(A gathering of representatives from the Marist Religious Family Priests, Sisters, Brothers, and Laity).
Greetings, everyone. It is lovely to be with you today!
When Cathy invited me to share a reflection for Fourvière, I wondered what I could add to the depth of the people gathered before me.
For many of you who have lived your entire lives dedicated to the Spirit Fourvière, I feel like I am bringing 'Coal to Newcastle' to those new or newish, perhaps experiencing their first Marist Fourvière Celebration. How do I capture the spirit of what we celebrate on the 23rd of July?
In today's Gospel reading, we have the context of a wedding. Love is celebrated as two people declare their hearts and lives to each other. Weddings are very joy-filled experiences as people gather to witness this love. We hear of the difficulties as the wedding unfolds, leading to great embarrassment for the bride and groom and their families. We hear of Mary reaching out to Christ. Mary's words to the servants, 'Do whatever he tells you.'
I believe this theme, 'To do,' permeates the life of the early Marists. To do! To respond! Trust that Mary's words, pointing them to Christ, would give birth to a new society despite the many difficulties.
That incredible spirit of the 12 Men (seminarians and priests) who, in 1816, went to the shrine of Fourvière, pledged themselves to found a congregation dedicated to the spirit of Mary. To think, feel, judge, and act as Mary did. To begin a 'new church' as Colin states, a new way to view the world, a new way to LIVE in the world, to express the love of God to each other where the heart of love is witnessed daily.
The words of Courveille, inspired by his experience of Mary, led the early Marists and us to believe that Mary requested a society to be established. One that would bear her name and spirit, which would call itself the 'Society of Mary and whose members would call themselves Marist. (Edwin Keel sm A Book of Texts for Study of Marist Spirituality).
All these years later, these words, this spirit, and this dedication at Fourvière bring us together here in Sydney.
In my life, I've had the fabulous experience of visiting Fourvière twice. Once with Vivienne in 2004, when we drove around France in a car during her annual leave. The second experience was traveling on the Marist Pilgrimage with 8 others led by Father Ray Champman in 2014.
When visiting the Chapel at Fourvière, I thought of those men who, in 1816, gathered, felt excited, full of anticipation, and intrepidation, but with a strong sense of purpose and inspiration, driven by a desire to build this Society dedicated to Mary. I like to think they experienced a sense of excitement and Joy that underpinned their determination and filled their Hearts. Their hearts full of JOY, like the married couple in our reading, a time of creating a new way of being in one's life...a new way of living one's life.
Today, I want to focus on that gift of JOY that fills the HEART.
Our lives have situations or events that allow us to experience REAL JOY! I don't mean happiness – yes, we experience that many times.
I talk of a profound sense of JOY. It may happen in our lifetime. A Joy that is so deep it touches our entire being. You feel it in every pore of your skin!
I invite you all to close your eyes and recall when you were so filled with Joy that your whole person felt as if it was beaming, that your soul was so full that it genuinely overflowed. Or perhaps it was in another person that you saw this Joy. To see it in another is wonderful, A face filled with light and love as they move towards you.
Perhaps at the birth of your children. Or your siblings, at the birth of their children (your niece or nephews), or seeing someone you love that you have missed for many years. Falling in love brings huge Joy! Or the solitude of Joy found in the stillness of God, a heightened experience of the sacred. I had one such experience. On the pilgrimage with Father Ray Chapman in April - May 2014.
We journeyed from Paris to Lyon, visiting the small Chapel beside the Basilica at Fourvière. The Chapel in which the 12 men dedicated themselves to begin the Society of Mary.
Ray prayed Mass for us at many historic places during the pilgrimage and was about to do so that day. We went into the Chapel and looked in detail at all its ornamentation, giving historical references to various people who worshiped there, leaving their dedications, and viewing the statues, beautiful paintings, and, most relevant for us, a crucial snippet of Marist history.
As we were about to begin Mass and the gentle murmurs between us settled, Ray came out of the sacristy BEAMING. His joy was unbounded. He looked so happy, so alive, and so besotted.
Dressed for Mass, he was carrying the golden HEART that held the names of all the Marist priests who had left France for other countries to spread the spirit of Mary. This precious historical piece had been retrieved by the archivist and placed in Ray's hands to have on the altar during our Mass in the Chapel.
I will never forget the look on Ray's face. He was truly alive in love! He was overwhelmed by the great privilege of holding the names of these men in this sacred vessel that was 2014 almost 200 years old. Of course, we jumped up and gathered equally in awe at the treasure being unearthed for us. Knowing other human beings' names and fates were somehow now tied to ours – right there, in that Chapel, at that moment in time – we were united through history. It was extremely powerful.
The symbolic power of the HEART impacted us all!
This JOY that fills the HEART reminds me of the lovely piece by Father Gerard Hall sm, who wrote Mysticism at the Heart of Marist Mission. And I would like to refer to some of those points as I reflect today. Father Gerard notes that to 'think, feel judge and act as Mary requires a mystic heart. – a heightened experience not just of our mission, or the Marist or Church's mission – but God's mission.
That genuine Mysticism does not see God as an object but rather the divinizing presence 'as written in the book of Acts' 'the One in whom we live and move and have our being.' Or as I have come to express it, the Source of ongoing Life and Love.
Father Gerard goes on to say….Mysticism of the heart is active and practical, an organic life process through which one depths one's being and mission in interrelationship with the Living God- and I add through and with each other—this living force. This thought reminds me of a poster I had in my room as a 19-year-old. Two tulips were slightly touching each other with the words. 'I know the Love of God is real when through me it touches another.' I also reversed this sentiment: when, through another, it touches me!
Father Gerard also reminds us that to 'develop the mystic heart as the source of Marist mission, we are invited to return to Fourvière and be reinvigorated by the Marist symbols, Nazareth and Pentecost. As we know for Father Colin, Nazareth was a key symbol of the Marian mystic heart.
Our culture sometimes makes it so difficult to appreciate the mystical, spiritual awakening, which for many is through faith, life relationships and life experience, prayer, and silence, if we, in Father Colin's words, wish to 'taste God.'
Today, for me, this is the spirit we celebrate. The spirit we carry, the urge to taste God through developing a mystical heart that bids us go forth. We are invited to reach out to those we meet, gather, walk with them, and share our human story. Through this interaction to bring Mary's spirit of courage, perseverance, resilience, compassion, and love into that opportunity to 'be present' to another.
My recent years working in aged care have highlighted this for me. The power of being present to another, as in their final years, some struggle to forgive themselves, reconcile with others, and find the peace they seek. Journeying with them in genuine presence and providing a listening ear allows their struggles to find peace and forgiveness as their spirit prepares to soar toward the 'other. ' The power of 'authentic presence' is genuinely uplifting.
I especially find it comforting and encouraging to see how generously young people wish to be 'present,' especially in their response to social justice issues, and how they reach out and work tirelessly. They allow the spirit to work through them. I know at St Patrick's Church, we have 30-plus groups working within the Parish – many of these are led by young people!
For them, actions speak louder than words. Like Mary, like the early founders, they are on the move! Amidst today's turmoil, sadness, and despair (as in the days of the early Founders, post the French Revolution), we draw our inspiration from those who dedicated their hearts and work to this venture.
Father Gerard notes, 'Communal witness at the heart of Marist Mission is an expression of the Marist mystic heart for Colin.'
We know that 'doing' flourishes in the context of prayer, and that is where this powerhouse of prayer before me today is so crucial to the spirit of Mary continuing. At every stage of life, we have something to contribute.We help continue that communal witness, that mystic heart, finding expression to celebrate the joy that comes from aligning ourselves with the very heart of Mary.
The HEART is a life-giving force. A symbol of love, a symbol that suffers tragedy, anguish, pain, and loss but also experiences reconciliation, hope, joy, and love. That source of LOVE that draws us in molds us, little by little (as the book of wisdom notes), and ultimately transforms us.
What a GIFT!
What an opportunity today to remind me of that experience and share it with you. The look on Ray's face was profound JOY radiating from his being toward us. What a great privilege for me and the other 8!
This invitation to continue to develop a mystic heart through my humanness, my interrelationships, and my encounter with the living God, through and with each other. As I respond to Mary's words: 'Do whatever he tells you,'…..Margaret!
So today, I place upon our sacred space our Marist Laity Heart, which we agreed to establish upon the return from that pilgrimage in 2014. We invite all who journey with us from the past, present, and into the future to include their name in this heart.
A heart not of gold but of silver. A heart that holds the names of some of those who have dedicated themselves to the Marist Spirit. A heart that, as a symbol, invites and celebrates all Marist branches to continue the gift of love. That Marian mission and spirit of Joy that reveals God's great love, as reflected through the Spirit of Mary and all who bear her name!
So, to you all, sharing that spirit, thank you very much!
Thanks, Cathy, for the opportunity, and thanks, everyone, for listening!
(Audio Available)
