Marianist Education 3

Marianist spirituality calls for communities of faith to exist not simply for the sake of their members, but to share in the Marianist deep commitment to mission. Marianist schools, therefore, not only commit themselves to effective education and mutual support, but encourage teachers and students alike to emulate Jesus in love of and service to others. Virtue is impossible without some knowledge; but, unfortunately, even a great deal of knowledge can exist without virtue. Marianist educators aim to combine both valuable knowledge and genuine virtue.

Marianist Education 2

Blessed Chaminade intended the educational works he founded to be not merely functional and temporary communities, but enduring communities of faith. To bring and hold these communities together, Chaminade held up the ideal of “family spirit” of religious and lay persons, faculty and students, working together to achieve lasting relationships of friendship and trust, supporting and challenging each other in developing their mutual gifts. If a school is to be a community of faith, Chaminade saw clearly that its leaders, religious and lay, must see their work not merely as a job but as a ministry of love and service.

Marianist Education 1

Marianist spirituality deeply shapes the work of those educators formed through it. The spirit of faith, for example, helps a teacher to be truly present to students not only to teach them but also to love and respect them, created as they are in the image of God. When an educator is truly present to students, students are changed. An educator personally transformed through a faith of the heart teaches students to be not only competent and capable, but also faithful and compassionate. For Marianist educators, a solid grasp of subject matter and effective, creative pedagogical techniques are congruent with and necessarily complemented by a living awareness of the inescapably moral and spiritual dimensions of education.

Prayer as medicine

Joking that he's like a pharmacist, Pope Francis is promoting prayer as medicine for the heart.

Appearing on one Sunday at his studio window, Francis held up a rosary in a box designed to resemble a packet of pills, before volunteers distributed thousands of those boxes, which feature a design of a human heart. Francis said he was recommending reciting the rosary prayer as a "spiritual medicine" that is "good for the heart."

Francis' down-to-earth way of speaking, in a style ordinary people can readily understand, is drawing larger than usual crowds to St. Peter's Square for his traditional weekly appearances. About 80,000 tourists and Romans packed the square on Sundays.

Blessed William Joseph Chaminade

Blessed William Joseph Chaminade wrote: "To pray . . . is so to open the center of yourself to God that you are filled with his presence, enveloped in his light, and made whole by his truth."

Oh, God You are constantly at work in Your Church, and through individuals and communities You manifest your spirit for the good of your people. In a special way You bestowed Your spirit on Your servant Blessed William Joseph Chaminade, so that he might live fully according to the Gospel and with love devote himself to Your saving work. You have inspired communities of men and women to follow his example by consecrating themselves to You so to serve the Church under the leadership of Mary. May the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit be glorified in all places through the Immaculate Virgin Mary. Amen.

Blessed William Joseph Chaminade - Feast Day - January 22

Marianist Community!

As a consequence of our religious profession, we enter a new family, our religious community. In this religious community, we assume new relationships and responsibilities toward God, our Brothers in community, and the People of God.

By our profession in the Society of Mary, we commit ourselves to grow in holiness and to help our confreres become more Christ-like.

Because we profess public vows in the Church, we understand that we have the responsibility for giving public witness to God's saving presence in the world and to the aspiration of Blessed 

Chaminade that man will realize that the Gospel is just as practicable as it was in the early Church.

As a result of our membership in a religious congregation of the active life, we devote ourselves with energy and enthusiasm to the apostolic work of our communities. We devote ourselves, fully convinced that Jesus addresses us just as He commanded the Apostles to go forth and teach all nations.

Marianist Mission

From the origins in France, Marianist education spread to Switzerland (1839), Austria (1857), and Italy (1888). In 1849, a year before Blessed Chaminade’s death, Marianists came to the United States.

Today, the Society of Mary serves in thirty countries on five continents. They minister in over 100 schools in the world, including twenty-four secondary and middle schools and three universities (the University of Dayton, St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas, and Chaminade University in Honolulu, Hawaii) in the United States. Marianists also conduct parishes, retreat centers, and works in developing nations.

Locally, the Marianists operate three schools and retreat houses in the New York area. The schools are: Chaminade High School (Mineola), Kellenberg Memorial High School (Uniondale), and St. Martin DePorres Marianist School (Uniondale). The retreat houses are: Meribah (Muttontown), Emmanuel (Uniondale) and Founder's Hollow (Accord).

Happy Feast Day!

TODAY WE CELEBRATE
THE FEAST DAY OF
BLESSED WILLIAM JOSEPH CHAMINADE

HE TEACHES US TO LIVE IN COMMUNITY.

When we celebrate a birthday, we don't just remember the day when someone was born. We celebrate the person.

Today we celebrate the feast day of Blessed William Joseph's birthday because his life and vision continue to inspire people from all walks of life to work together to create change that makes a real difference in our world.

Chaminade founded the Society of Mary and the larger Marianist family. Blessed Chaminade wanted to create faith communities that made the Gospel alive in every age. 

He believed that people should not only believe in the kingdom of God — a kingdom of justice, love, and peace — but also live the Gospel message so that it is visible to people of every age.

Chaminade's vision will always inspire us!

Method of Prayer on the Creed"

Altar with the relic of Blessed William Joseph Chaminade in Bordeaux, France

A Prayer Inspired by Blessed Chaminade's 

"Method of Prayer on the Creed" 

My God, you are all that fills my poverty.

I come before you to adore you.

In the name of Jesus, your Son,

and with him, like Mary, his mother,

I come to praise you and to bless you,

to thank you for the gifts received

from you, and to beg the graces I need

to be faithful today and at every

moment of my life.

Lord , increase in me the light of faith,

so that knowing you better

and knowing myself always more fully,

I may love you alone, think only of you,

and look nowhere else except

to you in all things.

Holy Spirit, source of all light and grace

it is you who must direct and guide me.

Mary, you who are my Mother,

present me to Jesus,

who is the way, the truth, and the life

for all ages unending. Amen.

Enrique Aguilera, S.M. and Jose Maria Arnaiz, S.M.

World Youth Day - 1

The Province of Meribah has sent a delegate of pilgrims to WORLD YOUTH DAY in Panama!

Our high school group has begun its pilgrimage with some site-seeing.

2019 March for Life 2

Following the March we have traditionally made the pilgrimage to St. Joseph's on Capital Hill. Yearly our Bishop leads us in prayer in thanksgiving for a  successful march.

We are grateful for our Bishop, John O. Barres.

2019 March for LIfe

Our Marianist high schools were strong at the 2019 March for Life in Washington DC on Friday.

President Trump and Vice President Pence surprised thousands of protesters demonstrating against abortion on the Mall in Washington by making unannounced speeches at the 2019 March for Life.

Pence and his wife, Karen Pence, strode onstage to cheers of a roaring crowd carrying antiabortion posters and banners. Pence concluded his remarks with a second surprise: Trump, who addressed the march by video feed last year, had again prepared videotaped remarks for the marchers.

“When we look into the eyes of a newborn child, we see the beauty and the human soul and the majesty of God’s creation. We know that every life has meaning,” Trump said .

Follow Jesus

WE find out from today’s Gospel passage that Jesus has many followers. “Many gathered together so that there was no longer room for them.” This might seem to make Jesus a popular person, successful in his work. But within today’s Gospel passage there is a confusion of aims. The aim of the friends of  he paralytic was his physical healing. Jesus does not dismiss their search, but he sub-ordinates it to a higher aim: the forgiveness of sins.

Jesus could have spent His earthly life working physical cures and raising people from the dead. Had he stuck to these aims alone, He would have remained popular. There’s no telling how successful He might have become in the eyes of the world!

But it was not for fifteen minutes of fame that He came into our world of sin and death. It was to die that He dwelt among us. Give thanks that Jesus shows us how to put our mission above popularity, and how to put the aim of death before that of earthly life.

St. Anthony, Abbot

Wednesday Tunes

Authority

The word “authority” is used twice in today's Gospel. Both times the word authority is applied to Jesus. In both cases, astonishment or surprise is evoked by the fact that Jesus teaches with authority. Why is there this surprise, and what does it mean for Jesus to teach with authority?

In the culture that surrounds us, every person believes himself to be his own authority. In effect, this wide-spread belief means that no real authority exists. In our society there is a great need for clarity about the meaning and purpose of authority.

At its most literal level, the word “authority” comes from the word “author”. The author of a novel can create worlds of his own design from his imagination. Laws of physics need not apply. Strange creatures can exist, and fantastic events are commonplace. Great authors have the authority to create worlds and races of creatures, and to confer life on and take life from individuals. However, this is merely a fictional form of authority. In reality, there is only one Author of creation.

Jesus, as God from God and Light from Light, is this divine Author. Through His divinity He has authority. He exercises this authority throughout the three years of His public ministry for various persons, and for all mankind on Calvary. However, in the face of His exercise of divine authority, astonishment arises for varied reasons.

Most cannot believe that a mere man could exercise divine authority. Jesus, of course, was not merely a man, even though He was fully so. In our own lives, we should not be astonished by the authority or power of Jesus. We should root our daily lives in His desire to grant us His grace.

Beginnings

Today we begin Ordinary Time.

Today we hear from the beginning of the Gospel of Saint Mark.

Today is a day of beginnings.

Today points us in the direction of God the Father.

Christ sustains all things by his powerful word. For those who are willing to abandon everything in this world, Christ confers the gift of everlasting life.

Such men are the apostles Andrew and Simon, James and John. They leave everything to go off in Jesus’ company, having received a commission from Him to become “fishers of men.” They are called to share in the life of Christ, and at this point, they have no idea what this will entail. This is how beginnings always are: we have no real idea of what is going to transpire in the future. If these four men had known that each of them would share deeply in the suffering of Christ—three of them, through martyrdom, and Saint John, at the foot of the Cross—it is unlikely they ever would have left their boats.

At the beginning of this season of Ordinary Time, let us pray for the grace to be faithful to the calling which we entered into through Baptism.

Celebrate Blessed Adele

“Courage, O my soul, we are assured of the victory, if we have but the will.”

Celebrate Blessed Adele

“We do not bear our cross alone, for [Jesus Christ] helps to bear it with us. In fact, he bears three-fourths of its weight.” 

Celebrate Blessed Adele 2

“The God we receive loves all persons without distinction. We must never receive him with a heartthat harbors ill will against another.” 

Celebrate Blessed Adele

CELEBRATING BLESSED ADELE!

"O my God, my heart is too small to love you, but it will make you love so many hearts that the love of all these hearts will make up for the weakness of mine! "

 Mother Adele de Batz de Trenquelléon 
(1789-1828)

Marianist spirituality

Marianist spirituality deeply shapes the work of those educators formed through it. The spirit of faith, for example, helps a teacher to be truly present to students not only to teach them but also to love and respect them, created as they are in the image of God. When an educator is truly present to students, students are changed. An educator personally transformed through a faith of the heart teaches students to be not only competent and capable, but also faithful and compassionate. For Marianist educators, a solid grasp of subject matter and effective, creative pedagogical techniques are congruent with and necessarily complemented by a living awareness of the inescapably moral and spiritual dimensions of education.

Blessed Chaminade - A man of faith

Blessed William Joseph Chaminade's remains have been placed in this altar in Bordeaux, France

A Prayer Inspired by Blessed Chaminade's 

"Method of Prayer on the Creed" 

for the Year of Faith

My God, you are all that fills my poverty.

I come before you to adore you.

In the name of Jesus, your Son,

and with him, like Mary, his mother,

I come to praise you and to bless you,

to thank you for the gifts received

from you, and to beg the graces I need

to be faithful today and at every

moment of my life.

Lord , increase in me the light of faith,

so that knowing you better

and knowing myself always more fully,

I may love you alone, think only of you,

and look nowhere else except

to you in all things.

Holy Spirit, source of all light and grace

it is you who must direct and guide me.

Mary, you who are my Mother,

present me to Jesus,

who is the way, the truth, and the life

for all ages unending. Amen.

Enrique Aguilera, S.M. and Jose Maria Arnaiz, S.M.

Wise men

The wise men see a special star appear in the sky and begin to follow it, not knowing exactly to where or to what it will lead.

While following the star, they meet King Herod who, upon learning that a new king has supposedly been born, has his own evil interest in matter. He asks the wise men to find the child and bring him back information so that he, too, can go and worship the newborn. We know the rest of story: The wise men follow the star, find the new king, and, upon seeing him, place their gifts at his feet. What happens to them afterwards? We have all kinds of apocryphal stories about their journey back home, but these, while interesting, are not helpful. We do not know what happened to them afterwards and that is exactly the point. Their slipping away into anonymity is a crucial part of their gift. The idea is that they now disappear because they can now disappear. They have placed their gifts at the feet of the young king and can now leave everything safely in his hands. His star has eclipsed theirs. Far from fighting for their former place, they now happily cede it to him. Like old Simeon, they can happily exit the stage singing: Now, Lord, you can dismiss your servants! We can die! We're in safe hands!

Fr. Ronald Rohlheiser

The Epiphany of the Lord

Epiphany

FIVE LESSONS OF THE MAGI
The unforgettable story of the journey of the Magi, as recounted in the Gospel of Matthew, is an artful summary of the principal dynamics of the spiritual life. Watching the night sky with scrupulous attention for signs of God's purpose, the Magi evoke the importance of alertness in the spiritual order. We must keep our eyes open to see what God is up to. For far too many people, the spiritual life never gets 

underway, precisely because they don't pay attention. Once they saw the star, they moved, despite the length of the journey and the dangers of the road. 

Sometimes people know what God wants them to do, but they don't act, either out of fear or laziness or the influence of bad habits. In their confident journeying forth, the Magi teach us not to miss the propitious moment. They teach us to move.

When they entered into Herod's territory, the Magi caught the attention of the king. And when they spoke to him of the birth of a new King of the Jews, Herod became frantic and tried to use them in order to destroy the baby. A third lesson: when you walk the path that God has laid out for you, expect opposition. We live in a sinful, fallen world, and there will always be forces at cross purposes to God. Refusing to cooperate with Herod's game, the wise men came to Bethlehem, found the child, and gave him their precious gifts. When you come to Christ, don't give him your second best; break open the very best of yourself and make it a gift for him. Finally, they were warned in a dream not to go back to Herod and so "they returned to their home country by another route." As Fulton Sheen commented so magnificently: of course they did; for no one comes to Christ and goes back the same way he came!”
— Fr. Robert Barron

Pope Francis on Epiphany

“Some stars may be bright, but they do not point the way. So it is with success, money, career, honors and pleasures when these become our life, they are like meteors, blazing for a time, but burning out.

The Lord’s star, however, may not always overwhelm by its brightness, but it is always there: it takes you by the hand in life and accompanies you, it does not promise material reward, but ensures peace and grants, as it did to the Magi, ‘exceedingly great joy.’”

"Faith, and especially this faith of the heart, is a great gift of God. It is for this reason that we always  need to say, “Lord, increase our faith” [Lk 17:5[. God, so to say, easily grants this grace, when we devote ourselves to works of faith…. Oh, my dear Son, what happiness for us if for the rest of our lives we can walk along the beautiful paths of faith, act only by faith, and live only by faith! The faith which would not enlighten our mind would not give us the life of justice, which is a divine life."

Blessed William Joseph Chaminade

One Quiet Moment

COLLEGE-AGE ALUMNI MEN'S RETREAT
ONE QUIET MOMENT
Wednesday, Jan 2-Thursday, January 3
Arrive 2 pm Wednesday; retreat concludes 3 pm Thursday
MERIBAH RETREAT HOUSE

College-Age Retreat - Meribah Retreat House

COLLEGE-AGE ALUMNI MEN'S RETREAT
ONE QUIET MOMENT
Wednesday, Jan 2-Thursday, January 3
Arrive 2 pm Wednesday; retreat concludes 3 pm Thursday
MERIBAH RETREAT HOUSE