Between extinction and renewal
The Society of Mary is entering the year of the 150th anniversary of the death of JC Colin and of its next General Chapter. Like many religious congregations, it is at a turning point in its history and is called upon to remember its past and revisit its sources to invent its future.
We are at a pivotal moment in human history. One world is collapsing and another is being born. This is not without its share of upheavals, shaking the very foundations of what has sustained us and calling into question the heritage of our great religious traditions.
After a life largely devoted to welcoming and training the first Marist priests from Africa, then to creating and running a cultural and spiritual centre in the heart of Toulon, the time came for me to review and reflect on the issues and challenges facing religious life. For the past two years, I've been writing a book entitled ‘La vie religieuse au défi de l’avenir: entre extinction et renouveau’ (Religious life and the challenge of the future: between extinction and renewal), looking for a publisher, and then an article summarising the main points of the book. It is this article that I am passing on to you. While inviting you to a fraternal dialogue.
There is no formula that, properly applied, will ensure the future, but there is an invitation to become pilgrims again and to let ourselves be led by the Spirit. By giving the young people who join us a taste for the future and the desire to embark on an adventure, while drawing inspiration from the daring and faith of our first missionaries who went to the furthest reaches of the earth.
Read the summary of the book in English and French.
Olivier Laurent, sm
