"With Haste"

Today's rich feast of the Visitation has many elements which contribute hugely to our Marist Spirituality and provide ample fodder for pondering beyond what this thin slice of bread might provide.  Having just conceived the Son of God, the Bride of the Holy Spirit wastes no time worrying about the reaction of family and community to her "unwed" pregnancy, but goes "with haste" to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, now in her sixth month. May selflessly accepted the invitation to be the mother of God, and now selflessly goes to help her elderly cousin as she carries and eventually brings forth her first-born and only son. The last Marist Brothers' Chapter produced a document based on Mary's hasty response as an invitation to all Marists to respond with haste to the needs of our current world, and to move fearlessly into "a new land" to meet those needs.  Already the incorporation of more and more Lay Marists, from Young Adults to the world-wide Marist Family Movement, into our thinking and planning is a step in that direction.  Our three years of reflection and discussion as we prepare for the celebration of our two-hundredth anniversary is opening new paths and ways of living our Marist Spirituality and vision.
The greeting of Elizabeth, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb" (Lk 1:42) calls us to deeper love and reverence of our Good Mother, and reminds us that we can find God in others if we see with her eyes. Mary's Magnificat, her song of  praise, humility and gratitude, is the blueprint for us to "live in the way of Mary."  May we not hesitate but leap into it "with haste."
Bro. Rene