Greetings! 

I'm writing this to you on Monday, October 19, from my basement. You should receive it on Friday, October 30 while I am in Rome at the meeting of our International Organization of Marianist Lay Communities. Wow! Technology can work wonders.

BUT, there's a bigger point to this. With my international responsibility I do a lot of thinking about how to connect people who live half a world away and span 24 time zones. What difference does it make to you who are living in Hoyt Kansas, Pilette Haiti, Seoul Korea, or Ranchi India? What do you care about what is going on in other parts of the world?

Sure, you hear world news on the radio, but your life is full of things like taking care of your children, doing your job, and connecting with your local community. That's where we eat together, share our sorrows and joys, help each other fix their computers, or take a walk together.

Yes, we can say the 3:00 O'Clock prayer virtually and have Skype meetings, but it's not quite the same as being able to actually give someone a hug.

So what's this all got to do with our Marianist world? I'm thinking about the recent Marianist World Day of Prayer and how many of us in our own places and various time zones gathered. It wasn't one humongous gathering in a stadium but we hopefully realized that there are communities in other places that carry our same spirit. And that they too were praying and celebrating on their home turf around the same time - give or take 12 hours.

So while I'm in Rome, I'll be thinking of you, working in your name, and praying that your communities will thrive. (I'll also try to eat some gelato for you.) Meanwhile, pray for your international team and enjoy the photos of the Marianist World Day of Prayer below. We're all in this together.