The Metamorphosis of Mariology

In latter years mariology seems to have lost its nerve. In the wake of Vatican II what had once seemed a thriving industry, flourishing with a life of its own, slowed down and ground virtually to a standstill. On the whole this has been a good thing. It has allowed a breathing space, a time […]

The Immaculate Conception

I was once asked by a non-Catholic friend to give a talk to a group of London University students on the Immaculate Conception. They were completing a three year course on the production of films and videos and knew their way around the technology of the media.  They were intelligent and sophisticated. They did not […]

The changing face of Mary

A quick trip down the centuries of Christian devotion to Mary is like walking through an art gallery hung with portraits of the same person painted by different artists. Each painter sees his subject differently, but each portrait is a true likeness, capturing different facets of the mystery of that person. And so it is […]

Mary: Woman of prayer

One of the healthy signs of life in the Church today has been the desire for personal prayer. Christians of all ages and walks of life have felt within themselves the need to commune with their God on a personal one-to-one basis and deeply within their hearts. Thus they turn to Mary as a model […]

September 24, 1836: the Society of Mary “drawn up as in battle array”

We spent time yesterday getting some sense of what April 29, 1836, meant for the Marist enterprise. Today I invite you to give similar attention to the date of September 24. The brief of April 29 empowered, in a precise and limited way, the priest members of the Society of Mary to elect a superior […]

The Marist Project and Assessment

How we think and feel about the Marist project will affect deeply how we approach the issue of assessment. I want to see myself thinking and feeling about the Marist project in a mode that I would describe as open, hopeful, articulate, likely to generate enthusiasm, to communicate a sense of purpose, to provide direction. […]