Today's Marists 2024 Volume 8, Issue 2

Living Mary’s Way
of Reconciliation
by Bev McDonald, Marist Laity, New Zealand
Father Jean-Claude Colin calls us to be
attentive to the signs of the times and in
Pope Francis’ encyclical Fratelli Tutti he
speaks about this regressive defensive world
in the hope that “we may prove capable of
responding with a new vision of fraternity
and social friendship that will not remain
at the level of words.” (Fratelli Tutti, 6) How
am I called as a lay Marist to respond to the
disturbing signs of our time?
Life has taught me: “If it’s to be, it must begin
with me.” However, I do not seem called
to activism. Also, to rail against the world
spiralling into war is hypocritical if war rages
within me as it often does. Mary teaches me
to confront, or perhaps ‘care-front’ those
tendencies in me with openness to the
mercy and reconciliation of God. I slightly
tweak Fr. Colin’s three great “No’s” to three
“P’s”: “No” to Pride, Power and Privilege. I
find it difficult to recognize ‘greed’ in me,
but deceptively easy to see how privilege
makes me comfortable, accepting my
circumstances almost as of right, while at the
same time dulling my senses to the needs
of others. Privilege of any kind tempts us to
misuse power and pride. There are countless
ways we are tempted to divisiveness over
reconciliation, fear over compassion or
justifying our own positions over receptive
dialogue. Daily life presents endless
examples to ponder.
I am learning to ask myself about how I react
to anything new? Am I fearful or open to
fresh perspectives? Can I remain open to the
other person, particularly if my pride is hurt,
my need for control thwarted or my privilege
feels under attack? As I reflect on these as a
kind of daily examen I am in no doubt that
only through grace have I any capacity to
live a life of reconciliation and care for my
neighbor, even in my own home.
Reflecting on Mary in the Gospels. I see a
woman who lives a hidden ordinary life. Yet
she treats people with respectful, affirming
and life-giving care. She is totally God
focussed and her surrender to the Holy Spirit
enables her to live a radically authentic,
peace-making, courageously reconciling
form of discipleship. She was privileged to
be Theotokos, the God-bearer, yet submitted
herself humbly to God throughout her
challenging life. In her journey to Bethlehem
and the escape into Egypt, she accepts
chaotic painful situations with realism,
doing the next most obvious thing within
her capability and trusting the outcomes to
God, especially when none of it made sense.
Family life is full of unscripted twists and
turns that fall far from our dreams. Mary’s
Study for the Pentecost, 2012, John Nava,
Project preparation work for Holy Spirit
Catholic Church, Las Vegas, Nevada
radical trust in God, dependence on the
Holy Spirit and courage to live the reality
of her circumstances with compassion and
constancy speaks deeply to me.
When I ponder the Eucharist, I am struck
by the drop of water in the chalice of wine.
I know its Christological significance, but
it also seems to reflect my insignificant life
which when offered to God, somehow gets
caught up in His plan. Even when Mary is
embattled by the extended family to sort
Jesus out (Mk. 3:21, 31), she presents her
22 Today’s Marists Magazine