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 ...

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...

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,...

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 ...

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...

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...

Economic Justice as a Priority for the Global South     Bro. Alberto Parise MCCJ     Rome, 23rd January 2024 La justice économique, une priorité pour le Sud            voir ci-dessous pour la traduction  The State of the World's Economy The recently published UN report on the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2023, presented at the World Economic Forum in Davos, portrays that we are in the middle of a "polycrisis". In fact, the report states that a series of severe and mutually reinforcing shocks struck the world economy in 2022: a. the impacts of the COVID‐19 pandemic still reverberating worldwide,b. the war in Ukraine (a...

Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty                                                            Version française - voir ci-dessous The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative is a civil society campaign to create a treaty to stop fossil fuel exploration and expansion and phase-out existing production. This Treaty is in line with the targets of the Paris Climate Agreement, and supports a just transition to renewable energy. The Treaty has been endorsed by the Vatican, the World Health Organization, the European Parliament, many Pacific ...

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...

The three Magi from the East brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to those gathered around the new-born child in Bethlehem, Mary and Joseph among them. (Matt. 2) However, the beautiful story of the Epiphany suggests that these same travelers from the East bring other gifts, too, both to those in Bethlehem and also to us. These other gifts of the wise, then and now, are channels of peace and reconciliation within a very violent world. The Epiphany speaks to hearts in every age that long for peace and reconciliation in the midst of war, injustice and violence. We are so familiar with the Christmas scene that the magi seem to fit in there very naturally. In reality, they were strangers...

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...

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...