FEATURES OF LAY MARIST LIFE

Features of lay Marist life
ence, simplicity, humility and commitment to the
most needy, mainly children and young people.
(Paraguay)
generous response is born of a grateful heart.
A On looking back with gratitude on my life I
remember the joyful and happy experience of a
childhood privileged to be in contact with the
Brothers as the captivating experience of my
heart. The brotherly welcome, the respectful participation
and generous dedication transmitted
their enthusiasm to me. (Spain)
More than being excellent teachers in their
domains of knowledge, the charism, their
way of being, their way of treating us, was what
fascinated me. I had Marist teachers for seven
years, an important period for the formation of
my character, and for the formation and acquisition
of essential values in faith and in life. What
captivated me the most in the experience with
the brothers was that permanent feeling of being
welcome, of joy, of sharing and of simplicity!
(Brazil)
When I began to work with the Marist Brothers,
I was simply a person who wanted to
earn a living; I wanted to work and to act as a
professional… Later I found myself entering
into the Marist world. It is impossible to work
in a Marist school and not feel and live as one.
(Paraguay)
Extended Bureau of the Laity
Who has been able to make me passionate
about the Marist world that I came to know
at the age of 16?
• The magic of community celebrations. Singing
with five hundred young people at the
top of our voices, encouraged by about twenty
brothers, enthusiastic, full of life: it was impossible
that that would leave my heart and
that of many others indifferent.
• They gave me the joy of living which is encountered
in the common life, the testimony
of happy consecrated people, the commitment
and the vitality that they showed in
what they did.
• They delighted me by the originality and
the intensity with which they led us to Jesus.
They were Marists passionate about the person
of Jesus. The simplicity and quality of
their relationships made us feel that we were
not strangers and that we were not a bother
to them in their places: We were more than
a human resource for accomplishing a task;
they wanted to live an experience of shared
mission with us.
• I was surprised by the assurance and the
confidence that they put in the group. Above
all, everything that I did was received positively.
We were fulfilling the hopes of the
mission and this sensation gave comfort,
commitment and enthusiasm to a young
and uncertain heart in search of something.
(Chile)
The Marist Brothers left our town in 1995.
The style of Mary was lacking, a style that
had captivated me so much. How could we
teach this style of Mary that seemed to overflow
from the heart? How could we make this
work started by the brothers come alive in such
a way that it did not lose its roots? (Brazil)
Bro. Anthony had a weekly period for all upper
class students for a subject which he
called “Moral Science”. He was looking at life
in a non-religious way. He questioned the students
and got from them ideas as to what was
right and what was wrong. The class contained
students of all faiths, and Bro. Anthony made
sure that he avoided presenting Christianity
and its teachings in a way inappropriate for
such a mixed class. (Sri Lanka)