“What is more beautiful, more effective than the Magnificat in teaching a girl or a boy how to open up to God and his plan of love?” the Pontiff wondered.
Vatican City (25/03/2022 10:05 PM, Gaudium Press) On Thursday morning, March 24, Pope Francis received the participants of the General Conference of the Order of the Marist Brothers. During the meeting, the Holy Father stressed the need to always look ahead, following the indications of the Chapters.
Overcoming frontiers of mentality
Highlighting the fact that the Marist Brothers Family is multicultural and multiethnic, the Pontiff invited those present to overcome the frontiers, not so much of geography, but of mentality. Emphasizing that this does not mean abandoning their roots.
“There is no contradiction between fidelity to the roots and universal openness: it is continuity, normal growth. On the contrary, following the model of Christ the Lord, it means remaining faithful to the end to the covenant of love with the people entrusted to us, so that our service becomes fruitful for everyone, by the power and the grace of God,” he affirmed.
The teachings of Saint Marcellin Champagnat
Francis also urged the Marist religious to remain faithful to the service of education and evangelization of young people, following the charism of Saint Marcellin Champagnat. “He knew how to ‘look beyond,’ and he knew how to teach the young to ‘look beyond,’ to open themselves to God, to the prospects of love according to the Gospel.”
Champagnat’s teachings, according to the Holy Father, were guided by the example of the Virgin Mary, the good Mother, the simple woman who ‘looked beyond’ to the horizon of the Kingdom of God, reflected in the Magnificat.
Spiritual education to young people
“What is more beautiful, more effective than the Magnificat in teaching a girl or a boy how to open up to God and his plan of love? The Magnificat contains a vision of life and history; it is a school of faith and prayer, that frees us from being wrapped up in ourselves and from every form of spiritualism, and shows us the joy of believing, hoping and loving in accordance with Christ’s Gospel,” he remarked.
Pope Francis reminded the Marist Brothers that “this belongs to you as religious: spiritual education. Jesus Christ is the Master of life and truth, the way to follow to become men and women in their fullness, and the Holy Spirit is the interior Teacher who forms Christ in us.” (EPC)
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“What could be more beautiful, more effective than the Magnificat to educate a young girl or boy to open himself to God and his plan of love?” the Pontiff wondered.
Compiled by Gustavo Kralj