Posted by Amanda I've been busier than a blow-fly on dung myself! This is a great article that I have found most illuminating. FINALLY! A Mary I can relate to! Amanda (PS - I would love to get (Sr) Bernie's email address (I lost her contact info in my last house move) - so, if you have it, could you email it to me please? If not, please feel free to give her mine & that I'd love to hear from her. Thanks A)
on August 3, 2002, 6:11 pm
Greetings again Kevin 
This has helped me enormously in my quest Kevin. I NEW there was a reason why I love the Marist 'family' so much.
--Previous Message--
: Here it is Amanda - I've been on the road for a
: few days hence my delay in replying to
: you.
: Francois Marc was a French Marist priest who
: died at age 45 - a few years' ago. He
: left us this as his legacy. I for one
: treasure it dearly.
: A MARIAN CHURCH
: Francois Marc
: s.m.
: I would like to plead for a Marian church;
: not for a church which multiplies
: processions and blesses huge
: statues....Rather a church which
: "lives the gospel after the manner of
: Mary.
: The Marian church follows Mary into the
: mountains, going off with her to encounter
: life; she visits men and women, and though
: things may seem to be sterile, she is on
: the watch for what is coming to birth, for
: possibilities, for the life which beats in
: things. The Marian church rejoices and
: sings. Instead of bemoaning its fate and
: the world's woes, she is in wonder at the
: beauty there is on the earth and in the
: human heart, as she sees what God is doing
: there.
: The Marian church knows she is the object of
: a gratuitous love and that God has the
: heart of a mother. She has seen God on
: the door-step, on the look-out for the
: improbable return of a son; she has seen
: him throw his arms around his neck, place
: the festal ring on his finger, and himself
: organised the homecoming feast. When she
: pages through the family album, she sees
: Zaccheus in his sycamore, the woman taken
: in adultery, the Samaritan woman,
: foreigners, the lepers, beggars and a
: common prisoner in the place of execution.
: So you see, the Marian church despairs of
: no one, and "does not quench the
: smouldering flax." When she finds
: someone on the side of the road, wounded
: by life, she is moved by compassion, and
: with infinite tenderness tends their
: wounds. She is the safe harbour, who is
: always open, the refuge of sinners,
: "mater misericordiae", mother of
: mercy.
: The Marian church does not know the answers
: before the questions are posed. Her path
: is not traced out in advance. She knows
: doubt and unease, night and loneliness.
: That is the price of trust. She takes her
: part in the conversation, but makes no
: claim to know everything. She accepts
: that she must search. The Marian church
: lives in Nazareth in silence and
: simplicity. She does not live in a
: castle. Her home is like all the other
: homes. She goes out to chat with the
: other villagers. She weeps with them, she
: rejoices with them, but she never preaches
: at them. Above all she listens.
: She does her shopping, she goes to look for
: water at the well, she is invited with
: there is a marriage. It is in these
: places that she encounters people. Many
: people are pleased to have her rest a
: while in their home; they consider it a
: blessing. The Marian church stands at the
: foot of the Cross. She does not take
: refuge in a fortress or in a chapel or in
: prudent silence when people are being
: crushed. She is vulnerable in her deeds
: as in her words. With a humble courage
: she stands alongside the most
: insignificant.
: The Marian church lets in the wind of
: Pentecost, the wind which impels one to go
: out, which unties tongues. In the public
: square, not for the sake of hammering
: doctrine, nor to swell her ranks, she
: proclaims her message: the promise has
: been kept, the fight has been won and the
: Dragon crushed forever.. And this is the
: great secret which only she can murmur: to
: win the victory God has laid down his
: arms. True, we are in an intermediate
: time, the time of human history. And that
: history is a painful one.
: Yet every evening at the end of Vespers, the
: Church sings the Magnificat. For the
: Church knows where he joy is to be found.
: And look: God has not found our world or
: its afflictions, its violence or its
: wickedness uninhabitable. It is there
: that he has met us. And there on the
: Cross, we have seen the "mercy",
: the open heart of God.
: There at the foot of the Cross, a people was
: born - a Marian people. "Seeing his
: mother and near her, the disciple whom he
: loved, Jesus said to his mother: 'Woman
: this is your son.' Then to the disciple
: he said: 'This is your mother'. From that
: moment, the disciple made a place for her
: in his home."
: Brothers and sisters, let us belong to this
: people. Let us make a place for Mary in
: our home. Let us enter with her into the
: "humble and heart-rending
: happiness" of loving and being loved.
: And in the words of Therese of Lisieux,
: the Church will be in this world, " a
: heart resplendent with love."
: Francois Marc s.m.
:
:
:
: --Previous Message--
: Thanks Kevin - I would love you to email me a
: copy - and I wil DEFINITELY check out the
: links you suggest.
: Thanks - and love right back to ya, bro
: Amanda
: --Previous Message--
: : Lots of places to start I reckon - our
: Founder's idea was that Mary's best value
: to us was as a fellow-believer rather than
: someone to be iconised and venerated. She
: was the one who started doing what the
: rest of us were able to do too - she gives
: birth to the Word, nurtures it, challenges
: it to grow and lives through its dying
: times to the times of resurrection and is
: still there ......
: Some points of further reading could be found
: on some of our Marist Websites perhaps -
: see my links page - also my short page on
: the Marist Fathers. One of our French
: Marists wrote a beautiful piece on on what
: the church would look like if we embodied
: the gospel as Mary did. If you would like
: that perhaps let me know Amanda - through
: the forum or directly by email and I'll
: email you a copy of it - I have drawn a
: lot of reflection from it for myself.
: Love to you.
: --Previous Message--
: Greetings Kevin et al
: This year I made a decision. I was going to
: try to 'befriend' Mary the mother of
: Jesus.
: My problem has always been with how Mary is
: portrayed. I can't relate to the cardboard
: cut-out version that has been presented to
: me (being a cradle catholic) and I find
: most Marian devotions rather off-putting
: for a variety of reasons. This, in a very
: practical sense, means that I feel 'cut
: off' from not only one of the few feminine
: 'faces' of our faith, but also I feel that
: I missing out on a 'relationship' with the
: first person (male or female) that ever
: REALLY 'got it', if I'm making any sense.
: I'm kicking myself that it's taken me this
: long to figure out that a Marist might be
: a good person to ask! Any thoughts?
: Suggestions? Leads?
: Anything would be helpful and much
: appreciated.
: Amanda
: :
: :
:
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