Melbourne News

Spiritual Home-St Scholastica's Church

Today, Marist Laity Melbourne, is listening closely to the movement and yearnings of the Spirit for direction in fulfilling Mary's Mission to which we have committed ourselves. No longer are we dependent on others for guidance but through prayer each member is coming forth with gifts of self for one another, the parish and beyond, wherever this leads us.

Today, MLM is integral to the community of St Scholastica's Church finding its role in parish life and activities, mindful not to duplicate but willing to support in practical ways the existing groups such as St Vincent De Paul, Legion of Mary and many new groups focusing on the spirituality and education of children, and those providing spiritual and practical nourishment to many people in the broader community. For example, we are mindful that we are responding to opportunities for meeting the need in the parish community for new manifestations of the spiritual in a number of ways. This way of working is not haphazard but open to the development of each member's contribution and talent in monitoring and evaluation as we mentor in the name of Mary's Work and Vision. We see this approach leading to a model of Marist Laity integral in a parish setting, which could be adopted by the Marist Laity in any other parish.

For example, over the past 3 months we have organized and implemented two significant events,

Event: Sacred Icons presented by Dr Ursula Betka, Iconographer and Art Historian on May 20th 2006. An extensive number of icons displayed assisted in discussing the origins, meanings, types and role in prayer and worship of Icons, which have emerged over 2000 years of Christian worship. Of particular interest to the Marian Confraternity of lay People in Italy, the Icon, Rucellai Madonna, Duccio di Buoninsegna, 1287. (Now in the Uffizi Gallery Florence) was painted for the Laudesi Confraternity of the Virgin, at the Dominican church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence. Also of interest was Dr Betka's own painting of The Virgin of the Sign, based on the prototype from Russia in the 16th Century. Sr Marie Berise, sm, used this Icon to illustrate the front cover of her book "Bearer's of Hope" The iconography emerges from the ancient Byzantine hymn "Your womb is more vast than the heavens, for it encompasses the one the heavens could not". Ursula Betka is a lay Marist.

Event: Fourviere Day 2006 was marked by Melbourne's Marist Laity by a gathering on Sunday 23rd July, attended by about 30 people, including Marist Sisters, Marist Brothers and parishioners. The gathering began with an opening prayer offered by June O'Bryan, MLM member, followed by an interesting short "potted history" talk by Bryan Leak fsm, member of MLM, about the significance of the day, and the pioneering origins of the Marist Orders. Large photographs and an excellent map of France helped to set the scene and to inform visitors about Fourviere Day.

The focus of the gathering was an overview by Kathleen Johnson, member of MLM, of the first encyclical of Pope Benedict X1V, "Deus Caritas Est". Published in January this year, "Deus Caritas Est" ("God is Love") is a scholarly but very accessible document, which covers a wide range of issues relating to the definition of love, and its theological, scriptural, sacramental reality. Having defined human love, and its forms of eros, agape and philia, Pope Benedict affirms the married state, and quoting both Old and New Testament sources, reminds us of God's love incarnate in Jesus, and the duality of the command of love of God and love of neighbor.

The encyclical sets out the responsibility of the church for charity and justice as a manifestation of Trinitarian love, the structures of charitable undertakings by the Church in this day and age, and their motivation and inspiration in bringing the love of God to other people. Of particular interest to Marist laity and Marists the world over, is the beautiful prayer which Pope Benedict dedicates to Mary to conclude his Encyclical, the last lines of which read:

"Teach us to know and love him,

so that we too can become

capable of true love

and be fountains of living water

in the midst of a thirsting world".