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News inserted on 02/09/2016

Dare to dream - Part 1

“… I say to you today, my friends … even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.”                                                       (Martin Luther King, 28 August 1963, Washington)

Dare to dream was the theme of the international gathering of Marist youth, organised by the four branches of the Marist Family. The goal was to promote the ongoing development and integration of the young people of the four branches of the Marist family for the occasion of the celebration of the bicentenary of the Pledge of Fourvière.

More than 400 young people descended upon Lyon, the cradle of the Pledge, in order to live in solidarity and to share their experiences as young people in the Marist family. It is an experience that opens new horizons for Marist mission and charism.

For six days the young Marists attempted:

·         to meet each other joyfully, to live together in a family spirit of internationality and interculturality and to have an experience of the Church as community;

·         to deepen Marist spirituality;

·         to provide an environment for an encounter with God.

After Sunday evening’s festival of welcome on the, Monday was the day for Listening to the reality of the participants.  Morning prayer gave ‘flavour’ to the day. Each person was invited to name what they brought in their suitcase to Lyon. After, like the disciples of Emmaus, they were invited to share their motivation with each other.

The group presentations helped the young people to share their dreams as young Marists and how they would be able to bring it to reality, “What dreams become reality today in our life as Marists and what do we do in our own lives?”

In the afternoon, the young people, in community groups, visited the display of each Marist group.  Each congregation had 20 minutes to present themselves to the groups. We SMSM began our presentation with an action song, If you love us, composed by Sr Georgeanne, our Congregational leader. At the end of their visit, the young people were able to discover the richness of the Marist family and the specific characteristics and mission of each branch.

Throughout the week, the young people met often in community groups where they could share their experience and their hopes or to take part in different activities together.

The Eucharist was a time of thanksgiving where all were seated around the table in Christ’s presence. The text of the disciples of Emmaus invited us to open our eyes to see the marvels of God in our lives as young Marists, to know how to share, to become close to others, to walk with the other, to be there for the other. 

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