Echoes from a Marian Retreat 2

In 2010 Pope John Paul II sent a message to the members of the General Chapters of the Marist Congregations. I was struck by the official request on the part of the Church to make more visible the Marian Face of the Church. At the time, several thoughts came to mind.

The message was an appeal to the Marist Family although it could have been made to other religious families more visible in the Church. Upon us, therefore, lies a great responsibility to try to answer that call despite the perhaps limited nature of the resources we have at hand.

The task is to make known, or at least to make more widely known in the whole Church the Marian dimension of the Church.

I was at the point of thinking that the official request of the Pope had been forgotten. This retreat, however, and some notes that I have been reading from the General Chapter have shown me that the appeal is being answered at both the level of our Institute and that of the other Marist congregations. Brother Emili seems to have made of this topic an important theme of his mandate. We cannot be anything but very pleased in that regard.

We are at the beginning of a new journey, and it would be good to be informed of everything that is written and carried at the level of the Marist congregations on this theme. Thus we will avoid being on the margins of this movement. Mozambique is not very favored with means and systems of communication. All the same, we wish to be attentive, and to benefit from everything that is done to make the Marian Face of the Church more visible.

Following upon the suggestions of the retreat animator, I would underline the following points for our Sector:
That the theme of the Marian Face of the Church be the topic of our periodic community reflections.

That we re-read the articles of our Constitutions regarding Mary under the aspect of the ?Marian Face of the Church.?

That the recitation of the Rosary be enriched by some reflections on the characteristics of the Marian Face of the Church. The material that was supplied to us during the retreat, and other material that we may find, can be of great help on this point.

Let us celebrate the Marian feasts, making a parallel between Mary, her virtues and her inner world, and the Church as Christian community.

We thank the General Administration for the possibility that has been given us of making this retreat on the theme: ?The Marian Face of the Church.? The retreat was a moment of light, and we keep praying that the Virgin Mary will always be our light, and that she will continue to illuminate our journey with the brightness of the One who is the LIGHT.

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Naamacha, Mozambique: July 2010
Brother Antonio Pisco