?With Mary, go in haste to a new land!?

Rev Emili Turu, fms and Brother Ferre, his secretary visited the Marist brothers of the Madagascar province in the first week of August 2010. They arrived in the country on the last day of July and stayed there until August 8th, 2010, adopting the lifestyle of the Malagasy people, mainly eating rice and roasted meat three times a day. But their coming was not just a simple visit. They came with a strong and inspiring message of the last general chapter of the Marist Institute. During the week starting from the 1st to the 7th they gave retreat to the Brothers during which they made known to the participants the width, the length and the depth of the message of the general chapter. The visiting Brothers explained the meaning of ?With Mary, go in haste to a new land!? in our daily life as Marists. The superior general insisted on the personal conversion which is the responsibility of each brother in the Institute. He supported his views with the letters written by each Marist region ahead of the last general chapter. The Marist brothers of the province felt the joy of welcoming the superior who visited them for the first time after his election as the new general superior. Madagascar is the first country where he stayed for such long period and where he received brothers on individual basis during the time of retreat. As far as the message of the general chapter is concerned, the brothers of the province seemed to have got the message of personal conversion. Their hearts were fertile enough to receive the seed of the message to let it grow to full bloom. I believe that a true disciple of Champagnat could not resist to the call of change of heart in the way the superior delivered it. At the end of the retreat the superior general and his secretary received all the brothers of the province, those who were doing their retreat and those who were not doing it. The purpose of the meeting was to let the Brothers know about some important projects of the Institute like the questions of Marist laity, Ad Gentes project, and the Marist solidarity organisation known as FMSI.__________________Brother Tiamaro Alphonse, fms, Madagascar province.