What does it mean to you to be a protagonist in acting out Champagnat’s dream?

We asked some Marists who work in Marist works with the education of children and young people what it means to be a protagonist in the realisation of the dream of Saint Marcellin Champagnat. Here are some answers.

América Sur

“Champagnat’s dream is a bet on collective strength and not on the brilliance of someone special. The protagonism, as I perceive it in Champagnat’s dream, does not value personal choices and paths. It points to categories of protagonism: the young, the impoverished, the students. To be a protagonist, in this sense, is to update and to make the dream of Champagnat collectively valid.”
Ricardo Spindola Mariz, coordinator of the Mission and Management Area of UMBRASIL (South America)

Asia

“To be a protagonist in acting out Champagnat’s dream is to be optimistic, proactive and positive gift to others who gives hope and enlightenment  in the midst of challenging and changing time to time like today’s global crisis. One can be an agent of social transformation and a creative bridge builder like an internet connector who ignites light, brings hope and strengthens faith to those suffering and in need, utilizing responsibly the possible resources like social media to communicate and keep in touch with the young in touching their lives and saying hello and how are they are in the midst of turbulent world. Like Saint Marcellin Champagnat, a simple teacher, who immediately responds anytime to those in need. Likewise, he or she is a person of faith in a time of crisis, who sincerely prays and exemplifies one’s faith in action. Moreover, one can be a man (brother) or a woman (sister) of Mary, who loves and cares for others being a face, hands and mercy to others whom you can count on and who support and never leave his/her brothers or sisters in need despite the challenges and tests of time.
Let us be a Marist protagonist, who carries on Champagnat’s mission and makes a good difference in this world in big things or small, touching lives of others wherever God leads us in our encounter and journey of life.”
Ivy B. Yecyec – Notre Dame of Kidapawan College – Kidapawan City, Philippines

Africa

“I see individual child in my care with unique abilities and gifts, and encourages development in his/her academic, personal and social (inter personal skills) growth. My natural curiosity and love for learning are natured in each child I encounter in my classroom. My very use of current methods of teaching shall promote active learning on the part of my students and personal achievement. Each child in my classroom or in school, is special and as a protagonist pursing Champagnat’s dream is treated with respect, dignity and the right of the child strictly observed.
In acting out Champagnat’s dream in the field of education, my students shall be taught to set goals, and work towards them for personal advancement, and most importantly develop greater awareness of the world, cultures and knowledge of their creator. They shall be empowered to help others and make positive changes in the environment they find themselves.”
Julie Agbazue – Marist Comprehensive Academy, Uturu-Nigeria.

Arco Norte

“Watching the Brothers and learning from them, I began to understand what Champagnat had told his brothers two hundred years before of the importance of loving the students, the good and not good yet, before you can teach them.  This message has become the cornerstone of my work.  It has bolstered me up when I am feeling defeated and fills me with joy when I encounter young men and women years after they have graduated and fondly remember the kindness they knew at Marist.” (Patrick Hennessy, Marist High School – Chicago, USA).

“When I was a Marist student, my teachers and the Marist brothers worked every day to inspire, to guide, to protect, to nurture, and more. As a teacher, it is my turn to do my part to act out Champagnat’s dream by being the person my teachers and the brothers were for me” (Patrick Meyer, Marist High School – Chicago, USA).

“As a Marist, I witness the love of Jesus Christ and make Him known by ensuring that every student I interact with is seen, known, and loved. I emphasize the skills of action, contemplation, and animation needed to live lives full of simplicity, love, gratitude, and care for one another, themselves, and all of creation” (Brigid Wolff, Marist High School – Chicago, USA).

“It is an honor to be able to guide students in the likeness of St. Marcellin Champagnat. Every child has the desire to be successful and the yearning to be loved. To help students recognize their potential with love in our eyes and pride in our heart, we can enhance them to be the best of themselves, educationally, emotionally, and spiritually” (Margie Sweeney, Marist High School – Chicago, USA).

“On one level, I find myself prodding and poking students to not be afraid to share themselves with each other.  On another, through literature, I find great joy in making students aware of their blessings and how so many do not have the rich life experiences or resources as they do.” (Mary Cozzie, Marist High School – Chicago, USA).

“We, as lay Marists, like the brothers before us, must find a way to ignite our students to not only live lives of faith, but to SPREAD the Good News of Jesus Christ just as Marcellin Champagnat did when he began this mission two centuries ago” (Sean Maxwell, Marist High School – Chicago, USA).