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THE PATH OF BONDING TO THE CHARISM

You have in your hands a new edition of the “Sharing” newsletter, which was born to make visible the experience that we Marist Laics live in the different regions where we are present as a Global Family. The last bulletin published at the end of April was number 12, and it marked the first year of this publication promoted by the Bureau of the Laity and the Communications Department of the General Administration.

In this new number, we want to address a recent topic that is taking its first steps in several Administrative Units: the linking of the laity to the Marist charism. A topic that is being addressed in the process of the International Forum on the Lay Marist Vocation, expressed in the third of its objectives: “To reflect and propose possible ways of linking to the Marist charism”.

We are celebrating the feast of St. Marcellin Champagnat. He, together with some of his seminary companions, made a promise at the shrine of Fourvière (Lyon) and constituted what we know as the Society of Mary, from which emerged the 4 branches that we know today: Fathers, Brothers, Sisters, and Missionary Sisters. We know from the studies of our specialists in Marist patrimony that, despite some attempts, the experience of a “lay branch” of this Society did not come to fruition at that time.

After the impulse given by the Second Vatican Council to the life of the Church and of religious congregations, today, we are witnessing how the charism and spirituality of Marcellin Champagnat have inspired and continue to inspire the vocation and life of many Laics in many parts of the world. One example is the Fraternities of the Champagnat Movement or other community experiences with a markedly laical face.

Being part of some of these community expressions, there are people who, “after a personal journey of discernment, have decided to live the Christian spirituality and mission in Mary´s way, following the intuition of Marcellin Champagnat” (Gathered around the same table, 11). These men and women who have made a clear vocational process, following itineraries designed in their Provinces, with personal accompaniment, are thus constituted as lay Marists.

In some Provinces, these vocational processes have generated the desire for public recognition from the lay Marist vocation, making a gesture of attachment to the charism and being welcomed by the province to which they belong through the Brother Provincial.

We thank the Provinces of Norandina, Santa María de Los Andes, and Ibérica for the path they have been taking for several years, which they share with us in this new bulletin edition “Sharing” It is already inspiring other AUs to take similar steps, with what they imply of institutional recognition of the lay Marist vocation, and of visible commitment to Marist life and mission in our times. It is a new expression of the charism that implies continuing to walk, in communion with the Brothers, to update the conviction expressed in the message of the XXII General Chapter: “As Marists of Champagnat for a new beginning, we believe that the future of the charism will be based on a communion of fully committed Marists”.

We take up the experience of Marcellin Champagnat and his companions, and invite them to continue exploring this path and to be able to express, as they did: “We make this commitment, not lightly, and not as children, nor for terrestrial motives or hope of temporal interest, but seriously, after serious reflection and after having taken counsel and weighed everything before God, and only for the glory of God and the honor of Mary, Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ”.

_{This month´s issue has been prepared by The Secretariat for the Laity.}

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IBERICA PROVINCE

LAY BONDING TO THE MARIST CHARISM

Not even in the best of times could we have dreamed that Marist life would grow so strongly among us. Today we have sixty laymen and women who have made public their vocation and their commitment to the Marist charism in the Province of Ibérica.

_{Marist Laity Team of the Province of Ibérica}

The story comes from afar driven by the power of the Spirit. In the official document of the 20th General Chapter, We Choose Life said: “We are convinced that the Spirit of life leads us (brothers and laity) on this common path. Respecting the particularities and rhythms of each one, we commit ourselves to promote experiences and processes of joint reflection that lead us to deepen our Marist identity and to outline different forms of belonging to the Institute“.

Among the recommendations to the General Council, it was specified: “That it study the different forms of belonging to the Institute and that, in dialogue with the Provincials and their councils, it allows the laity to live (ad experimentum) diverse forms of Marist commitment. Based on these experiences, the General Council will clarify the types of juridical affiliation that will make it possible, eventually, to decide for the 21st General Chapter”.

The 21st General Chapter, in its final document, stated: “We recognize and support the vocation of the lay Marist. We believe that it is an invitation of the Spirit to live a new communion of brothers and lay Marists together, bringing greater vitality to the Marist charism and the mission in our world”, and made it clear in the document Gathered around the same table, that lay Marist life is a fact among us, although we lack juridical figures to formalize its link to the Institute.

Marist Laity Commission. Itinerary of attachment

In September 2010, the Marist Laity Commission was established in the Province and later became a Team. Among its objectives, the Provincial Council indicated: “To raise and accompany the lay Marist vocation and the new forms of linking the laity“. The Commission worked several courses promoting reflection on the lay Marist vocation and provoking experiences of discernment about it. At the beginning of 2013, the first outlines of the document were being built, which, after consultations and contrasts with individuals and teams of laypeople, was called Itinerary of the Iberian Province for the lay link to the Marist charism. The Provincial Council approved the proposal in December 2013.

The Itinerary of Attachment has three main axes: the discernment of one’s vocation in the light of the Marist charism, the personal accompaniment of those who wish to make this discernment, and the experiential growth in the dimensions of the charism, that is, in spirituality, mission and life in common.

Dissemination and implementation of the Linkage Itinerary

Throughout 2014, the Itinerary of Attachment began its process of dissemination and implementation. It was presented to the young adult groups, to the fraternities of the MCFM of the Province, and, of course, to the friars. Later also to the personnel of the centers.

In the meantime, we began a dialogue with several confreres and lay people to form a team of accompaniers. At the beginning, twelve people from very different parts of the Province began a formation process on accompaniment for the Itinerary of Attachment, preparing materials on the contents and experiences that are considered essential for the discernment of the Marist charism in life and personal vocation.  

First personal decisions

In the Itinerary of Attachment, speaking of the final moment, it says: “When the itinerary is concluded with the desire of attachment to the charism, the participants are invited to a community celebration to celebrate the gift of God in their lives and the life of the Marist community. In it, each one makes a public expression of his commitment to the Marist charism, using some kind of common formula, in front of the people who have accompanied him. This commitment is accepted by the Brother Provincial, representing the entire Marist community. From then on, the lay Marist becomes part of a provincial directory”.

To set this final moment in motion, the Marist Laity Team and the Provincial Council discussed several points at length, such as the way to collect applications, the report of the accompaniment process, the evaluation to be made of all this, the text of the commitment formula, the celebration of the commitment…

In January 2015, the Team began to collect requests from people for affiliation, mostly from the fraternities of the MCFM. The Provincial Council is receiving applications from Marist laymen and women who asked to be recognized as such.

Deepening the linkage itinerary

The itinerary of attachment has several moments. The first is the request made by the interested party to the Laity Team expressing the desire to discern his Marist vocation in the steps that are established.

The second is an interview between the person concerned and a person from the Team to deepen this desire, looking at the motivations, the experiences they already have, the areas of the itinerary that they may have lived and if they have a community in which to continue to grow in their vocation. It may happen that the person has already lived all that is proposed in the itinerary or a part of it, or that he/she has almost not started it. There are some preconditions to start this itinerary related to the age and the time in which the person has lived in contact with the Marist life. A personalized accompaniment is offered to help discern the experiences lived. It can last two or three years depending on the path already lived by each person.

In the third moment, the Laity Team analyzes the process and sends a report to the Provincial Council for its study. On the other hand, each applicant writes an official letter to the Provincial expressing the desire to formalize his attachment to the Marist charism in the Province of Ibérica. It is the Provincial who, in the name of the Council, approves the request and recognizes the applicant as a lay Marist.

In dialogue with the applicants, the Marist Laity Team and the Brother Provincial then propose a place and date for the bonding celebration.

Bonding celebration

The celebration of attachment is designed within a Eucharistic celebration with several special moments, among which stand out, at the offertory, the personal commitment of attachment and the presentation of a cross as a sign and remembrance and, after the Eucharist, the consecration to Mary.

Linkage commitment

This formula is pronounced at the time of the personal commitment:

In the presence of our Father God, our Good Mother, and Marcellin Champagnat.

After a process of discernment of my Christian vocation lived in the Marist charism of Champagnat, I, …, desire and it is my will to be recognized as a lay Marist in our Iberian Province.

I ask the Brother Provincial Superior to welcome me into this family and I commit myself to take care of and live my faith, to share it in my community and with other brothers and lay Marists, and to make Jesus Christ known and loved, building, with the help of the Spirit, a prophetic and Marian Church.

Road to the future

The document of our Itinerary of Attachment clearly states that the lay commitment to the charism implies a mutual relationship of fraternity and care among all the members of the Marist Provincial Family.

The lay Marist commits himself or herself to care for his or her vocation and spirituality; maintains ongoing formation; participates in the mission; lives the Marist community experience; maintains fraternal bonds with other Marists.

The Marist institution commits itself to: accompany its Marist life; facilitate spaces of fraternal life, including the communication of the life of the Province and the Institute; propose processes of ongoing formation; facilitate spaces of participation in the mission; call for spaces of spiritual growth and the sharing of prayer and celebration.

And the commitments then spill over into many other fields. Along with the many activities organized by the various provincial teams and commissions to energize the Marist life of brothers and laity, the Team offers a systematic accompaniment of the people who have joined, as well as specific activities for them such as assemblies, meetings, prayers, a WhatsApp group or a newsletter with their news.

Currently, one of the great challenges we are experiencing in Iberica is the creation of Marist Christian Communities of Reference in the works (CCMR). This reality is taking shape and steps are being taken for its consolidation and provincial recognition. They are leading the dynamics that can give rise to this new reality that we envision with hope and joy.

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NORANDINA PROVINCE

ITINERARIES OF THE LAY MARIST VOCATION DISCERNMENT FOR CHARISMATIC BONDING.

_{Claudia A. Rojas Carvajal}

1. Introduction

On January 2, 2003, the Norandina province, was born, composed of the precedent Marist provinces of Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela. With the birth of the new province, the integration of different projects and processes was also born. The first years allowed us to know more in-depth about the formation plans for the laity, the experiences of shared mission, and the assemblies of the laity, just to mention some of the projects that were underway.

The above context in addition to the fact that the Institute of the Marist Brothers in the XXI General Chapter in 2009, recognized the document “Gathered around the same table” and in it, the lay Marist vocation, encouraged the Norandina Marist Province, through the provincial commission for the laity, to organize different levels of itineraries that would allow the laity to promote a personal encounter with Jesus Christ, through the Marist charism, inherited from Father Champagnat and the first Brothers.

To strengthen the process of design and organization previously mentioned, the first vocational colloquium for the province was convoked with the participation of different pastoral areas, shedding light and orienting the proposal on which the Norandina Province Marists base their process of vocational discernment.

Moreover, for the Marist Institute, the organization of a framework of reference for the Lay Marist was also born, which today we know as: “Being a Lay Marist”; and which could be articulated to the process of the province.

2. Presentation

The itineraries of vocational discernment for the Marist laity in the Norandina Province, intend to lead as a God’s gift, to an inner transformation and a greater identification with Jesus Christ, through the Marist charism.

It is a matter of giving a response to the loving gaze of Jesus, to each one, and to understand that from this loving gaze, every Christian and Marist vocation begins, understanding that in the charismatic bond that the laymen and women make, God consecrates them for himself, they, in turn, profess some commitments that they will live through a charism, a specific spirituality, that will lead them to want to share the same vocation and mission with the Brothers and another lay Marists, each one from his option of the Christian life.

3. Recipients

For the Marist laity, who intend to make their journey of accompaniment, a set of criteria is proposed, including the following:

• People above the age of majority
• They live in a Christian way and self-identify with the Marist charism.
• They belong to a Marist community of life and prayer – a community of reference that accompanies their process.
• They actively participate in the community project of their living community.
• Have participated and lived in processes and experiences related to Marist life and mission for at least 4 years, in which they may or may not have a working relationship, but in any case, have participated continuously in their living community.
• They wish to share life and faith with others who are going through similar processes.
• They have family support.
• They are willing to exercise leadership roles and responsibilities in the future.

4. The path: seed vocational itinerary

The path of vocational discernment is organized so that each layperson who develops it walks with a companion, who can be a Brother, a lay Marist, a priest, or a religious of another congregation, but who, however, must be approved by the provincial team of lay animation.

The first thing to be done by the layperson who intends to be involved is to write a letter in which he/she introduces him/herself and talks about his/her motivations and interests to begin his/her discernment.

The provincial team for the laity makes the reflection and discernment of the candidates, as well as the companions. Once they are defined, a workshop is held to inform and deepen the itinerary.

During the process, there are two formative activities, designed to be shared with other laymen and women who are following the same path; and two moments called stop along the way, to be shared with the national delegate of the laity. In any case, each of the proposed tools should help the candidates to concretize their process in their life project.

Once the last form has been developed, we proceed to the completion of the form called: “La Valla” (The Fence). This is done jointly by the person accompanying and the person accompanied, and it is sent to the National Delegate, who then forwards it to the Provincial Secretary, where it remains as proof of the bonding of the layperson.

Once the file has been filed, the provincial team for the laity presents to the provincial council the candidates to be linked. Once approved, the dates for the bonding Eucharist are organized and the approved formula for the bonding is used.

In the Norandina Province, the bonding of the Marist laity is carried out in the presence of the Provincial Brother, or his delegate, and lasts three years, at the end of which the renewal is carried out.

Now, the number of times this renewal and the organization of the link in perpetuity is under discernment.

5. Symbol description

The cross that we have used for the charismatic bonding is like the one of the brothers in its measures, it is designed to connect with the one of the brothers, and with the one of other laypeople as a sign that creates a family. At the end it says Marists, which reminds us not only of our origin but also the special bond that unites us to Mary’s society, remembering that it is there where the first intuition for the Marist laity arises. Champagnat’s signature is engraved in the center, as should be engraved in our hearts, and minds the inheritance received.

The original cord is white and blue, it is the Marian ink that reminds us of the umbilical cord that unites the mother with the child, it makes the child an extension of her, and they will always be in a special connection.

Finally, the material of which it is made, the cross, is very simple, it is meant to be a reminder of the simplicity, humility, and modesty that we are called to live.

6. Implications

The involvement of the Marist laity in the province has meant several things:

• Real recognition of the lay Marist vocation.
• Commitment to the formation of the laity.
• Formation of vocational accompaniers for the laity (B and L).
• Financial support.
• Openness to new faces of the Charism.

From the laity:

• Recognition that it is a call from the Lord lived through a Charism.
• Personal growth – Christian – Marist, and familiar.
• A new way of being a reference community.
• New faces for the charism, by assuming apostolates and mission from the laity, for the most vulnerable in new places.
• A new way of being and doing Church.

7. Challenges

• To continue advancing in the understanding of what charismatic bonding of the laity means.
• To look for mechanisms to overcome the fear of some laity to carry out the itinerary.
• The permanent formation plan for the laity linked and their perpetual linkage.
• Consolidation of a structure for the linked laity.
• Marist Pastoral Vocational and the possible new faces for the Marist Charism.

Mary, Laywoman, my Inspiration – _{Mónica Rocío Arteaga Hoyos (Norandina Province)}

In 2016 Our Lady of Fourvière visited my city. She, The Good Mother has been my inspiration as a daughter, woman, and mother; her constant “YES” walking beside Jesus has illuminated many situations in my life. Now, she was coming to my native Pasto as “La Morenita”, which filled my heart with deep joy. Her visit brought us hope given my mother’s health difficulties, who, after her presence, felt that she would act in her life. I am making this introduction as her YES and her visit was the light to consolidate definitively my vocational commitment to the service life and to link myself as a laywoman to the Marist charism.

This has been one of the most important steps in my life, I feel that walking unconditionally in a deep union with Jesus and in service to others, our life has a meaning, this is what Champagnat wanted.  I have been a Marist for as long as I can recall, I was educated by the brothers, and I had the joy of having them as my teachers.

I owe what I am to God, to my Good Mother, to the Marist community, to my parents, to my daughter, and to my reference community Our Lady of Fourvière, who are and will be the best source of inspiration and commitment. I love the vocation that God chose for me.

Being Marist; My Essence as a Jesus Follower – _{Andrés González (Norandina Province)}

I recognize that the Lord has filled me with a sea of blessings in life, I am grateful and I live with the commitment to make germinate all that love and blessings that He has poured into my life.

I studied at the Colegio Nuestra Señora de Chiquinquirá in Maracaibo. I knew closely the life of the Marist Brothers who shared there and within the youth movement (REMAR) I learned to live in community and to find God by reading the needs of my environment and responding to them.

At the age of 16, I joined the Marist postulancy in Venezuela and walked a 19-year path as a Marist Brother. The calls and my choices led me to retire and start a family. I have a wife and an 11-year-old daughter who are my blessing and where I live God’s call to build a family and continue building the Kingdom of God here and now.

Being Marist has been, since childhood, my way and reason for living my essence as a Jesus follower, today with my family, together with my lay community and after my public link to the charism, I am always looking for God’s will, trying to build a new way of being Marist as a layperson and within a reality where the Brothers have not been present for more than 10 years. For this reason, I feel that I share in and am responsible for the Marist charism in these regions of Paraguaná, Punto Fijo, Falcón State, Venezuela. And every day I try to be a witness to their love in me, in my family, and in the reality that surrounds me.

Nearing 100 years of Marist life in Venezuela, I feel more than ever the commitment to revive the charism, to follow Jesus as a Marist of Champagnat, and to spread the seed of the love of God and the Legacy of Saint Marcellin in the next generation. My connection to the charism within the Province of Norandina invites me to renew my commitment to follow Jesus, to make myself responsible for the future of the charism by trying to actualize it with humility, simplicity, and modesty under the protection of Our Good Mother.

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SANTA MARIA DE LOS ANDES PROVINCE:

BONDING EXPERIENCE TO THE CHARISM

The experience of Linkage to the Charism is the experience lived by members of the Cana Community in the Peru Sector.

Cana is the result of the joint training experience of 2009, promoted by the Secretariat of the Laity in South America, and began its journey in the light of the “Itineraries of Growth in the lay Marist vocation” approved by the Provincial Council at that time; these Itineraries contemplate four stages: Invitation, Initiation, Deepening, and Bonding.

Currently, Cana is made up of 8 lay people and 3 brothers (the brothers have been part of the community since its beginnings); seven lay people from the community have been linked since 2018. The journey of the Cana community, like that of other lay Marist communities, is the journey of other people who have chosen to live their vocation of following Jesus based on the Marist charism; it is a personal response that is lived in community.

Being in the stage of Deepening, in 2017 a process of reflection began on the possibility of taking the step to the stage of Bonding; being the first experience in the Province, it was necessary to reflect on some relevant issues such as the meaning, scope, and commitments of the Bonding, the formula of commitment, the person who receives the commitment. This process was carried out over several months in which there were spaces for dialogue in the key of discernment, moments of prayer, and retreat; we counted on the presence and contributions of some confreres and maintained close communication with the Secretariat of the Laity.

Some of the points that were defined during this process are the following:

• The link is to
• It is given in a context of vocational response, the fruit of a process of growth; it is an expression of a personal option to live the following of Jesus from the Marist charism.
• The commitment of attachment is received by the Brother
• This commitment is renewed every two
• The formula of commitment, which was presented to the Brother Provincial for his
• The sign of this commitment: a

Subsequently, a report was presented to the Brother Provincial giving an account of the process of the laity, together with the personal letter of each one, addressed to the Brother Provincial, requesting to move on to the Linkage Stage.

The commitment of Attachment to the Charism was made during the closing Eucharist of the First Assembly of Lay Marist Communities; the Brother Provincial, the Director of the Bureau of the Laity and other brothers close to the process and the journey of the laity were present:

• A brother of the community introduced the laymen and women who wished to take this step and gave an account of the path taken, which he witnessed.
• The laymen and women made their commitment of Attachment to the Charism following the following formula:

• The Brother Provincial received the commitment expressed by the laymen and women and encouraged them to continue in this vocational process.

Renewal of the Charism Linkage commitment was made in 2020 and will be made again this year. Some implications of the Charism Linkage:

• First of all, the recognition of the existence of a lay Marist vocation as a gift from God, requires adequate means and spaces to grow.
• It validates the need to follow an itinerary that enables growth in the lay Marist vocation, in our case, the Itinerary approved by the Province.
• This lay Marist vocation contributes to the revitalization of the charism from a lay perspective.
• It also implies the recognition that we live this vocational journey in communion with the Marist Institute.
• For the laypeople involved, it implies a greater commitment to take charge of their process, to give witness to Marist life in the different environments where we find ourselves, and to be available for the mission.
• Likewise, a greater commitment to the vitality of the community, to mutual care, and to care for and closeness to other communities.
• For the Province, it generates the commitment to accompany the lay vocation and strengthen the bonds between brothers and lay vocations.

We thank God for the gift received as a precious treasure; we thank our families who accompany us and are part of our journey; we thank the brothers who accompany and encourage us in this lay Marist vocational journey.

The bonding experience is a gift – _{Eliana Rojas (Sta. María de los Andes)}

The association with the Marist charism was a very important decision in the itinerary of my lay vocation, a decision that I reflected on and prayed about personally and with my community of Cana, enlightened by Jesus and Mary.

The experience of association is a gift received through the grace of the lay vocation, it is a response to the call and the loving presence of God, and it is a gratifying commitment that I assume in the following of Jesus in the way of Mary and Marcellin in the charism that makes me fall in love, reflected in my life of faith, in my family and work relationships.

Sharing the journey with my brothers and sisters in the community encourages and strengthens the experience of communion, the experience of faith, and the vocation with a sense of mission; with emphasis on promoting lay vocations, the accompaniment of the journey of other lay Marists lay communities and the strengthening of the lay movement in the Peru sector.

This experience leads me with joy and conviction to continue renewing the first promise of association.

Gratitude to God for his merciful love, to the Good Mother for guiding us to Jesus on this fascinating journey. To Marcellin for passing on his dream to us and to the Marist Brothers for their testimony, for accompanying and encouraging us.

Happy to be a Marist of Champagnat!

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¿WHERE DO WE STAND IN THE INTERNATIONAL FORUM PROCESS?

_{Raúl Amaya -Director of the Secretariat for the Laity}

At this moment we are reaching the final part of stage 2 of the International Forum on the Lay Marist Vocation. This stage has included the study and deepening in each Administrative Unit of the themes proposed by the Forum, at a personal and community level. The dynamics have been developed in small groups formed by Brothers, mixed communities, laypeople, fraternities of the CMMF or other movements.

In some Administrative Units there has already been a Provincial/District Meeting or a similar face-to-face or virtual event in which representatives of the local phase have participated. In other AUs this activity will soon be developed. Each Administrative Unit is organizing this experience according to its reality.

In this step, the three representatives (two lay people and one brother) have been selected to attend the International Forum. Their participation will be in November 2022 (Rome, in person) and November 2024 (virtual).

This Stage 2 ends on June 30, 2022, date in which the Provincial Teams of Lay Animation will send to the Secretariat of the Laity their answers to the questions of each one of the objectives. The answers are the results of the whole process of local and provincial/district reflection that will be worked out by the participants of the International Forum.