Commission of the Marist Spiritual Patrimony
The Commission of the Marist Spiritual Patrimony held its annual session in the General House from 16 to 20 June.
Brother Michel Morel recalls the role of the commission in the life of the Institute and presents the main topics for reflection during this session.
Composition of the present commission, appointed by the General Council in May 2012 :
Brs André Lanfrey, co-ordinator, Antonio Martínez Estaún, Demosthenes Calabria, Mme Heloïsa Afonso de Almeida Sousa, Brs Michaël Green, Patricio Pino, Spiridion Ndanga, and Michel Morel, secretary.
Brs André Lanfrey and Michaël Green were part of the preceding commissions. Br Demosthenes handed in his resignation last Spring.
Brs Eugène Kabanguka and Ernesto Sanchez are the two General Councillors responsible for accompanying it.
Role of the commission
It is an organ of the Secretariat of Brothers Today in order to give more emphasis to the connection between the sources of our spirituality and the mission which the brothers and laity are called to live. This is the reason why Brs César Rojas and Tony Leon attended one or other of the sessions.
It contributes to the animation of the Institute through the production of various studies on the patrimony and the animation of various meetings, retreats, colloquia…
It is a team for reflection and work which reflects the international and intercultural character of the Institute.
Work carried out in this session
The commission spent a long time on the finalising of a History of the Institute, drawn up by Br André Lanfrey. Volume 1 (1789-1907), validated during the 2013 session, is in process of being translated into Spanish, Portuguese and English. Volume 2 (1907-2016), largely completed, was the subject of a lengthy presentation on the part of its author and a lengthy exchange of points of view.
One of the normal tasks of the commission is to plan the publication of articles for the next Marist Notebook, an annual review intended for the dissemination of research on various topics of Marist history and spirituality, the publication of documents relating to Marist origins and newsbriefs about current activities (books, courses…) linked to the patrimony in different parts of the Institute.
This session also allowed us to become acquainted with the new General Archivist, Br Colin Chalmers, and to see how the commission and the archivist can work together.
The commission also discussed how it might make its contribution to the preparation for the bicentenary of the Institute in 2017 ; through the production of articles or the contribution of one or other of its members to a symposium.
The annual session allows us to become aware of the various activities of each of the members, or of others, in his or her geographical area : animation of retreats, creation of programmes of formation for brothers and laity, various publications…
One of the preoccupations of the members of the commission is to make the riches of the spiritual patrimony better known to brothers and laity, and to integrate these riches into the programmes of initial and ongoing formation.