THE MARIST FAMILY IN ROME CELEBRATES ?THE HOLY NAME OF MARY?

During the evening of the 12th September, members of the four branches of the Marist Family ? the Marist Sisters, the Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary, the Marist Fathers and the Marist Brothers – celebrated the feast day of the Holy Name of Mary. This feast is celebrated throughout the world as the patronal feast of the Marist Family. Members from the communities of all four Marist General Houses gathered together at the General House of the Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary for the celebration of Mass, which was followed by a festive meal.
The diversity of the group was evident in the way in which the Mass was celebrated. The prayers and hymns were in four different languages: French, English, Spanish and Italian. The singing during the Mass broke naturally and spontaneously into harmony parts. The Prayers of the Faithful included prayers in different languages for many different parts of the Marist world.
Each congregation made its own contribution to the meal by providing the drinks, the main course, the salads or the desserts. It was not a typical Italian meal!
The evening was a great occasion that gave us a chance ?to grasp, in all its richness, the simple fact that we carry a name, the name of Mary: to know we are loved, to recognise that something about us comes from another, and by that very fact to be linked together in a bond of sisterhood and brotherhood.? (words taken from the homily given by Hubert Bonnet-Eymard S.M.)