2022-01-28 UNITED STATES

LayUp – Lay Marist Update

Marists of Champagnat USA

January 2022 LayUp / Archive

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So we, Marists, direct our journey to those places where others would prefer not to go, to enter into the suffering there, like Mary at the foot
of the Cross, and to be a presence and service that remains faithful, despite its risks. This experience urges us to move ahead, with courage and apostolic zeal to difficult missions, to marginalized areas, and unexplored surroundings, where the seed of the kingdom has not yet taken root. When our mission is concluded, we move on to new places that require our presence.- Water From The Rock, para 149
Marists: Helping People in Need
What can you do?

 

 

Br. Dan O’Riordan, our US Provincial, requests Marists of Champagnat to be Beacons of Hope and to be the face and hands of God’s tender mercy in their communities by serving the least favored and most vulnerable in their local area.
Next month, Br. Dan will be sharing several summer opportunities to join in week-long mission trips, a trip to l’Hermitage in France, and a Province Retreat in Long Branch, NJ. My hope is that each of the groups formed would include Brothers, Marists of Champagnat and young people. Registration details will be included.

 

 

Marists of Champagnat in Brownsville TX
Volunteer with Team Brownsville on 1/23/22Team Brownsville volunteers help families and individuals legally seeking asylum in the United States. The team adapts to the conditions on the ground and has offered a variety of programs in the last three years to assist asylum
seekers.   www.teambrownsville.org“They are a great organization to partner with for service projects that have a direct impact on the least favored.”

Mary Beth Martin, Religious Studies Dept. Chairperson at Saint Joseph Academy in Brownsville, TX

 

 

 

REFLECTION ON SERVICE by Maureen Hagan
In my time as Campus Minister at Roselle Catholic, I was privileged to introduce students (and myself) to many different experiences of service and to be in service with them. It was fulfilling and satisfying work, while at the same time, it could be difficult, boring, exhausting, and emotionally draining.  It meant stepping out of my comfort zone, and realizing that when it was done, I was able to go back to my comfort zone. So, even thought I might “feel good” about my work, I also felt guilty about not being able to do more.Sometimes it was fun and lighthearted – running a Halloween party at the homeless coalition or playing games with the kids in the after school program.   Other times, the stories and experiences were overwhelming:  a mother living in her car and struggling to care for her children, a woman in a safe house talking about what she had to do to get out and get her kids out safely, kids who were hungry or precariously housed, on and on.  And again, my overwhelm was nothing compared to those living these circumstances.There were years when we traveled to Wheeling, WV during Easter break.  The poverty there was devastating – not necessarily worse than what I’d seen in NJ, but different.  There were not so many people living on the streets, but more living in houses that were falling down around them.  We could just do our small part, each year, to help.

The difficulty was in not thinking we were the “saviors”.  Coming from our places of privilege and not remaining open to the idea that we were just as needy – just in different ways.  A concept with which I still struggle.

I am very grateful for those times – for the rich insights our students brought to the experiences, for all that I learned from those that I served, as well as the folks who taught me how to serve. I am grateful to have been, perhaps for a brief moment, God’s love for those who needed it most.

 

 

   Marist Family Memorare  

Saturday February 12, 2022 at 12 noon EST
Celebrate the 199th Anniversary of the Memorare in the Snow

Zoom Meeting Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89306257727?pwd=dTRxVE04enpCWHpaVU4xOWZXMm01Zz09

Meeting ID: 893 0625 7727
Passcode: 766154

 

 

 

 

Cohort 2 for
Marists of Champagnat USA 

has started!
Cohort 2 started on January 2nd with 132 Lay Marists and Brothers from across the US, that came together to pray via Zoom.The group celebrated the founding of the Marist brothers on this day in 1817 and the kickoff for the initial formation for Cohort 2.

 

 

Please PRAY for Cohort 2 and their companions.
During the month of January conversations between cohort 2 members and their companions are happening across the nation to prepare hearts and spirits for the initial formation process.
“It’s so exciting that the Marists of Champagnat program is now beginning it’s second cohort. The Marist Brothers have been such a major influence in my life. This opportunity brings me to the next level of my faith journey and prayer life.

I find great comfort that there are so many people in the US and across the globe that share the Charism that St. Marcellin Champagnat established over 200 years ago.

Inspirational conversations amongst friends for life and dedicated colleagues are what drives us ever forward: Ever Marist!”

Richard Karsten, Cohort 1 Marists of Champagnat

 

 

Initial Formation
Webinar Schedule
for Cohort 2
,
Webinar 1
Marist, Marcellin, and Me
Wednesday 2/2/22 or Thursday 2/10/22 at 8pm EST
Webinar 2
He Gave Us the Name of Mary
Wednesday 2/16/22 or Thursday 2/24/22 at 8pm ESTWebinar 3
Five Pillars
Wednesday 3/2/22 or Thursday 3/10/22 at 8pm EST

Webinar 4
Global Family
Wednesday 3/16/22 or Thursday 3/24/22 at 8pm EST

Webinar 5
Marists in Mission
Wednesday 3/30/22 or Thursday 4/7/22 at 8pm EST

 

 

Local Marists of Champagnat Groups Update

 

The first Marists of Champagnat Gathering at Christopher Columbus High School on 1/25/22.  Alberto Rodriguez coordinated the gathering which took place in the chapel with a prayer experience led by Br. Marcos and a reflection on the unitive component to our Marist way of life from Fernando Machado.  Afterwards refreshments were served in the Patriot Plaza.
Submitted by Cristina Cruz

 

 

The International Forum on the Lay Marist Vocation will be held by the Marist Institute in Rome in November 2022.  In preparation, each province around the world is asked to conduct focus groups for feedback on this topic.

The US province has begun the process, under the leadership of Maureen Hagan and Ellen VanCleef.   Seven local groups are meeting:

  1. New York, led by Miriam Eisnemenger, Val Savino, Joe Chowsek and Tim Hagan
  2. New Jersey, led by Ed Kennedy and Jane Ann Carvalho
  3. Lawrence, MA led by Vicki & Zach Blaszak and Dave Erwin
  4. Miami, FL, led by Pete Marti
  5. Brownsville, TX led by Suzi Mohr and Lindsay Irwin
  6. Chicago, IL led by Vince Andiorio and Erin Kelly
  7. A virtual group, led by Madeline Picou.

Thank you to those who took on the leadership roles for these groups.

 

 

 

News from the Lay Marist Council
Resources AvailableMany have shared it can be challenging to get something going near you. Don’t wait for someone else to do it.  We need people willing to start building groups and communities, start with an invitation.  The link below contains some guidelines and prayer templates to help.  Please reach out if you need some assistance!Click here for Marist Gathering Resources 

Want more information about Marists of Champagnat?
Click here for more information on Marists of Champagnat

Further ReadingWater From the Rock

Gathered Around the Same Table

Being A Lay Marist

In the Footsteps of Marcellin Champagnat

 

 

Let us remember … Those who have died, especially our Marist Brothers, and Lay women and men, may they rest in the love of God eternally for making Jesus known and loved.

For the participants in cohort 2 and their companions, may the Holy Spirit inspire and guide their conversations to prepare hearts and spirits for God’s Will in their lives.

In thanksgiving for all Marists of Champagnat in the USA, may they be guided by the Holy Spirit as they work side by side in communion with one another to promote the Marist charism.

In gratitude, for our family and friends who remind us that God is ever present.
… To pray for each other!

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