The story of our spirituality is one of passion and compassion, passion for God and compassion for people. - Water from the Rock, 1

Our beginnings were shaped by the caring relationship between a young country priest and a group of young people, living in a time of great social turmoil. The priest was Marcellin Champagnat; the young people were Jean-Marie Granjon, Jean-Baptiste Audras, Jean-Claude Audras, Antoine Couturier, Barthélemy Badard, Gabriel Rivat, and Jean-Baptiste Furet. They became our founding community at La Valla. - Water from the Rock, 2

Then, the proverbial scene of the doubting Thomas that occurred eight days after Easter is very well known. At first he did not believe that Jesus had appeared in his absence and said: "Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe". As we know, Jesus reappeared among his disciples eight days later and this time Thomas was present. Jesus summons him: "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing."…
The Apostle Thomas' case is important to us for at least three reasons: first, because it comforts us in our insecurity; second, because it shows us that every doubt can lead to an outcome brighter than any uncertainty; and, lastly, because the words that Jesus addressed to him remind us of the true meaning of mature faith and encourage us to persevere, despite the difficulty, along our journey of adhesion to him. – Benedict XVI, 27.09.2006

Simple and uneducated men, they lived with great simplicity and unity. Their day was spent in learning how to write, read and teach, and in manual work that sustained them economically. They lived in the midst of the people and shared their lot. - Water from the Rock, 3

Simple and uneducated men, they lived with great simplicity and unity. Their day was spent in learning how to write, read and teach, and in manual work that sustained them economically. They lived in the midst of the people and shared their lot . - Water from the Rock, 4

The group’s way of living the Gospel was a reflection of the character, values, and spirituality of its leader, Marcellin Champagnat. His spirituality was deeply influenced by his own personality. His first disciples remembered with affection the Marcellin they knew: open, frank, resolute, courageous, enthusiastic, constant and equable. His whole life gave witness of a person with a practical disposition, a man of action, and of humility. This enabled him to draw together from various sources a simple and down-to-earth spirituality. - Water from the Rock, 6

Like Mary setting out in haste to the hill country, each week they went out into the surrounding hamlets to make Jesus known and loved. They cared for poor children and welcomed them into their home. - Water from the Rock, 5

Key among the formative influences that shaped his spirituality was Marcellin’s personal experience of being loved intensely by Jesus and called by Mary. An incident early in 1823 (“Memorare in the Snow”) was understood by Marcellin and his Brothers as highly significant. Marcellin and Stanislaus were lost in a snow storm. With his companion unconscious at his feet, Marcellin believed that if Mary does not come to our aid, we are lost. Placing his life in God´s hands, he prayed the Memorare. His prayer to Mary was miraculously answered. Marcellin and his first Brothers saw in this incident a deeper reality: God ‘s choice of them to share
in the same mission that was entrusted to Mary. - Water from the Rock, 7

Marcellin was also deeply aware of the love of Jesus and Mary for others. This inspired in him the passion of an apostle. He dedicated his life to sharing this love. In Marcellin’s encounter with the dying young man, Jean-Baptiste Montagne, we see how disturbed Marcellin was to meet a boy facing the end of his life without knowing the love God had for him. - Water from the Rock, 8

This event was for Marcellin a summons from God. His compassion aroused him to immediately put into action his foundational insight, We must have Brothers! The needs of young people and his responding vision for a group of dedicated evangelizers was now confirmed. They would bring the good news of Jesus to people on the margins of church and society. He had been a priest for just four months. - Water from the Rock, 9

Marcellin was responding with dedication and in effective practical ways to the needs that he saw around him. But his response to the needs of his time was also formed by the Project shared by the first Marists who dreamed of a renewed way of being Church, to which they pledged themselves at Fourviere. With Jean-Claude Colin, Jeanne-Marie Chavoin and the other ‘founding Marists’, Marcellin shared the conviction that Mary was calling them together to respond to the needs of post-Revolutionary France. - Water from the Rock, 10

The Marists understood their Project to be a sharing in Mary’s work of bringing Christ-life to birth and being with the Church as it came to be born. It was a work which they hoped would touch every diocese of the world, and would be structured like a multi-branched tree by including lay people, priests, sisters and brothers. - Water from the Rock, 11

The Marist spirituality that originated with Marcellin and the founding community has been enriched by the successive generations of Champagnat’s followers. It has now become a stream of living water. Future generations will further enhance this spirituality. With Marcellin, we know that Mary continues to guide its development. - Water from the Rock, 12

We believe the charism of Marcellin is a gift given to the Church and to the world, a gift which we are being invited to further develop and live by progressively deepening our participation in this incarnated at any particular place and time in history. As with all authentic charisms, it is a grace of the Holy Spirit entrusted to us for the purpose of building and unifying the Church as the Body of Christ. - Water from the Rock, 13

In living our spirituality we find our thirst quenched at the streams of “living water.” In turn we become “living water” for others. - Water from the Rock, 14

We are inspired by the vision and lives of Marcellin and his first disciples as we journey to God. While we share such a pilgrimage with many, we are conscious of our own distinctive style. We are gifted to share in that transforming experience of being, with Mary, loved unconditionally by Jesus. From this flow the particular characteristics of our manner of being followers of Champagnat. - Water from the Rock, 15

Today, those of us who follow in the footsteps of Marcellin and his first disciples are seized by the same inner dynamism. We develop a way of being, loving and doing, in the spirit of our origins. Gradually, day by day, we deepen our experience of the loving presence of God within ourselves and in others. This presence of God is a profound experience of being personally loved by God, and the conviction that he is close to us in our daily human experiences. - Water from the Rock, 16

Marcellin’s relationship with God, combined with knowledge of his limitations, explains his unbounded confidence in God. The depth of this trust amazed those who worked with him, and scandalized some who judged his actions as reckless. In his humble way, Marcellin saw God at work, and so acted with courage and commitment. Let us not offend God, asking him very little. The bigger is our demand, the more we will be pleasing to God. Marcellin’s oft-expressed invocations If the Lord does not build the house and You know my God were the spontaneous expressions of this confident trust. - Water from the Rock, 17

We endeavour to develop our relationship with God so that, just as for Marcellin, it is our daily source of renewed spiritual and apostolic dynamism. This vitality makes us daring, despite our short-comings and limited resources. Drawing from Marcellin’s experience we embrace the mysteries of our life with confidence, openness and self-giving. - Water from the Rock, 18

Marcellin taught the first Brothers: To make Jesus known and loved is the aim of our vocation and the whole purpose of the Institute. If we were to fail in this purpose, our congregation would be useless. In saying this, Marcellin clearly expressed his conviction, and a growing conviction for Marists today – the centrality of Jesus in our life and mission. - Water from the Rock, 19

For us Jesus is the human face of God.27 In a privileged way we encounter him in the three special Marist places, where Jesus reveals God to us. - Water from the Rock, 20

At the Crib we find the innocence, simplicity, gentleness and even weakness of a God who is capable of touching the hardest of hearts. ... There is no room for fear of a God who became a child. We come to know a God who has pitched his tent in our midst, and whom we call ‘’brother.’’ - Water from the Rock, 21

At the foot of the Cross, we are in awe of a God who loves us without reserve. We find a God who shares the physical and psychological suffering, betrayal, abandonment and violence experienced by humanity, and transforms these experiences. There we enter the mystery of redemptive suffering and learn humble fidelity in love. The crucified Christ is the sign and deepest expression of a God who is love. - Water from the Rock, 22

At the Altar, the Eucharist, we find a privileged place to enter into communion with the Body of Christ: to stand as one with all who are members and to deepen our relationship with the living presence of Jesus in our lives. The celebration of the Eucharist, and prayer in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, were intense experiences of God for Marcellin. Experiencing the Eucharist as the source and summit of the Christian life leads us to the heart of the Marist’s spirituality. - Water from the Rock, 23

Consequently, we can learn much from St James: promptness in accepting the Lord's call even when he asks us to leave the "boat" of our human securities, enthusiasm in following him on the paths that he indicates to us over and above any deceptive presumption of our own, readiness to witness to him with courage, if necessary to the point of making the supreme sacrifice of life. Thus James the Greater stands before us as an eloquent example of generous adherence to Christ. He, who initially had requested, through his mother, to be seated with his brother next to the Master in his Kingdom, was precisely the first to drink the chalice of the passion and to share martyrdom with the Apostles. And, in the end, summarizing everything, we can say that the journey, not only exterior but above all interior, from the mount of the Transfiguration to the mount of the Agony, symbolizes the entire pilgrimage of Christian life, among the persecutions of the world and the consolations of God, as the Second Vatican Council says. In following Jesus, like St James, we know that even in difficulties we are on the right path. – Benedict XVI, 21.06.2006

These special Marist places, where we encounter the love of Jesus, are also meeting spaces with the poor. At the Crib, we are deeply touched by the situation of poverty and fragility of children and young people, especially the least favoured. At the Cross, we associate ourselves with people affected by failure and suffering, and with those who struggle for bread, justice and peace. At the Altar, we enter into communion with the love of Jesus, which leads us into a deep relationship with the poor. Our hearts go out to them and they become our brothers and sisters, and truly our friends. We open our homes to the poor and we share with them our presence, time and resources. - Water from the Rock, 24

The relationship of Marcellin to Mary was deeply marked by an affective and total trust in her, as the “Good Mother,’’ because it was her work that he undertook. He wrote once: Without Mary we are nothing and with Mary we have everything, because Mary always has her adorable Son within her arms or in her heart. This belief remained constant all through his life. Jesus and Mary were the treasure on which Marcellin had learned to place his own heart. This intimate relationship helped shape the Marial dimension of our spirituality. In our tradition, the phrase “Ordinary Resource” has come to encapsulate our constant reliance on Mary. The motto attributed to Champagnat by his biographer, All to Jesus through Mary, all to Mary for Jesus, captures this close relationship between the Son and the Mother and our Founder’s attitude of confidence in Mary, which we are invited to live. - Water from the Rock, 25

We share in the spiritual motherhood of Mary as we take our part in bringing Christ-life to the world of those whose lives we share. We nurture that life in the ecclesial community, whose communion we strengthen through fervent prayer and generous service. - Water from the Rock, 26

Our attitudes towards young people find their inspiration in Mary. In contemplating Mary in the Scriptures we impregnate ourselves with her spirit. We go without delay into the “hill country” of the lives of young people, bringing them news of the justice and faithful mercy of God. By relating to young people in a Marial manner, we become the face of Mary to them. - Water from the Rock, 27

Since the time of Marcellin, his disciples have made Mary known and loved. Today we continue to be convinced that to follow Jesus in the way of Mary is a privileged way of bringing our Christian journey to fullness. With a heart filled with compassion, we share this experience and conviction with children and youth helping them to experience the maternal face of the Church. - Water from the Rock, 28

Since Marcellin’s time the Church has deepened its appreciation of Mary as First Disciple. Marists therefore have a growing relationship with Mary as our Sister in Faith, a woman with dust on her feet, a woman who was disturbed and puzzled by God, who was challenged to trust and give without knowing all the answers, whose faith life was a journey. - Water from the Rock, 29