Champagnat Movement of the Marist Family
After a process of collective work involving the Marist brothers and laity of the Provinces and the District of Amazonia, under the co-ordination of the Sector of Consecrated Life and Laity of UMBRASIL, two documents have been launched for the present and future fraternities of the Champagnat Movement of the Marist Family of Brasil.
The first, National Plan of Formation, aims to « offer guidelines for the provincial and local leaders of the ChMMF to give dynamism to the formation of their members » in the human, Christian and Marist dimensions. In it we find the lay person valued as co-responsible for the vitality of the charism and invited to live it in a spirit of community, in sharing spirituality, life and mission in the fraternities. The Plan also insists on the importance of accompaniment in a continual growth process ; for this, it establishes a common system of reference adapted to the progress of each Province.
The second, Orientations for the common organisation, offers some guidelines for the ChMMF in Brasil, « allowing freedom of action according to the needs and possibilities in each of the provincial or local situations. » Drawn up in clear and comprehensible language, it presents the minimal structures and the remits of the responsible members of the Movement, in order to guarantee greater unity in the way in which the fraternities are organized in Brasil.
According to the Constitutions of the Marist Brothers, « the Champagnat Movement of the Marist Family is an extension of our Institute ; it is a movement for people who wish to share more fully the spirituality and sense of mission inherited from Marcellin Champagnat. In this movement, affiliated members, young people, parents, helpers, former students and friends deepen within themselvers the spirit of our Founder so that they can live it and let it shine forth. The Institute animates and co-ordinates the activities of this movement by setting up suitable structures. »
The documents are expected to give a greater dynamism to the ChMMF, contributing to the construction « of a new relationship between brothers and laity, based on communion, seeking together a greater vitality of the Marist charism for our time » (XXI General Chapter).