2nd day of the Laity Continental Commissions Meeting

Read more about the meeting | Photos 4 October

During the second day of the Laity Continental Commissions Meeting, participants worked on the proposal of the General Council about a Global Framework for Lay Marists and the revitalisation process of the Champagnat Movement of Marist Family.

The day began with a morning prayer, prepared by the encounter’s group from Brazil, around the Gier river.

Back in the meeting room, Raúl Amaya and Eliana Rojas gave a testimony on the charismatic process that is being experienced in the Santa Maria de los Andes Province, highlighting the experience of itinerary, formation and accompaniment that is lived in the administrative unit.

Pep Buetas, Joe McCarthy and Raúl Amaya then offered a reflection on the document “Being a Lay Marist. Process and pathway”. This text responds to the General Council's wish to present the upcoming general chapter with a framework for the identity of lay Marists, who feel called to live by the charism. According to the Council, this implies the recognition of this identity through some sort of international association.

At the request of the General Council, the Secretariat of Laity organised a consultation process to draft the document that the Continental Commissions analysed and is now, in its second draft, under discussion to be presented to the chapter.

Participants discussed some of the document’s key issues that seek to define common elements of the Marist laity’s identity worldwide and help recognise them as such. A very emphatic question arises as to whether or not it would make sense to establish an association of lay people internationally.

The morning concluded when the assembly was invited to suggest proposals for the document itself, the lay Marists formation process and its application in the administrative units.

The theme of the afternoon was the Champagnat Movement of the Marist Family. Around 3,500 lay people live the charism of Marcellin through the CMMF. After 30 years of life, a renewal is necessary, using a common criteria for the Marist lay identity. This revitalisation process was conducted by an international team coordinated by Ana Sarrate, who presented the theme with other team members. She described the process lived by the Commission of Revitalisation, which resulted in a draft of the new “Project of Life in Fraternity”, still “under construction”. Ana stressed the criteria used by the Commission to elaborate the Project and emphasized the beliefs that guided her work, for example, the need of a systematic formation process.

The participants heard the testimony of Elma Rafil, from the Philippines, who presented her experience of participating in a fraternity of the Movement, emphasizing how the Marist vocation transforms her everyday life.

After this, work was given to the groups, asking each team to point out three concrete proposals to be presented at the chapter. The suggestions were written on paper and fixed on the walls. Then the assembly elected the most significant ones, which would later be collected and prepared to be presented at the chapter.

The day’s activities concluded with a moment of contemplation, in small communities, sharing what participants had experienced during the first two days.