FEATURES OF LAY MARIST LIFE

Extended Bureau of the Laity Features of lay Marist life
moved on to spend more time with the stu-
I dents outside the classroom, being a presence
for them, and I noticed that when I welcomed
them just as they were, they also welcomed me
and it was made easier for me to end up knowing
them, to anticipate and guide some of their
actions. I continued to realize that the vision of
Champagnat went far beyond the walls of the
School and that many Montagne awaited my missionary
action in the Church. (Brazil)
The dream of educating in the Gospel –acknowledging
and respecting the wholeness
of the human person and sharing a way of life
rooted in the person of Jesus Christ –is very much
a needed reality to counter our broken homes
and materialistic, self-serving social mores. Insofar
as I attempt to live Marcellin’s zeal for making
education a genuine act of love, I believe that I
am Marist. (United States)
As happened with Marcellin and the Montagne
child, I discovered that my true vocation was
with the neediest of children thanks to an experience
of working at N. with the marginal children
of a district. This was the circumstance that convinced
me to do my studies in Special Education
and that led me to work with autistic children
for seven years, and that brought me back to my
Marist house of B, where I currently work helping
integrate the special education students into the
normal school structures. (Spain)
have a very real sense that Marcellin’s primary
I focus was not only providing better educational
opportunities but rather fostering in young
people knowledge and experience of God’s love.
I am reminded of the famous quote of Marcellin
that, “I cannot see a child without wanting to let
him know how much Jesus Christ has loved him
and how much he should in return, love the divine
Saviour.” It is about enabling young people
to grow.
This aspect of growth as a key aspect of a Marist
education is one that holds true for myself in my
present role. I have frequently used and drawn
inspiration from Oscar Romero’s reflection entitled
Tomorrow’s church (date unknown), the first
few lines of which states,
This then is what we are about,
We plant sees that one day will grow,
1
We water sees already planted,
Knowing that they hold future promise.
(Australia)
Towards the end of the dark days of apartheid,
the Brothers were among the first to
open their schools to all races. I am very grateful
to work in such a non-racial environment, which
has allowed me to witness the colour-blindness
of future generations. It is the Marist Brothers,
the lay teachers and other staff members, the
children and their families, past and present,
making up the wider school community, which
provides the heartbeat. (South Africa)
Jointly Responsible
in the Shared Mission
Together in the Mission
W hile I certainly felt most comfortable with
people of faith, I kept noticing those who
suffered from the lack of it. I felt bad for people
who didn’t have what I had been given and wished
that I could share that. Without realizing what I
was doing, I wanted to “make Jesus known and
loved”. I was in no position to teach or preach,
but I could certainly treat people as Jesus would