Casa Maria Marianists

Mass: Feast of Our Lady of the Pillar
First Reading: 1 Chronicles 15:3-4,15-16;16:1-2
Gospel: Luke 11:27-28

Reflection
About 200 years ago, France was in the middle of a revolutionary war. The focus of the conflict was a struggle of power between politics, government and religion. By virtue of being a Roman Catholic priest, Blessed Chaminade was forced out of France and exiled to Spain. He arrived on the evening of October 11, 1897 in time to witness the vigil celebration of Our Lady of the Pillar in Zaragosa.

Over the next few years, while waiting to return home to France, Blessed Chaminade spent a lot of time in prayer at the basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar; it was there that he received a vision from God through Mary.

Although the exact nature of that vision never was revealed in detail, it resulted in the founding of the Marianist Family—the Lay Marianists, Sisters and Brothers / Priests.

While 200 years and a different country may seem far away from us here today, our world is quite similar to that of revoluationary France in the late 1800s. We don’t need to read too far into the current news headlines to find that our world is in need of healing.

So, what can we do, in our own little ways, to help our world in need of healing? Blessed Chaminade’s mission was clear and it involved two parts: 1) the salvation of souls and 2) to build communities centered in faith.

The idea behind the first part—the salvation of souls—echoes that of today’s first reading where the ark of the covenant, a container of God, is to be revered and considered as sacred. Just as we are created in God’s image, we, too, are reminded that we are loved by God and containers of Christ.

This sacred respect for the soul present in the human body is reflected in the Hawaiian concept of Aloha. Aloha is more than just a greeting or farewell; aloha is also translated as love, affection, mercy, grace. It also is combined from two other words—‘alo’ (face) and ‘hā’ (breath, which contains one’s sacred spirit and soul). So when greeting one another in Hawai‘i, an embrace and exchange of ‘hā’ is the true meaning of aloha—a way of recognizing and respecting the life force, God’s spirit, within whomever we encounter.

The idea behind the second part—community—echoes that of the Gospel. “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” As valuable as our faith is to us, it is not meant to be kept to ourselves; it is meant to be shared; this means to give the gift of our talents, our selves and our charism to one another as our response to God’s love for us.

In our zeal to share this charism, I think the biggest temptation we need to be aware of is that of doubt, disappointment and discouragement. When we doubt our abilities, when we think we aren’t good enough or talented enough, when we are discouraged because we don’t perceive results from our efforts—that’s the greatest sin because it goes against our mission of “glorifying God in all places through the Immaculate Virgin Mary.”

It has been said that the Marianist charism seems to be the Church’s “best kept secret.” In some ways, I can understand the thought behind that statement, although I find myself thinking that our way of life is too good to be kept a secret. Just in this chapel alone, I believe we have more than enough talent, creativity and energy to share this with others and not keep it the “Church’s best kept secret.” And that’s why, as different as we are, we come together in community to share in our common mission as Marianists.

So, as we prepare to receive the eucharist, let us pray in gratitude for our Marianist vocation, the vision that Blessed Chaminade passed on to us, and for the strength to be faithful to our mission of “glorifying God in all places through the Immaculate Virgin Mary. Amen.”

Shrine of Our Lady of Peace of Fatima Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Prayer for the Marianist Family by Jose María Arnaiz, S.M.

“Our Father, we pray for our Marianist Family
with all its weaknesses and all its wealth.
Look upon us with kindness;
it is our mother and our family.

Give it your grace so that it may become
what it longs to be.
“A family that fosters life and enthusiasm,
in which all can express what they think and feel,
what they believe and desire;
a community of freedom.

“A family in which all can pray in their own language,
develop and cherish their own culture,
appreciate the heritage and history in which they feel
at home:
an incarnational community, one that knows the
paschal mystery
and experience a new Pentecost.

“A family of which people will say:
“See how they love one another,’
rather than, “See how well organized they are’:
a living and growing community.”
Marianist Family, you are small but growing,
Fragile but full of hope,
Hesitant but believing.
Lift up your eyes and see:
Jesus and Mary are always with you. Amen.”

More info on the Marianist World Day of Prayer 2009 (pdf).

Memorial, October 7

Mass
First Reading: Jon 4:1-11
Responsorial: Ps 86:3-4, 5-6, 9-10
Gospel: Lk 11:1-4

Reflection
I had a hard time choosing between the readings of the day and the memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary. On one hand, following the saga of Jonah always makes for an interesting read and, on the other, listening to Mary’s vocation unfold in scripture is one that is always special to us as Marianists.

At the start of Mass, I went with the readings of the day because that guarantees I get to talk about Jonah as well as Mary!

As outside observers listening to his story, we discover that Jonah has an interesting story. He is quite a character who is called by God and tries to do what God asks of him. However, along the way,  he seems to get distracted and lose focus.

Instead of going to Nineveh, he runs away. He survives an incredible, three day ordeal of being swallowed by a fish. He finally does what God asks in Nineveh and, because of his efforts, the people repent! Yet, Jonah is displeased, becomes angry and wishes for death!

Jonah is such a human character and, in many ways, I can see myself in his actions. In my zeal to do God’s work, the reality of our inevitable humanity and shortcoming makes me question God’s presence. I sometimes lose focus of God’s love around me amid the challenges of daily life.

So, how do we focus on God’s love in the presence of our world’s imperfections? Today’s readings and memorial offer us an answer: Prayer.

There are many methods of prayer: The Rosary, the Our Father (which is the Gospel of the day), music, spiritual reading, meditation, faith-sharing, chanting psalms, etc. Despite these many ways to pray, Blessed Chaminade reminds us that there are few people of prayer.

One way to become people of prayer is to take to heart the following quotes:

“forgive our sins as we forgive others.” As C.S. Lewis once said, “we all believe that forgiveness is a beautiful concept, until we have to practice it.”

“Lord, treat me tomorrow as I treat others today.” — Whoah, that really holds us accountable to our actions!

“I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word.” From the Gospel of today’s memorial, we hear the example of Mary who, despite the fact that she did not know the entirety of her vocation and where that would lead, said, “Yes.”

Mary faced several challenges in her vocation and, like Jonah, may have wanted to run away. But because of her faith, she remained focused on God’s promise and serves as an example for us to follow.

As we continue our celebration of the memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary, let us call on Mary to intercede for us as we grow to become her other Christs—Sons of Mary for the salvation of souls.