Communion Produces Joy
Marist Moment: Communion Produces Joy
Division at home or work is so painful. It eats away at joy and brings a heavy sadness. Marist’s notice Mary was present in the early Church in such a special way that their unity shines through the experience and pages of the early christian community. Mary’s presence helped the disciples to be united.
A popular Marist Book called ‘Bearings’ offers some thoughtful ideas on the Marist Way of looking at and living life.
Communion Produces Joy
Colin's dream reached back to the first Christian community: “there would be seen in the Church at the end of time what was seen at the beginning — a community of believers with one mind and one heart.” For Marists, communion is not a pleasant extra; the Constitutions say nothing contributes more to their mission than “the deep mutual love of its members.”
The early stories make this concrete. When the Society was formally established in 1836, the retreat rule read simply: “No talk of Lyons or of Belley” — old loyalties and rivalries were to be set aside. Priests, brothers and laymen sailed to the Pacific as “a family of equals.” And in Belgium, Fr Jean Bériard, a fervent French patriot, wept over the wartime deaths of his former pupils — some killed fighting for France, some for Germany — and “always paid the highest tribute to each one, without discrimination of nationality.”
Communion also produces joy. Of the three Marists who served Sydney's poor from St Patrick's in the 1890s, the parish priest said: “We were of one heart and one soul… we lived happily and therefore we could do good.” Notice the order: their happiness together came first, and their effectiveness flowed from it. Jeanne-Marie Chavoin, foundress of the Marist Sisters, left this as her last testament: “Always be a bond of union.”
Families, parishes and workplaces are full of quiet divisions — old grievances, factions, people left on the edges. The Marist Way asks you to be, like Mary among the apostles, a person in whose presence others find it easier to be united. Not by forcing agreement, but by listening, refusing gossip, and loving without taking sides.
Marist Reflection Question
Where is there division within my reach — in my family, parish or workplace — and how might I become “a bond of union” there rather than another voice in the argument?
Marist Practice
Once each day, deliberately reach toward someone on the edge of your circle — the overlooked relative, the quiet colleague, the person others avoid — and give them your full, unhurried attention.
Marist Resources Download
This resource comes from a Marist Spirituality Series: ‘Bearings’ by Craig Larkin. Click here for full reflection guide
