From Algeria, Sister Patricia Stowers, a Samoan, reflects on the contexts in which she has lived her call to be Marist.
I reflected on this question against the background of the three geographic contexts that have been my lived experience: the Pacific, Rome and Algeria.
Pacific: As a daughter of the local church of the Pacific, I grew up in the atmosphere of Marist spirituality, as a member of a church where Mary is like the incense or perfume that impregnates our life and prayer. Mary is loved by the Oceanians. And she is the mother of Jesus who inspires and challenges us by his life and actions in the gospels.
Rome: The Italians too, have deep love and veneration for the Madonna, evidenced by the candles before her statue, the kisses blown in her direction or planted at her feet, the Marian processions in the parishes, the pilgrimages each year to Lourdes and other Marian shrines. Coming from the ‘Marian Church’ of the Pacific, I understood these expressions of love of Mary, and accepted them as quite normal and appropriate. I lived and breathed in this atmosphere – yes, Mary had a central place in my prayer and daily life. As a Marist I was convinced that Mary was the first and perpetual superior of the Society; giving me confidence in my service and authority.
Algeria: The Christian presence in Algeria is small and insignificant; miniscule, in fact, and dispersed among a Muslim population of over thirty million. The Muslims acknowledge and respect Miriam, mother of Jesus, the renowned prophet. I am in my fourth year in Algeria, one of five smsm sisters present in the country. In the Church of Algeria, the Family of Nazareth and the community of the newborn Church inspire us in the daily encounters with our Muslim brothers and sisters. My life with Mary and her Son has become more of an interior journey. I am motivated to encounter Mary in the way she is presented to us in the gospels: as woman, wife, mother, neighbour. Mary as mother who meditated profoundly on the daily events of life with her Son. As a woman who acted and reacted with concern in her neighbourhood. I can perhaps best sum up my present understanding of the question: called to be Marist – what does this mean for me? By appropriating for myself the words of Father Jean-Claude Colin: “The spirit of Mary is something so delicate and so profound that it can be grasped only by sustained meditation and prayer”. From this contemplation of Mary, I can move out to my daily encounters, with my smsm sisters and with persons in the wider community, where my apostolic activity is mainly one of listening. |
