MAY LIFE FLOOD OUR HEARTS
Óscar Martín was the youngest brother delegate at the 20th General Chapter, turning 35 while the Chapter was in progress. He has worked in schools, formation programs, and pastoral care. At present he is Vice Provincial in the Province of Castille, Spain.

Very briefly, how would you sum up the 20th General Chapter?
Using a broad brush, Id highlight the following expressions: vitality, multicultural approach, horizons, spirituality of seeking, in community, sharing not only mission but also life, wisdom, growth and development, authenticity, fraternity.

A Chapter in pursuit of vitality. What is the elixir of life for the Marist Institute?
There is no magic formula for life, but there are indeed processes for life. The Chapter speaks to us of setting out on our journey, being openhearted, searching our wellsprings for greater human and spiritual depths, growing as persons and brothers.

How do you view the document Choose Life?
It is a document meant to energize. Not big on doctrinal novelties, but containing many small steps we can take. Its like a life plan for the next eight years, with five clearly-defined starting points. We will be blessed with abundant life and able to radiate this.

What stands out in your mind about the new General Superior and his team?
Its early to be specific, but I will venture to make three observations: theyre very human, down-to-earth people, which Im sure will be a feature of their style of animation and government; they possess all the qualities to form a true team, capable of finding common ground, discussing, working together, and building community; they illustrate well the diversity, vitality, and future direction of our Institute, and earned the solid, overwheming support of the Chapter.

How did you feel about taking part in such an international assembly?
It was a greatly enriching experience. A grace. It opened my eyes, mind, and heart to the wonder of being a brother. I felt injected with optimism, an ever greater affection for the Institute, personalized in names, faces, stories, and situations.

What are your thoughts about the fact that lay people participated in this Chapter?
Their inclusion was to be expected, as family, close to us. They share spirituality and mission with us… when you come right down to it, life. I also think that their presence witnessed well to the way things are today in the Institute.

What would you say to a young man who wants to become a brother?
More than saying anything, what I would do is open up my life to him, our life, welcome him and accompany him on the road to growing as a person and a Christian. How I wish I could – we could show him with our lives that we are people whose hearts are on fire for Jesus, sharing our family life, firmly committed to our mission of educating and evangelizing as Mary and Champagnat did. All of that would be the best presentation and question-and-answer session we could give. Our aim is to fill our hearts to the brim with Life and let It shine for all to see.
(FMS MARIST ECHO 39, December 2001)

POPE SENDS ASSISI DECALOGUE FOR PEACE TO HEADS OF STATE
John Paul II sent a letter accompanied by the Assisi Decalogue for Peace to all heads of State and government today. The decalogue was signed at the end of the Day of Prayer for Peace in the World which was celebrated in Assisi on January 24, 2002.
In the letter, signed on February 24, 2002, the Pope affirms that the participants in the meeting of Assisi were inspired more than ever by one common conviction: humanity much choose between love and hate.

The decalogue is as follows:
1. We commit ourselves to proclaiming our firm conviction that violence and terrorism are opposed to all true religious spirit and we condemn all recourse to violence and war in the name of God or religion. We undertake to do everything possible to eradicate the causes of terrorism.
2. We commit ourselves to educate people about respect and mutual esteem in order to achieve peaceful coexistence and solidarity among members of different ethnic groups, cultures and religions.
3. We commit ourselves to promote the culture of dialogue so that understanding and trust may develop among individuals and peoples as these are the conditions of authentic peace.
4. We commit ourselves to defend the right of all human beings to lead a dignified life, in accordance with their cultural identity, and to start their own family freely.
5. We commit ourselves to engage in dialogue with sincerity and patience, without considering what separates us as an insurmountable wall, on the contrary, recognizing that facing our differences can become an occasion for greater reciprocal understanding.
6. We commit ourselves to pardon each others errors and prejudices of the past and present, and to support one another in the common struggle against egoism and abuses, hatred and violence, and in order to learn from the past that peace without justice is not true peace.
7. We commit ourselves to stand at the side of those who suffer poverty and abandonment, speaking out for those who have no voice and taking concrete action to overcome such situations, in the conviction that no one can be happy alone.
8. We commit ourselves to make our own the cry of those who do not surrender to violence and evil, and we wish to contribute with all our strength to give a real hope of justice and peace to the humanity of our time.
9. We commit ourselves to encourage all initiatives that promote friendship between peoples, in the conviction that, if a solid understanding between peoples is lacking, technological progress exposes the world to increasing dangers of destruction and death.
10. We commit ourselves to ask the leaders of nations to make every possible effort so as to build, at both national and international level, a world of solidarity and peace founded on justice.

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