TITLE: Marist Laity Australia - Simplicity, Flexibility, Inclusiveness












Mary and Son

TITLE: Profiles

What does it mean to be a lay marist?
By Andrew
Recently, a young student at my school asked me, "am I a Marist brother?" She had seen a profile of me on Marist Laity Australia. I quickly said, "no i am not". Then what am I.
    I am a married man.
    I am a family man.
    I am a teacher.
    I am a lay marist.
To be a Lay Marist means to be whoever you are (student, single, married, worker, unemployed, mother, anybody). At the same time choose to take Mary, (Jesus' mum), on as your model. Some people have famous movie or TV stars. Some people have muscians. Some people have friends as models. For my main model, I chose Mary. What does that mean? Is it just theory. I say, "no".

To be like mary, in your own being, you need to echo or do similar things Mary has done and continues to do. Such as....
    Pray individually and with your community and friends.

    Listen. Listen to others young and old. They need to inspire and challenge me as Marist. Such as my Marist friends, family and work colleagues.

    Serve those in need. Be it St. Vincent De Paul night patrol, or caring for the sick. The vunerable need us.

    Family. My family is key. Caring for each other, we can care for the world together.

    Going beyond your comfort zone. Doing activities which make a difference in your world which seem beyond the realm of possibility.

    Following Jesus. Jesus in communion & eucharist. Jesus in forgiveness. Jesus in the people I meet every day. Jesus is in the Bible's story.

    Sacrifice and mercy. Hand over your life to an awesome spirit and allow the Trinity to make wonderful decisions in you.

    Unknown. This is a hard thing to do in my life. Being hidden and unknown is stepping back and allowing others to shine. By handing over our glory, we give God glory.

    Presence. Be who you are. Don't run away and try and be something you are not. In good and bad. Accept this.

    Connect. You need to connect with other Marists to show you their stories of living as Marist. This needs to be done regularly.
Life is hard. I am not perfect. I hope in the choices I make I may inspire others to shine.
 

Reflection Day November 2011

Reflection Day November 2011



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Mary is the outsider that God chose to bring into the Centre