Marists & Inter-religious Dialogue

Our Superior General, John Larsen sm, met on-line with the Marist Commission for Inter-Religious Dialogue on Saturday 24 April.   The outline of his Presentation is below:  

Dialogue and Encounter Needs to be Good News!

Matthew 15: 21 – 28.The Canaanite woman's faith

• Jesus went to the district of Tyre and Sidon - foreign territory.
• A foreign woman makes demands on Jesus and his disciples
• Jesus struggles himself to accept this foreigner ("I came ONLY for the lost sheep of ISRAEL".)
• He is dismissive, even rude … comparing her to a dog!
• She dialogued with him and he was enlightened, he is presented as growing through the dialogue, and proclaims  -"How great is your faith!". 
• Jesus grants the outsider the Healing she is asking for. 

Our world is greatly divided, often violently.

• Financially – economic inequality.
• Politically (Erdogan's Turkey, Bolsonaro's Brazil, Duterte's Philippines, Trump's America, ..) – rising nationalism.
• Militarily – Yemen, Ethiopia (Tigray), Myanmar …
• Ecologically – environmental threats.

Does religion create, tolerate, alleviate the violence?

Answer of Pope Francis :

Evangelii Gaudium - his Vision for the Church

Laudato Si' - his Vision for an Integral Ecology

Fratelli Tutti. - his Vision of Social and Political Love  

Marist Response (within the Church led for now by Francis):

Our charism: the Spirit of Mary … "poverty, humility, modesty, simplicity of heart and lack of all vanity and worldly ambition" (228).

Our mission:

Three responses in practice:

• A. Traditional works in traditional places… carry on for as long as possible, graciously discerning when to stay, when to develop, when to let go.
• B. Establishing small prayerful, inter-cultural communities among the poor, the youth, the migrants.("Omnes Gentes"). More enduring?
• C. The intellectual mission, affecting academics, politics (civil and ecclesial), education, advocacy. (The Commissions)

How does inter-religious dialogue affect the mission of the Society?

Generally speaking, it is in harmony with our charism – openness (lack of all vanity and worldly ambition), simplicity, welcome for everyone (humility), non-judgmental.

And, specifically, within our mission?

• A. Some Marists would have trouble seeing it having a high place against the demands of the pastoral/Sacramental challenges. ("I came for the lost sheep of Israel".)
• Why leave the demands of the people here to go beyond?
• Sometimes the reality is overwhelmingly negative … bombs in churches, cynicism,
• However, IRD can nourish developing a greater missionary imagination. Dialogue of service and of life. Education, health-care, ecological projects, human rights' issues. We are converted by reflection on our experience.
• B. More intentional – among the poor, the migrants and the youth. The inter-cultural communities are signs of dialogue by themselves. Dialogue of life and service.
• C. The Commission for Inter-religious dialogue and reconciliation. Where does this fit in? (example of the Scalabrinians who re-imagined their ministry among Italian migrants to find new life by broadening the scope of their mission to migrants generally (and accepting vocations more widely) – 60 % "hands-on" daily-grind mission among migrants, 40% the intellectual mission serving migrants – university courses, government advocacy, Vatican cura, forums and seminars)

• General Chapter 2017:
• The Society shall "strive for a higher level of professionalism in missionary involvement through further education, research, teaching, publishing and advocacy, especially in the areas of inter-religious dialogue and reconciliation, work with ecology and work with migrants, for the wider Church and the world". (9b)
• "Seek partners in mission, most obviously from the Marist Family, especially Lay Marists" (9d).
• Prioritize "the needs of migrants and engage in ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue" (23).

 So, the tasks:

• Your own on-going education and formation. (seeing "how great is your faith" and responding. (Matt. 15).)
• Educating others. Who? Local church (seminarians, lay, religious, clergy) – the Society (everyone!), civil society. We do not have universities. How can we as Society of Mary make a contribution – as a body – to the world of ideas?
• Needs to be substantial … as well as one-off courses. "Nothing so practical as good theory!"
• Publishing.
• For the Local Church, the Society of Mary, and the civil society.
• It is very helpful that you are drawing on what is already happening in the Society. To develop that.
• Working on further developing and encouraging a "spirituality of dialogue and reconciliation"

Questions for the Commission:

• Could you establish one or two specific, achievable, clear, tasks to be in place within twelve months? 
• Do you need more members for the commission? If so, what would be the profile and who?
• How could you be reaching out to others through education? (Courses, on-line - blogs)
• How could you be inspiring dialogue of service and life in wider Society, Church and civil society?
• If we had a seminarian or committed lay-person with a passion for this mission, what do have in place to encourage him or her?