The Most Holy Name of Mary

From August to October, the Marianist Family celebrate many Marianist feasts which are important to our identities as religious and lay members of the Family of Mary.  Today, we celebrate the Holy Name of Mary which Fr. Chaminade declared our patronal feast.  For as Marianists, we dedicate ourselves to the mission of Mary and it is under her patronage that we fulfill our mission of bringing Jesus to the world.  So, today is a reminder about the sacredness of names, our own names and the names of those who have gone before us in faith.  Today we celebrated with a Mass in honor of Mary and after Mass we were treated to hot chocolate and pan dulce, singing Las Marianitas -a song in honor of Mary and a song that is sung for Birthdays here in Mexico.  At the end of the post I will post my homily for the day.

So, my third week here in Queretaro was not without its surprises or different experiences.  On Monday, I was waiting for the bus that I usually take in the morning.  There are no schedules here in Mexico, the bus comes when it comes, but you can sort of guess when it will arrive +/- 10 minutes.  I was ready to board the bus, but it did not stop... it was already too crowded and so I had to wait another 15 minutes for the next bus. I thought I was going to be very late for class, but in fact, I arrived just on time for class.  So, the rest of the week I kept wondering, will I get on the bus or not?  For me, its very frustrating but it is a fact of life here. 

My experience in school has been very good so far.  I am learning many things, but it is one thing to answer questions correctly when they are in front of you, it is another to use that knowledge to answer questions in a live conversation.  Again, the nature of learning a language is to be in the perennial mode of making mistakes... so far I have an A in mistakes!

On Thursday I went for a beer with one of my classmates, Niehls, who is from Holland.  He will be leaving Queretaro on Sunday, but he will return in November.  He has a girlfriend named Pauline who is Mexican.  She joined us for a drink after about an hour of our sharing and getting to know one another outside of class.  Both of them are great people and I feel glad that I had an opportunity to meet them.  I look forward to his return in November. 

On Friday, we had a fiesta at the Language School.  It was in honor of those graduating from the program and in honor of Mexican Independence Day which is celebrated on September 16 (not Cinco de Mayo as we celebrate in the US).  We had a great time of sharing, talking, eating, drinking beer and tequila and dancing.  It was a great way to blow off some steam and become better acquainted with some of the other students whom I see each day, but with whom I do not share classes. 

Today is my day to cook, so I will go to the local tiendas (butcher and fruit and vegetable store) to purchase the items for the meal.  Once again, I will ask one of the Brothers to go with me as I am not yet ready to "fly" on my own.  Going to these places is not like going to the supermarket where everything is laid out for you and you can easily choose what you want.  Most items are behind a counter and you have to ask for the items, as well as, the quantity of items.... and remember they use the metric system here, so what you would normally buy in pounds for a meal needs to be calculated into kilograms, otherwise you may buy too much or too little.  So, yes, everything is different and really nothing is easy for me but I am doing surprisingly well. 

So, I hope all of you, my loved one's-friends and family- are doing well.  Un gran abrazo y besito de Mexico!  Hasta la semana proximal!

Homily: Feast of the Holy Name of Mary

Today we Marianists rejoice in this feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary, because this is our patronal feast.  This is the day in which we are reminded that we commit ourselves to Mary’s mission.  As we often pray in our prayers of consecration, today we are reminded that it is for “ her honor that we embrace Marianist life”.  The only way we can embrace Mary’s mission for our entire lives is to ensure that we have a firm foundation in faith and Marianist religious life.  Our formation in religious life must ensure that we will be like the house built on a firm foundation and the tree that produced good fruit mentioned in the Gospel.   If our formation is weak, then the worries of the world, insecurities, the next new idea or way of doing things will shake the house and the house will collapse.  If our formation is weak, then the decisions that we make both individually or communally will cause the house to collapse and we will bear rotten fruit.  When we have a strong foundation and we know who we are to whom we belong, then we can embrace Mary’s mission with zeal and security and produce good fruit.   When we don’t know who we are, or to whom we belong, then we will be insecure about our future, always second guessing what we should do and permitting many other “good” things to get in the way of us to live our lives together as religious. 

Our life as an apostolic community is a both/and experience and not an either/or way of  life.  We live a life of prayer and work.  Our prayer should assist our work, and our work should influence our prayer and even go as far as to influence how and when we pray.  Initial formation is critical to the future of a member of the Society of Mary.  Men come to religious life with some foundation already, but it is in initial formation that one learns how to live in a Marianist house for the rest of his life.  Ongoing formation is critical for the maintenance of our Marianist house, because with age, preventive maintenance is necessary for the house to remain firm and strong. 

 It is a grand mission that we embrace, and we embrace our religious life under the name of Mary.  So, as we celebrate this patronal feast of the Society of Mary, both temporary and perpetually professed members must ask themselves, How is my house? Is it strong? Is the foundation weak? Will my house weather the storms of everyday life or will it collapse under pressure? Has my formation produced good fruit for myself and for my brothers? Is my tree ripe with fruit or is it barren now?

Let the words of the Gospel ring true for our lives today, let us build a firm foundation and bear good fruit for our sisters and brothers here in Mexico.  When we do this, then we will honor the Most Holy name of Mary.

 

Hoy nos Marianistas se regocijan en esta fiesta del Santísimo Nombre de María, porque esta es nuestra fiesta patronal. Este es el día en el que se nos recuerda que nos comprometemos a la misión de María. Como solemos orar en nuestras oraciones de consagración, en la actualidad se nos recuerda que es por "su honor que abrazamos la vida marianista". La única forma en que podemos abrazar la misión de María para toda nuestra vida es asegurar que tenemos una base firme en la fe y la vida religiosa marianista.

Nuestra formación en la vida religiosa debe garantizar que seremos como la casa construida sobre una base firme y el árbol que produce buen fruto mencionado en el Evangelio. Si nuestra formación es débil, entonces las preocupaciones del mundo, inseguridades, la próxima nueva idea o forma de hacer las cosas hará temblar la casa y la casa se derrumbará. Si nuestra formación es débil, entonces las decisiones que tomamos, tanto de forma individual o en comunidad hará que la casa a derrumbarse y nos darán fruto podrido. Cuando tenemos una base sólida y sabemos lo que somos a la que pertenecemos, entonces podemos abrazar la misión de María con celo y la seguridad y producir frutos buenos. Cuando no sabemos quiénes somos, o al que pertenecemos, entonces vamos a ser inseguros acerca de nuestro futuro, siempre segunda adivinar lo que debemos hacer y permitir muchas otras cosas "buenas" para ponerse en el camino de nosotros para vivir nuestra vive juntos como religiosa. Nuestra vida como una comunidad apostólica es una vida de ambos/y, no sea/o. Vivimos una vida de oración y trabajo. Nuestra oración debe ayudar a nuestro trabajo, y nuestro trabajo debe influir en nuestra oración e incluso ir tan lejos como para influir en cómo y cuando oramos.

 La formación inicial es fundamental para el futuro de un miembro de la Compania de María. Los hombres vienen a la vida religiosa con algún fundamento ya, pero es en la formación inicial que se aprende a vivir en una casa Marianista para el resto de su vida. La formación permanente es fundamental para el mantenimiento de nuestra casa Marianista, ya que con la edad, el mantenimiento preventivo es necesario que la casa se mantenga firme y fuerte.

 

Es una gran misión que nos abrazamos, y abrazar la vida religiosa bajo el nombre de María. Así, al celebrar esta fiesta patronal de la Compañía de María, los dos, miembros en votos temporales y perpetúales deben preguntarse, ¿Cómo está mi casa? ¿Es fuerte? ¿Es el fundamento débil? ¿Mi casa capear las tormentas de la vida cotidiana o va a colapsar bajo presión? Mi formación ha producido buenos frutos para mí y para mis hermanos? Es mi árbol madura con frutas o es estéril ahora?

 

 Que las palabras del anillo Evangelio cierto para nuestras vidas hoy, vamos a construir una base firme y da buen fruto para nuestros hermanos y hermanas aquí en México. Cuando hacemos esto, entonces vamos a honrar el nombre santísimo de María.