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The icon 

“The Virgin of The Sign”

was written by Michael Galovic,

an Australian Iconographer.

The image of the Virgin

with hands raised in prayer

is one of the oldest

 in Christian art. 

The Child she bears

is the Hope of the World.

Mary,

Bearer of hope to the world

I desire with all my heart

to live my life

in the Spirit of Mary,

a spirit of love,

simplicity, hiddenness

and prayer.

Like Mary, may I bring

hope to the world,

especially among those

most yearning for hope.

Woman, pregnant with hope,

listen to my prayer.

Fill me with your tender

and deep love for Jesus.

Mary,

bearer of hope to the world,

Pray for us.

marist family international year.

12 September 2008-2009.

Colin had a deep conviction that to be called ‘Marist’ was a source of hope and also a challenge to take up a certain way of thinking and acting.  That way was summed up in a key image which Colin put to his followers: Mary in the early church.

 Colin envisaged a way of dealing with the world, not against it; a way which meant pushing the limits of mercy to the utmost extreme to ensure that everyone was able to be gathered into the Church and no one was excluded, except those who wished to exclude themselves.

 The Spirit of Mary is something most delicate and most profound obtained only through sustained meditation and prayer.

 Since being Marist is a way of life. We find no emphasis on any particular religious practices apart from those of an ordinary Christian life, including liturgy, the sacraments and charity.  Marists focus on the person of Mary rather than on particular Marian practices. Marists keep a special place in their prayers for all those in great need, invoking Mary’s intercession on their behalf.

International Marist

Year of Prayer

Mary,

Bearer of Hope to the World

The inspiration for this special year came from two Tongan delegates who attended the Marist Laity Conference held in Sydney, Australia in April 2008.

 They presented three wishes coming from their lay Marist community in New Zealand:

       that a theme be chosen uniting Marists globally

 that this theme be launched on   the feast of the Holy Name of Mary

that the theme will be a focus for prayer and action in the year ahead.

The need for a centre point, or a place to stand from which we can view reality is necessary for our life in the Spirit.  Marists find their own place to stand, their centre point in Nazareth. Colin said “I place myself in the home of Nazareth and from there I see all that I must do”.

   The lay association was to be a confraternity of people from all walks of life.  Its aim was to be a means of carrying out the Work of Mary in the world, and in Colin’s words, “to be a bridge to souls”.  Its spirit was to be the same as that of the Society of Mary.

 Lay Marists should be fully inserted into the life of the local Church to support parochial and diocesan apostolates and be their hidden force.

I have a great ambition – to seize the whole world under the wings of Mary.