You may send an email to the newly appointed FMI Provincial Council at [email protected].

We join with our brothers in the District of India as they celebrate the Ordination to the priesthood of A. Santosh Savarimuthu in Bangalore on Jan. 28. The date has been adjusted to allow for appropriate social distancing guidelines based on guidelines set by the local government. View the invitation.

The Office of the Rector at St. Mary’s University is sponsoring a prayer opportunity, "Praying with the Marianists.” The group will join in the prayer of the Church, Vespers, on Feb. 2 at 4:30 pm Central. The prayer service will be available via live stream here. View this flyer for more information.

Just a reminder: Feb. 2 is the Foundation Day for Lay Marianists and MLCs. Over two hundred twenty years ago, the first Sodalists made a public commitment in the Madeleine Chapel in Bordeaux, France. This event laid the foundation for creating the first branch of the Marianist Family. The Marianist Sisters and the Society of Mary would emerge from these small communities of faith.

Thank you to Bro. Jack Ventura for sending us the following information:

For many years, the Marianist Center for Lay Formation(MCLF) in Philadelphia would host a celebration to remember our foundation. However, due to the current COVID situation, MCLF has decided to host a virtual celebration on Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022. The topic we will explore is Marianist Lay Communities in a Post-Epidemic World. Please click here for the informational flyer. Please send an email to Francine Cruz, [email protected], to register and receive zoom information.

The Provincial Council's Reports to the Provincial Chapter–March 2022 will be posted to the portal tomorrow. Please login to the portal and navigate to the Provincial Chapter Section located in the center of the fourth row. Please contact Bernadette Groner if you need assistance accessing the portal.

Please click here for helpful information on wellness stories/links.  

You have already started reading about synodality as announced by Pope Francis. Many different conversations will happen throughout the world to involve the church and her thinking with the bishops. CMSM has put together a very nice flyer that I invite you to look at with some basic information and resources. View the flyer.

While in San Antonio recently, I met with Mike O’Grady, our aspirancy director. He shared a program that the aspirants have been assisting at called “Sleep in Heavenly Peace” (SHP), an organization that assembles beds for children. Child bedlessness is a national problem, SHP has provided a possible solution. They are a volunteer organization that builds beds for kids who are sleeping on the floor, and our aspirants have been volunteering.

Chicago Schuller, Joseph Choi, "Memo" Peña Contreras

Below is a reflection from Christopher Janezic, Esq., a religion teacher from VASJ. He reflects on his long journey as an educator in implementing the CME of Adaptation and Change.

The Characteristic of Marianist Education that I will reflect upon is to "Educate for Adaptation and Change." Early in my 22-year career at the Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School, the new principal at that time, Ms. Margaret Lynch, gave me some sage advice pertaining to the state of education. She told me to "teach the children who are in front of you." I have lived this axiom to mean that I should not wish for any other students. God has given you these children at this time and in this place for a particular reason. I need to reach the students from where they are educationally, socially, spiritually. To "reach the students" means to call for flexibility and adaptation (the metaphor of the tree that bends in the wind seems appropriate now) upon me to change methods and lesson plans and not be afraid of learning new technologies and processes and procedures. I attempt to respond to the invitation to "do whatever He tells you to do.” I am slowly becoming more proficient with the educational software that is employed at the high school. Sometimes the lessons work well, and at other times it was a debacle, BUT the important thing is to keep trying.

Brothers, here is the link for the Roundtable Discussion on Zoom on Feb 1, 2022, at 7:00 PM Central Time.

Meeting ID: 993 1338 7065

Passcode: 603662

If you can not find your issue of the Horizon Magazine or would like to view the digital version, please click here.

Last weekend, Sr. Nicole Trahan and Bro. Mike O'Grady participated in the Life Awareness Retreat in the Archdiocese of San Antonio. Thanks, Nicole and Mike, for your essential participation in Vocation Ministry! You can view pictures here.

“Perhaps the most important influence in an individual’s faith life is the religiosity of his or her family of origin. Having parents and extended family members who communicate their faith readily and practice their faith within their family through Mass attendance, prayer at meals, seasonal devotions (Advent, Lent, etc.) has an enduring effect on individuals.”

Do the vocational materials of our institute address families, parents and siblings? And how do our specific ministries engage families as well as individuals?

Feb. 2: Presentation of the Lord (Anniversary of the first consecrations in the Sodality of Bordeaux)