Saint Marcellin Champagnat

If you go to Marist, you have heard of Saint Marcellin Champagnat. If you don't, you probably haven't. April, 18th marked the canonization of Marcellin Champagnat, the founder of the Marist Brothers and namesake of the largest freshman dorm. Marist College is the direct heir to his teaching mission. I would like therefore, to take this opportunity to spread knowledge of who Saint Champagnat was, and more importantly, what he did. In order to do so, I am going to share an article written by my close friend and one of the sweetest people in the world, Nick:

At first consideration, one would probably expect that Marcellin Champagnat had excelled in school. In fact, because of the French Revolution until he turned 11, and then only for one day! During class that day, the schoolteacher beat a student who tried to answer a question that had been posed to Marcellin. Horrified, he left school and did not return to formal education until he entered the seminary at age 16.

Although gifted with natural intelligence, Marcellin's lack of formal education cause him to struggle as a student. But that experience was fundamental to his sense of mission. He would later say, "to educate children, you must love them all equally".

On October 28, 1816, three months after his ordination, Marcellin was called to the Montagne home where 16 year-old John Baptiste Montagne was dying. As Marcellin prepared to hear the confession of Jean-Baptiste, he realized the young man had little religious or academic education. It occurred to Marcellin that Jean Baptiste was one of many young people victimized by lack of education during and after the French Revolution.

Marcellin's own difficult experience and his encounter with Jean-Baptiste convinced him that he had to do something to combat the illiteracy and spiritual poverty of the young people in rural France.

To meet this need, Marcellin founded the Marist Brothers.

He said of his community's mission that they were to "serve God with fervor, to fulfill faithfull all the duties of our state, to work every day to detach our heart from creatures in order to give it to Jesus and Mary, to open it to all the movements of grace." The Brothers would find their glory, Marcellin said, in their efforts "to imitate and follow Jesus Christ," guided and strengthened by the Spirit. In all their work among the young, they were "to make Jesus Christ known and loved."

I myself think this is a very lofty and worthy mission - imagine bringing Jesus into the lives of the uneducated and unknowing and not only educating them, but opening up to His love and giving them a basic sense of love for God as well.

Marcellin's story also makes me appreciate my own education. I have been very blessed to receive quality education for the past 16 or 17 years, and I am most definitely not always grateful for how important having such a good education is. It's so easy to complain about the schoolwork and forget that there are others who would give almost anything to have half as good an education that we all receive here at Marist ... thanks to Marcellin Champagnat.

(oh, and just a side note: Marcellin's Champagnat's middle name is Benoit. That explains yet another building name on campus)

Quote of the Day

I've decided that once a week or so I'm going to post a "Quote of the Day". If i was more organized i would promise to post one every Monday, but seeing as I can't even post the gospel reflection on the right day half of the time, I'm not even going to pretend that I'm going to do this on a systematic basis...
But, anyway, I have always loved words. So many people have said so many great and powerful things about virtually everything. I believe these words should be heard.
So, without furthur ado. today's quote:

"He brought light out of darkness, not out of a lesser light, and he can bring thee summer out of winter, though thou hast no spring. Though in the ways of fortune, understanding, or conscience thou hast been benighted till now, wintered and frozen, clouded and eclipsed, damped and benumbed, smothered and stupefied, now God comes to thee, not as the dawning of the day, not as the bud of the spring, but as the sun at noon."

I feel this quote is strangely fitting for this week in particular due to physical literal representation we have seen in regards to weather patterns. Three days ago it was in the 40s and chilly .. the past three days have broken 90 degrees. We went from winter to spring.

Although the quote was not meant to be taken quite this litterally, i think it goes to show the power God has. If we allow Him he can take away all the pain, sorrows, fears, and insecurities (our "winters" if you will) and replace them with hopes, dreams, successes, and smiling faces.

While life will never be perfect, if we never lose sight of what is most important in life (faith, love, etc.), then we will most definately see better days.

Stewardship of Spring

Stewardship is the free and joyous activity of the child of God and God's family, the Church, in managing all of life and life's resources for God's purposes. As stewards of God's creation, we are called to build the kingdom of God on earth by using all that had been given to us by God, starting with our time, talents, and treasures.

It's Spring! just look outside and see all the people on the green and you'll know its true. Spring is the time of being outside, of new life, of sunshine, of finals, of procrastination, of new beginings, of flowers, of robins, and of everything green. It is a great time to rejoice.

Like the rest of nature in springtime, we are given the opportunity to 1. begin again and 2. produce good fruit. This is what christian stewardship is all about - responding to God's love in Christ and bringing forth the fruits of our faith.

Spring gives us the assurance that there is hope and joy in life. We are the children of God who have the ability to bring this hope and joy to others. We know, through faith, that the best is yet to come, yet we must also remember that what we do here and now is also important.

God blesses us so that we might bring good things to others. As we manage our own lives, we strive to live demonstrate that we are fruitful stewards in God's eyes. When we give freely and generously of ourselves we show that life is more than about what we have - it's about sharing and giving!

This spring, let the joy and victory of the season be reflected in how you interact with others. Share your time with someone who is lonely; share your talent with someone who may be too timid to ask; share your treasure with someone less fortunate than you.

May God bless you

Pass a Prayer

I was reading a post on the newly created Pass a Prayer blog, and was inspired by a woman's mission to make prayer an everyday part of other people's lives. Her name is Annie, and i think she might be a bit of a genius.

She suggests that whenever we are feeling particularly inspired, overwhelmed, or just in the need of prayer, that we take the time to write the words down and leave them somewhere where they can be found by others.

She explains, "I decided that I would write the words I needed to hear in the form of a prayer and pass it along to whoever may encounter it. So I scrawled the prayer on a scrap piece of paper, dated it, and noted at the bottom to "Pass a prayer..." Then I placed it in the hymnal book."

I personally believe this is a fantastic idea! It's a great oportunity to share God's love with others without being overbearing or awkward.

"I hope that together we can send messages of hope and peace and love to those who need it most. That we can bring unexpected moments of light to those who may feel left in the dark. Or that we can simply bring a smile to someone's face" annie writes.

At the same time, i feel it would add dimensions to our own lives. Writting down your prayer will get your feelings off your chest and probably make the world seem like a better, happier, safer place.

Yesterday's Gospel Reflection

Again, I applogize for being late, although this time I have a legitimate excuse... I was in Florida with the Rugby team at Nationals. (we won one and lost one for those who are interested).

So, without further ado:

Today, the eighth and final day of Easter, we are reminded about the importance of our belief. Often in college we are faced with doubters who will attempt to persuade us away from what we know to be the truth. It is important that we hold onto, not only our morals, but the truth that Jesus came to tell us.

This past week is what is referred to as the Octave of Easter, one of three “Octaves” in the church calendar, the others being Christmas and Pentecost. The Octave of Easter does not allow for any other feasts, such as Saint’s days, to be celebrated during the Octave so that the entire attention of the church at that time may be on the redemptive love of God manifested in the resurrection.

It is fitting then, that at the time when our focus is most intent on God’s loving presence in our life , that we are shown how easy it is to doubt. That is not to say that having questions about faith is wrong because everyone does. What it means is that no one should be able to take your faith away from you, and just because you may not be able to see or touch solid proof, your faith should be strong enough to trust in the love that God wants to share with us, as He proved by sharing His only son with us.

Do not be a doubting Thomas.

Trust yourself.

Believe.

Visiting a New Church

I apologize for the large gap in time between the last post and this one. My excuse is a combination of a hectic schedule, writers block, and pure laziness. I am sure you all understand.

Yesterday was Easter. The most important holiday on the Catholic calender. More important even than Christmas. Without Easter, there would be no heaven for us sinners, no eternal salvation for our mortal souls.

Easter is also a day when many of us celebrate mass at a church other than our own. I am one such person. Although being at college I no longer have one set "home parish" because I have a parish at home and another for school, I still always feel strange in a new church.

Every Easter I celebrate the Rising of our Lord at Holy Family Parish in Luzerne, PA, the town where my adorable grandparents live. This church is stunning. The altar and everything on it is made of solid ornate marble, the rows of pews extend further than any church i have ever been in. There are layers of stained glass windows on all four walls and each window has a beautifully depicted scene. The Stations of the cross are made of carved and painted marble and each one stands about 5 ft tall and 3 ft wide. They're awe-inspiring. The lighting is from decorative chandeliers that provide just the right amount of light. The choir sits up and behind the congregation in the balcony.

And if the layout and make up is not enough, the talent their is also exquisite. The choir is breath-taking. They remind me of something straight out of the cathedrals in Rome. They sing solos and 4 part harmonies and they have an assortment of instruments to accompany them. It's so majestic, it's easy to get caught up in the celebrating trumpets - especially on the joyous occasion of Easter Sunday.

But despite all the fanfare, magnificent music, flawless presentation, and gorgeous walls, I always prefer the simplicity of my home church. Saint Joseph's in Spring City can not compete with the ornateness of this church, but its homily warped wood pews, struggling choir, squeaky sound system, and well-worn carpeting make me feel so at home. And the same goes for the Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Chapel at Marist. It may only be able to fit 100 or so students compared to the hundreds Holy Family packed in on the main floor (they have a whole second set up down stairs who can watch the mass on TV), but it feels more special to me.

I think that it is because mass is about the people you share it with; the community. While it is nice to step out of your element and see new places, experience new things, going to church is something we should share with those we are comfortable with. That is why i love going to my own churches: the people.