Peace-Making in Thailand: INTERNATIONAL AND INTERCULTURAL DAY OF PEACE   Ranong, Thailand   21 September 2022 Peace is possible. Let's make it happen. This was the theme that the Marist Asia Foundation (MAF) Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (IRICD) Program adopted during the celebration of the International Day of Peace alongside the celebration of the MAF Intercultural Day. The celebration started with the Painting for Peace Exhibition participated by the three schools: The Guiding Star Learning Center, Phichai Rattanakhan School and MAF Burmese Migrant Secondary Program. The IRICD [Inter-religious and In...

Ross Flint, Marist Associate, and ordained member of the Anglican Communion, Tasmania, sends this short, stark, report – in the context of COP27 "World is on 'highway to climate hell",  - United Nations General Secretary warns at COP27 summit. António Guterres tells leaders 'global climate fight will be won or lost in this crucial decade – on our watch' In 1992, countries joined an international treaty, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, as a framework for international cooperation to combat climate change by limiting average global temperature increases and the resulting climate change, and coping with impacts that were, by then, inevitable. https://unfccc....