New year, new you! Cheers to your new year's resolution. Are you still faithful to all the promises you've made yourself?

 

Every January feels fresh and exciting. We celebrate so many new things. Newly engaged, born, hired. New toys, technology, car, house. New promises, goals, dreams. New classes, degrees, promotions. New plans, vacations, business arrangements. And this year... a New Guide to Life in the Marianist Lay Community of North America.

 

One of my favorite things about our Charism is that Chaminade always reminds us to read the signs of the times. He said that new times call for new measures. And THAT is exactly what our Guide is: a new measure.

 

The content is not new. As you read through it, our hope is that you will already know it: it's still the same things you've learned, prayed, and believed for as long as you've been with our Marianist Family.  The Guide highlights and addresses the same values and faith that came from the early days when Chaminade returned to France and our Founders began their writings and ministries. It's still the same Charism that we have been living for 200 years: the commitment we are celebrating this year with the Bicentennials of the SM and FMI.

 

But what IS new, is that this Guide is a new measure in our ever-changing new world. Our family has grown exponentially in recent years. New communities are popping up all over the country. More and more people are captivated by the Marianist Spirit.  From a personal perspective, I have been fortunate enough to encounter many different "ways of being Marianist" along my journey. Each person's commitment is unique and beautiful, and each has enriched my own experience and commitment.  It is truly humbling to see just how many people are participating in Mary's mission of bringing Christ to the world. All our individual, local, and virtual communities are precious and deeply respected... and all are also part of the larger community. In fact, the Marianist Lay Community of North America is, by far, the largest among MLCs across the world.  Our family is growing every day in so many ways.

 

And we all know that with a big family comes big responsibility!

 

And so on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, we presented you with the Guide. This document grounds us in our common thought, belief, practice, and organization. It reminds us what is MOST important in our varied expressions and ways of living the Charism. It calls us to communicate effectively with one another: to share and celebrate the ways we carry out the Mission. It challenges us to connect, to invest, and to identify together. It acknowledges our smaller communities as foundational to our large North American Community. It reminds us what Marge Cavanaugh, a former MLNNA President, said that "as a faith community we remember that we are always part of something bigger than ourselves." This Guide will help us to know, to commit, and to live our Marianist Charism.

 

So... will you join me in a New Year's resolution to dig deeper into our Marianist Spirituality through the prayerful reading of the Guide?!

-Mallory