On this day 195 years ago, Father Marcellin Champagnat responded to a sick call in a little hamlet known as Le Palais high up in the mountains above LaValla. There he met Jean-Baptiste Montagne, a 17 year old boy who was dying. As Father Champagnat questioned him before administering the Sacrament of Anointing, known in those days as "the Last Sacrament", he realized the lad knew nothing about God or his faith. Father Champagnat gave him a "crash course", anointed him and left to visit another sick person. When he returned, he found that Jean-Baptiste had died. That event triggered the young curate to put an idea that he had had in the seminary into action: to found an order of teaching brothers who would prevent such ignorance of the faith to exist. Three months later on January 2, 1817, the foundation of the Little Brothers of Mary, or Marist Brothers, was begun. St. Marcellin was a man who took to heart the words of St. James, "Be doers of the word and not hearers only..." (Jas 1:22). Had it now been for the death of Jean-Baptiste, it might have been awhile, if ever, that Marcellin would have moved to set his dream into reality. Jean-Baptiste's situation, sad though it was, had a happy ending: the world-wide congregation of Marist Brothers of the Schools who continue to spread the knowledge and love of Jesus.
Is it not more than just a coincidence that on the Church's calendar, this is the Feast of Sts. Simon and Jude: Simon called the zealot, because of his association with the Zealot group of his day that was seeking a way to remove Israel from Roman rule, and Jude, whose reputation for resolving "hopeless cases" has made him extremely popular even today. The zeal of Simon flowed in the veins of Marcellin and he was not afraid to address what seemed like a hopeless situation. Over and over again in his life we see this. Let us pray that when a "Montagne Moment" crosses our path, we will respond similar zeal and hope.
Bro. Rene
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