Pat, Marist Way, England, invokes the spirit of Mary in her daily life and her work for Justice and Peace.
In the book ‘A Certain Way’ written by Craig Larkin, an Australian Marist Priest, there are two lovely reflections on Mary at Nazareth and at Pentecost. He uses these images to illustrate that as Marists we need to be both contemplative and fully engaged with the world, holding these two aspects of our spirituality in balance, the one complementing the other.
In my life as woman, wife, mother, grandmother and in my professional life, a social worker, my being a Marist gives me a certain perspective on life and in my relationships. Reflecting on Mary at Nazareth during the childhood of Jesus and at Pentecost when she was present at the foundation of the Church, between her being ‘hidden and unknown’ and her being ‘most present,’ helps me to achieve a balance between the active and contemplative in my daily life.
When finding myself in a particularly difficult situation, asking the question ‘What would Mary do about this or that, how would Mary approach this problem’ brings her spirit into the situation and is more likely to lead to finding solutions that are just.
It is in the area of Justice and Peace that I am most fully involved in the life of my Parish and Diocese, for it is in these areas that I feel I am most called to bring Mary’s spirit to bear and to ‘read the signs of the times.’ For Jean Claude Colin, this was one of the hallmarks of being Marist.
Poverty, debt, unfair trading laws, climate change, sustainability and finding peaceful solutions to conflict are all areas in which I as a Marist need to be most present, working with others to bring about change, quietly and unobtrusively, as Mary did in Nazareth and at Pentecost. |
