My Experience at the Marist Mission Conference
- Yamil Risi
- 3 hours ago
- 6 min read
By Evan Jorge
A lot of people say that Columbus is a “Marist” high school. We use the word “Marist” mostly as just a title, like how we would refer to a brand or a clothing line. Yet, do we truly know what it means to be a Marist? We had to memorize the Marist Marks and Pillars freshman year, but do we know what they mean?
Before I went to the Marist Mission Conference, I just thought Marist was the type of Catholic school we went to, but it is so much more than that. This retreat taught me not only the extent of the Marist Community globally, but also what it truly means to be a Marist.
How I was able to go to the Mission Conference
Well, the quick answer is because of Brother Dittus. One day, I ran into him in the hallway, and he asked me if I wanted to go. He told me it was a weekend retreat and it was about what it meant to be Marist. I thought about it, and I came to the conclusion that I had nothing more to do this weekend, so I agreed to go. Looking back, I thought it would just be a boring retreat that would get me out of the house, so it was worth it. I had a great time meeting up with my friends and anticipating the good times ahead.
What the reception was like
When we first arrived, only two other schools were there, so we had free time until every school arrived. My friends and I began playing football with the ball one of us brought, and we started to play with the boys from Mount Saint Michael. We hadn’t even started the actual experience on the retreat, and we were already making friends with kids from different schools, and I loved it. We were already cracking jokes with each other within minutes, and generally had a great time with each other.
The Outside Scope: Marists all over the world
Once everyone arrived, Matt Fallon, Director of Youth Ministry, Province of the USA, brought us to the main conference room and began explaining to us the Marist Mission. We concluded, after asking the people around the room what we thought it was to be Marist, as being kind like Marcellin. Though this is true, there is much more to it than just being a good person, which we dove into. Matt told us the point of the retreat was to help us zoom in on the Marist Society as a whole, from Marist regions and provinces, to Marist schools in the US, and to ourselves.
Matt had us begin by researching a region of Marist schools assigned to the groups we were placed in. Our research region was Arco Norte. This research assignment truly widened my scope on the general extent of the Marist Mission. I thought there were only a couple of Marist schools in the world, but there are about 173 Marist schools and centers alone in North America. That was just insane to me. After hearing about the other regions, there were about 600 Marist Schools worldwide. That truly goes to show the extent of the Marist mission.
But it's not just about schools, it's about what Marists do in those regions. In North America, Marists help struggling immigrant families by organizing countless food drives and charity events to donate the families all the essentials they need, from food to blankets and even tents.
In Asia, the Marist Community rebuilt roads, houses, and schools during the Monsoon Season in Vietnam. In Africa, they’ve created hundreds of learning centers, houses, and food pantries for people all over the continent. In Oceania, they’ve helped build transportation and bring in overseas aid to islands like Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. In South America, they’ve set up the Marist Solidarity Mission in Brazil, where the Marists have built communal centers for teens to socialize and educational centers for children and teens.
All these amazing initiatives really widened my eyes and showed me just how much of a difference Marists are making in the world.
The Medium Scope: Marist Schools in the USA
The next day, we had some more free time to bond with the kids around us. The retreat center was huge, and all the rooms were open to us. We were either outside talking, walking around, and taking in the beauty of the retreat center, or in the second conference room where there was a piano I was playing on. Then Matt brought us back in for the second part of the scope.
We watched presentations of every school present at the retreat, prepared by the Young Adults from each school. There was something I realized. Every presentation from schools like Columbus, Chicago, Saint Joseph, Central Catholic and Mount Saint Michael all had roughly the same mission statements. Every single one of them stated, “To make Jesus Christ known and loved.” This really touched me, since all of these diverse schools were so deeply connected in their missions and the way they taught their students. The connection of Marist schools is due to our Solidarity under our faith, goals, and mission, to make Christ’s love present everywhere we go.
The Innermost Scope: Ourselves as Marists
Then we reached the most intimate talk of the day. Brother Dittus’ witness talk. He told us a story about loving ourselves, since he had struggled with this in the past. He told us how, while working in the Marist Brothers Center in Esopus, New York, he had met a woman on the spectrum named AnnMarie. AnnMarie, as Brother told us, showed the Marist Charism we all ought to seek. She always had a smile on her face, always cared about others, and most importantly, made others feel noticed and understood.
Brother recalled that he had lived just a block away from her, and one day saw her on the bus in a sad mood.
Brother said, “She looked as if she didn’t want to be noticed.”
I resonated with this, since there are so many people who feel unnoticed and afraid of ridicule. Brother told us how he didn’t comfort her, fearing she could have been a random woman, and instead kept quiet. He told us this is one of the only things he ever regretted doing. This talk impacted me on so many levels.
First of all, the fact that AnnMarie was always just there for people touched me. I truly believe presence is so important to those who need help. A helping hand or just a hug could brighten someone's terrible day. Her ability to always have a smile showed me that the world we live in is just as bad as our mood is. Yes, terrible things happen daily, but we have to count our blessings, too. We ought to be overjoyed with the opportunities we have, the food we have on our plates, the roof over our heads, and the school we go to.
The fact that Brother chose to ignore her showed me the fact that we chose to make mistakes, but we must also choose to forgive. AnnMarie probably would have forgiven Brother Dittus in a heartbeat, and so should we to our neighbor. We ended the retreat with a Taize prayer experience. It was truly beautiful, as we sang in Latin. A large icon of the Cross was presented to us, and many went up and kneeled in prayer. I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit and a sense of love in the room, as we all joined together in prayer. When a couple of other people knelt, we all put our arms around each other. At that moment, I knew that we were all brothers, no matter our race, school, or what we thought.
The Last Day and My Main Takeaway
We ended the retreat the next day with a morning mass led by the Father on campus. The Mass was very peaceful, and all of us sang together. We said our goodbyes, and on the bus, I recalled all that we did.
Is the Marist Mission Conference worth it? Yes, 100%.
I loved everything about it. I recommend it to anyone who is either trying to better their relationship with Christ or looking for new friends. Because in the end, no matter where we're from, all of us Marists are exactly that. Marist. To be Marist is to be there for each other, through good and through bad, because Jesus didn’t leave when times got tough. He stayed, he bled, and he sacrificed himself, so we do the same. We sacrifice our time and resources to the less fortunate and bond with those around us, to make the love of Jesus Christ known, and loved.
