Everything Is Possible

"Everything is possible to one who has faith." (Mk 9:23). Having spent the past week with up to 70,000 believers who attended the Medjugorje Youth Festival either in person or on the internet, having attended Holy Mass with 515 con-celebrants, having heard the testimonies of people whose lives had come from darkness to light, having knelt before the Blessed Sacrament with men and women from Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria and Russia, where Communism evidently did not snuff out the faith, having climbed Cross Mountain with thousands of barefoot pilgrims, having seen peace come into the hearts of our own group, and mine as well, it is clear to me that "everything is possible to one who has faith." St. Marcellin, whose love for Jesus and Mary was the vital and driving force behind his faith would have felt right at home as Mary's call and example so forcefully led people of all ages and levels of faith to her Son.
Our vocation as Marists calls us to this same mission no matter where we are or if we are consecrated religious or lay Marists. We are given signs along, the way, experiences to reinforce our faith, people whose faith becomes a model for ours, or to put it in the words that recently appeared in our Emblem, "shoulders of giants" on which to build the kingdom of God. Daily prayer, especially the rosary, frequent attendance at Mass, monthly confession, and even fasting (from food or by forgoing something we cherish), reaching out to help others at the risk or our own inconvenience, all help to strengthen our faith. Truly "everthing is possible to the one who believes."
Bro. Rene