Photo: Barbara Ashwell, Rinni and Maria Baden

Seventy Australian Lay Marists, 5 from NZ and others from USA, Fiji, Philippines and New Caledonia attended the Marist Laity Conference, 18-20 April, in Sydney. Representatives from each country spoke of how being a lay Marist was realised in their situation.

There is a very large range of expressions – prayer and reflection groups such as we have here and elsewhere, with individuals determining their own actions in parish and community life, some who work in Marist Schools with or without the current presence of professed Marists, to maintain the Marist spirit in the school and students; groups who work as part of a team with priests, brothers

or sisters in some form of ministry or mission.

The women from the Philippines touched many with their report of work in the prison and mental hospital. They had brought a large box of crocheted items made by women inmates and sold by the Marist support ministry. This is to enable them to buy food over and above the daily allowance of one bowl of rice, and the hats, scarves and rosary purses were eagerly bought by conference attendees to support their work.

To relax on the Saturday evening, there was a formal dinner and concert which included a harmony choir and singing and dancing from the various nationalities represented, including a dance by Otile and Malia, Lay Marists from Auckland.

The conference was a great success, bonding and binding members from this part of the world in a greater experience of being the family of Mary. Laylines thanks the organisers, especially Maria Baden.

Fr Gus Hill sm, long time supporter of Marist Laity at Marist Centre.

Fr. Gus lived at Marist Centre up until late 2007 when he was transferred to the Home of Compassion at Silverstream. After Fr George Duggan, he was the second eldest in our province. His dad was killed in 1918 a month before Armistice on Gus’ 5th birthday. May they both be at peace. RIP

This Chapter will be held at Vaughan Park, Anglican Retreat Centre, at Long Bay in Auckland between Monday 27 October through to Friday 30 October. Frs Pat Devlin, Pete Head, Dave Kennerley, Paul Martin and Mark Walls are the steering committee. Maureen Cleary—an Australian Facilitator will assist the chapter with processes. Fr Barry Scannell (Secretary to Chapter) will be assisted by John Jolliffe and Brian Wysocki as chapter secretaries.

The Provincial Administration will look after the running of the three Pre-Chapter regional days: Auckland 29 July; Wellington 30 July; Christchurch 31 July. Each Provincial Committee is preparing for the Chapter by considering its area of concern and what might need to be done. Fr Craig Larkin (the Vicar General) will represent the General Administration at the Australian and New Zealand Chapters. The Chapter will elect delegates to go to the General Chapter in Rome in 2009. There will be a conference for Marist Laity around the same time. So please keep these & the other events in this edition, in your prayers.

The Priests and Brothers of the Society of Mary are preparing to assemble in September 2009 for a General Chapter. This is an event which occurs every eight years and is normally held in Rome. This one will begin on August 27 and conclude on September 23.

There is a call to make the twelve months from September 1st 2008 to 2009 as a year of prayer for the Chapter. The Whole Society will be invited to make a concerted personal and communal effort to pray for Mary’s intercession for her Society in this important moment of our life. This will be the occasion to deepen our own relationship with Mary and to renew our Marian Prayer.

This information is all the more important since the four congregations of the Marist family will soon hold their general chapters: the Marist Sisters next June; three months later, the Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary meeting in their Rome house on via Cassia. The Marist Brothers of the Schools will do the same in the second half of 2009, about the same time as the Fathers and Brothers.

MID-YEAR TRANSFERS

John Walls sm goes to Marist College, Atlanta, USA, to take up Marist Leadership as head of this college. Peter Conaghan sm replaces JW as Superior at Marist Centre and Peter Head sm replaces JW as National Police Chaplain.

As a result of the final ballot, counted on February 25, the Superior General of the Society of Mary, Fr Jan Hulsof, has confirmed the election of Fr John Hannan, of Ireland, as the first Provincial of the Province of Europe.

On 1st June 2008, the new Province was formed by merging of the present five provinces, France, Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Ireland and the two delegations of Spain and England into seven units. We wish Fr John courage as he takes up the challenges of his new appointment. He will certainly be able to count on the support and prayers of Marists world-wide.

Marian Mothers are one of the branches on the Marist Tree. As well as monthly meetings in local parishes, there are annual retreats and occasional prayer days held in different parts of the country.

Photo Left: One mother sustaining; others being sustained by the speaker! Photo Right: Most of the group at the mid-May weekend retreat – some participants were there for only part of the retreat so there was not any one moment with present.

Towards the end of 2007 Shirley called a talk-back radio station, Newstalk ZB. Shirley had been diagnosed with Cancer, was having a “down day” and all her support people had gone away.

Early in the New Year of 2008, Shirley called back saying that she had been to a hands-on healing meeting at a church and she no longer had cancer. Shirley’s second call sparked a five-hour conversation, with other people phoning in and adding their thoughts and sharing their experiences.

In the course of the five hours, John Rea’s name was mentioned regularly, on the radio, through email and MSN TXT messages. The host of the program, Pat Brittenden undertook to find John and invite him onto his show. Saturday 17 May was the first opportunity that John has had to visit Auckland this year, and Pat invited John to join him on Newstalk ZB for the first hour of his talk-back show.

An advertisement-free audio archive of the discussion is available for download as an mp3 and able to be played on your own computer or iPod. Those preferring to listen to it with the ‘click of a button’ are able to listen to it online from the radio station.

John Holden, Provincial Business manager and Michael Gaffaney, chair of the NZ Province’s Finance Committee, are shown outside the entrance to Pompallier Estate, the subdivision near Pompallier Catholic College, which the Society of Mary has been developing and selling over the last few years.

The sculpture was created to give the area a little lift and there is some debate as to whether it reflects the shape of a Bishop’s Mitre or a Cathedral Window. Whatever, it does give the impression of a housing estate that has a Church feel and history. May the Lord be with all who enter therein and feel at home at Pompallier Estate, Whangarei.

Laughing with God: Humor, Culture and Transformation is Gerry Arbuckle’s latest book - hot off the press. To be accurate: Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota, USA - hence the title with the American spelling.

The book encourages the reader to connect the two disciplines of Scripture and Anthropology to discover the beauty and humour in Biblical Passages and apply that to life, work and culture.

This is the second book published by Gerry this year and represents the fruit of his sabbatical time, spent primarily at Campion Hall in Oxford, England.

Congratulations Gerry on yet another fine book.