French-speaking 3rd Age program – report on the 3rd and 4th weeks
Heritage and Gratitude
To experience a short renewal program of 2 months is a bit like life itself: the stages have different paces and often overlap with one another. Thus, after a brief look into our past and a period of retreat that we are currently enjoying, we have been invited during this third week to “take a dive” into the spiritual roots for living a full, consecrated Marist life.
To begin, Br Antoine Kazindu led us through a process of reviewing our inner journey, our spiritual life and personal prayer at the heart of and in touch with our daily lives. This gave us the chance to take stock of this essential dimension of our lives as we visited the very sources of the Marist adventure, “around the table” of La Valla and at the feet of Our Lady of Pity.
As Marists, our spiritual life has been shaped by the person of Marcellin of course, but also by his first disciples. This was the message of Br Alain Delorme with his great love for those who have gone before us and with his infectious style of communication as a 90 year old (he celebrated his birthday with us).
At the end of our Hermitage stay, we headed to Rome (26 September), the current centre of Marist life. There we linked up with the 3rd Age group of Spanish- and Portuguese speakers to spend two days together in the footsteps of the “Poverello of Assisi”. This gave us the occasion to look back over our own way of following Christ and how we have ‘written’ our own Laudato Si’. Before we set out, we spent some time in prayer together and sharing our “Dreams” for ourselves and for Marists, because life continues to beckon!
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Br. Gilles Hogues
Three groups simultaneously
The 3rd Age Program is a two-month sabbatical experience (3 September – 31 October 2022) for religious brothers who are in or approaching the phase of life after middle age when a person is in active retirement. An important dimension of the program is the sabbath experience. The first opportunity it offers, therefore, is for each brother to rest. The second dimension of the program is to offer an experience of genuine renewal for each brother, especially focusing on what lies ahead. Third, as brothers we seek to be a community together for these two months.
On the occasion of the Year of Marist Vocations and to celebrate the fidelity offered to the Institute by our older brothers, the program will be conducted in three groups simultaneously, although in different venues: Spanish/Portuguese in the General House, English in Manziana and French in the Hermitage.
The brothers of all three groups will have a chance to be together twice. First, from 26 September to 08 October, they will have joint activities in the General House in Rome. Then, from 11 to 23 October, in the Hermitage.
