by Nik Rodewald, Theology Teacher and Campus Minister, Marist School, Atlanta, Georgia         Traduction française ci-dessous Over the last few years, in response to Pope Francis's encyclical, Laudato Si', I have been on a journey to a more authentic ecological conversion. The article that follows is a musing on the concrete steps that journey has taken, and an invitation for you, dear reader, to consider your own journey into God. Awareness and Action God is always at work trying to "do a new thing" (Isaiah 43:19). Yet for this "new thing" to come to completion, I must learn to discern how God's Spirit is moving, stirring me away from my old ways and tired habits, ...

Changing How Economy Works                                                                Traduction française - voir ci-dessous Capitalist economy, especially in its neoliberal, financial version, is ecologically and socially unsustainable, and it is the main driver of the poly-crisis we are today experiencing. Therefore, we need to change how the economy works. This will take a social transformation, that is, a systemic change that transforms both socio- economic structures and the worldview that underpins them. Having understood th...

Social implications of Economic Justice                            Traduction française - voir ci-dessous With the end of the bipolar system (Western capitalist world Vs Eastern communist system) Trans National Corporations (TNCs) pushed for a globalization of markets, seeking an expansion that could secure growth. Having reached the limits to growth within the Western consumer market, they needed to expand it. That meant pushing to turn the world into a global, single market – without any barriers of sorts – a single, interconnected financial marketplace, and a unified production system. However, they soon realized that s...

Mary and new beginnings                                                                                              Texte original français : voir ci-dessous Here then, given to our Marist family today, is the story of Cana. In John, who is the only one to give us this episode, it is the first public appearance of Jesus and he will give there his first sign, as an opening of what will cross the whole gospel. And Mary is involved. So there is something ver...

On-line Course on Integral Ecology From Laudato Si' to Laudate Deum An Initiative of the Alliance for the Care of Our Common Home (Pontifical Universities & Atheneums of Rome) In 2015 Pope Francis gifted us Laudato Si', the landmark encyclical letter on the care for our common home, in which he invited all people of good will to "a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet" (LS, 14). However, as Pope Francis recognizes in Laudate Deum, the apostolic exhortation published on 4th October 2023 - on the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, patron of ecology, "our responses have not been adequate" and "the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the b...

Fr Richard Rohr OFM, presents on the Centre for Action and Contemplation , 4 key issues that call for us to be engaged in this year, 2024: He draws on Brian McLaren's work: Everything must Change .  McLaren presents 4 Crises: Planet, Poverty, Peace, and Religion.  McLaren Writes Way back in 2007, I wrote a book called Everything Must Change. I wanted to understand what our greatest challenges and threats and problems were here on Earth as a global civilization. I spent a year researching the literature of global crises, and I came away with an understanding of four deep problems that we face. First, we face a crisis with our planet. We are literally destroying our life su...

A Broader View of the Impacts of Climate Change on the World's Poor by Ted Keating, SM                                                                                                 Traduction française - voir ci-dessous When our Editorial Committee met to plan this issue of Today's Marists, we were embedded in the tragic news of a world on fire (western part of the United States, Canada, Greece, along with several other nations); massive, deadly flo...

COP28 is the first COP to have a Faith Pavilion, found at  https://faithatcop28.com/ La COP28 est la première COP à disposer d'un pavillon de la foi à  https://faithatcop28.com/ GLOBAL FAITH LEADERS UNITE TO DECLARE SUPPORT      Traduction française - voir ci-dessous – 28 high-level faith leaders from over 19 faiths and denominations unite to sign a statement seeking urgent climate action ahead of COP28. – The document, signed at the Global Faith Leaders' Summit on 6/7 November in Abu Dhabi, shows commitment from faith groups across the world to take swift and decisive action to address the climate emergency. – At COP28, the first-ever Faith Pavilion will b...

Ross Flint, Marist Associate,  Ordained Anglican, Tasmania, offers us his Reflections:       [Traduction française - voir ci-dessous]. In the vastly complex situation that exists in Israel today, there are many issues to deal with and many to discern. For anyone to side with either the Israelis or the Palestinians without listening to the many stories of the events that have unfolded during the 75 years since Palestine was divided to give the Jews a homeland due to the UN Resolution 181 in 1947 will inevitably come to wrong conclusions. To further complicate an already very complex situation, some evangelical Christians (primarily in the USA) have adopted a...

Tree planting on the sacred site of Pukekaraka Ōtaki.                                        [Traduction française - voir ci-dessous] Mahi whakatō rākau i te wāhi tapu o Pukekaraka. The Season of Creation is a good time to plant trees and engage with the theme of letting justice and peace flow. We are in tune with the Maramataka, the Māori lunar calendar. Tangaroa ā-roto is the last quarter of the moon, and it's the right time to get work done! Ko te mauri he mea huna ki te ngāherehere /The mauri is hidden in the forest, this wisdom inspires our mahi. We are present to the life force of t...

Recently I gave a retreat for the clergy of the Sydney Archdiocese. The theme was the Eucharist. I wish to share with you some extracts from the final conference of the retreat: A Eucharistic Life. For us religious and priests an integral part in our lives is the regular celebration the Eucharist. Within the rite of ordination of priests, at the time of the preparation of the gifts, the bishop hands over the bread and wine and says: receive the oblation of the holy people, to be offered to God. Understand what you do and imitate what you celebrate, and conform your life to the mystery of Christ's cross. This instruction can be taken on board by all of us. The Eucharist can give form to our l...

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...

Foreshadows of Communion: Interconnectedness from Science and Indigenous Cosmologies and Marist Spirituality [Traduction française - voir ci-dessous] 1. Introduction Laudato Si' shines a very positive light on science and indigenous cosmologies. Both fields can teach us many things on how to live sustainably as Marists. Pope Francis' positive approach to these two fields invites us to search for the various ways science and indigenous cosmologies can broaden and deepen how we understand ourselves and our mission. Both science and indigenous cosmologies envision an intimately connected universe. Both situate the human person in a universe he/she is totally dependent on for survival. The deep ...

The Perfect Exemplar of Communion: Mary, Mother of the Eschatological New Creation 1. Introduction Laudato Si' invites us to reimagine our mission so that it may be inclusive of creation. As Mary stands at the centre of our spirituality, we are invited to develop an understanding of her in connection with the ecological crisis. The 2017 General Chapter specifically invites us to contemplate the theme of Mary Mother of the New Creation to help us in responding in an authentic Marist way to the call to live ecologically sustainable lifestyles. The theme of Mary Mother of the New Creation does not explicitly appear in the writings of either the fathers of the Church or of the medieval theologia...

The Instruments of Communion: Sacramentality and Marist Spirituality. 1. Introduction The seven Sacraments are the central rituals through which we encounter God in our Catholic faith. However, to limit the notion of sacramentality to only the seven sacraments stops us from seeing the broader communal, ecological, and cosmic dimension of the sacraments. To come to this broader and deeper understanding of sacramentality, we need to go back to the question of why the universe was created. This beautiful universe was created for communion with the Trinity. The whole divine plan for creating the universe was not only to raise up human beings to union with God but also to bring the whole of creat...

The Way to Communion: A Deep Christology Broadening Marist Mission    Un chemin vers la communion :  une Christologie profonde élargissant la mission mariste   [voir la version française ci-dessous]  1. Introduction The Incarnation of the Son of God stands at the centre of our Christian faith. In becoming a human being, the Son was not entering a foreign reality but a universe that was already ontologically grounded in Him. For He is the Logos, the one through whom creation comes into existence. St. Paul expresses this intimate union of the Logos with the creation in the Christological hymn in Colossians. "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn...

Fr Samu Tukidia sm - Fiji - presents the1st of 5 SM Articles for the Season of Creation:  pour la traduction française voir ci-dessous Called to Communion: Laudato Si' and Marist Spirituality 1. Introduction The GA approved the SM Sustainability Covenant in July 2022. Since then, it has been sent out to all the provinces and districts. The Covenant provides the guiding principles on which our practical, down-to-earth decisions and practices are made. It makes the important connections between our ecological practices and our Marist spirituality, and our faith (& theology). The main aim of the covenant is ecological conversion, in which the effects of our encounter with Jeus Chr...

SEASON OF CREATION 2023: LET JUSTICE AND PEACE FLOW From 1 September – the World Day of Prayer for Creation – to 4 October – the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the Marist Family around the world joins in the annual ecumenical celebration "Season of Creation". It invites us to celebrate the beauty and pain of our world, praise and thank God for his love and goodness, and take steps to defend our common home, especially in this time of ecological emergency. Each year, the Ecumenical Steering Committee that organizes this Time suggests a theme. For 2023 the theme is "Let Justice and Peace Flow." In this link you will find all the indications about the Season of Creation. Season of Creation is ...