A Catholic Monthly Magazine

The Helping Hand of Mary (0)

When we pray to Mary we can pray to her anywhere - in the quiet of our homes, at church, on our way to somewhere. We can also pray to Mary at a special pilgrimage site where Mary’s presence is especially honoured.… More

A Short History of the Marist Brothers – Part 1 of 4 (0)

The year 2017 marked 200 years since the foundation of the Marist Brothers at La Valla. 1816 marked 200 years since the foundation of the Society of Mary, the umbrella of our Marist Family of congregations, at Fourvière. And in 2013 we celebrated 175 years of Marist presence in the Pacific.… More

The Role of Law in the Catholic Church (0)

A sanctuary in the city

Just a few kilometres from central Wellington is an extraordinary sanctuary – Zealandia – where dozens of endangered New Zealand species thrive. What makes it a sanctuary is the mesh fence that surrounds it, bending sharply outwards at the top and sitting deeply under the ground to keep out climbing and burrowing predators.… More

August in Stained Glass (Comments Off)

August is a month with a host of notable feasts. Three of these have already been covered in previous Stained Glass articles -- the Transfiguration: August 2017; Assumption and Queenship of Mary: March 2017.

On 3 August we celebrate St Dominic, who founded the Dominican Order in 1215.… More

Brother Joseph Lamb SM (0)

Born in Wellington, 27 June 1934
Professed at Highden on 15 August 1954
Died in Napier, 15 June 2019

John Lamb, known to most of us as Brother Joe, had an identical twin, David. Joe’s mother came from Limerick, Ireland, and his father from Glasgow, Scotland.… More

Refugeees and Migrants (0)

In late June, the Vatican released a statement saying that Pope Francis was deeply upset by the photo of a father and daughter from El Salvador, Oscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and his nearly 2-year-old daughter Valeria, who drowned while attempting to cross the Rio Grande to reach Brownsville, Texas: “The pope is profoundly saddened by their deaths, and is praying for them and for all migrants who have lost their lives while seeking to flee war and misery”.… More

Message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees (0)

(Abridged)

Faith assures us that in a mysterious way the Kingdom of God is already present here on earth (cf. Gaudium et Spes, 39). Yet in our own time, we are saddened to see the obstacles and opposition it encounters. Violent conflicts and all-out wars continue to tear humanity apart; injustices and discrimination follow one upon the other; economic and social imbalances on a local or global scale prove difficult to overcome.… More

Marist Messenger 1959 — 1964 (0)

Fr Kevin McGrath continued as editor ...

1959

6/- for one year
January
“Fourteen students of five races have already enrolled at the new Corpus Christi Teachers’ Training College in Suva which was blessed by the Most Reverend Romolo Carboni, Apostolic Delegate to Australia, New Zealand and Oceania”.… More

Marist Messenger 1948 – 1958 (Comments Off)

This article aims to convey something of the spirit and ‘flavour’ of the magazine while Fr Kevin McGrath continued as editor.

1948

March

The first American Superior General of the Society of Mary, Fr Alcime Cyr SM, “now spiritual father of 1,500 Members of the Society of Mary throughout the world”, was elected.… More

MM 50 Years Ago (0)

As we see it ... the “giant leap for mankind”

All of us would echo the words of the Holy Father in his dedicatory inscription that was placed on the surface of the moon: “For the glory of the name of God who gives man such power, we pray and wish well for this marvellous endeavour”.… More

A School for Prayer (25) – The Way of Darkness (0)

God in ‘The Cloud of Unknowing’

Part 1 of 2

By Fr Craig  Larkin SM, 1943 - 2015

From its beginning, the theology of the spiritual life has rested on two principles of faith spelled out in the Letter to the Hebrews:
Anyone who comes to God must believe that he exists and rewards those who try to find him (Hebrews 11:6).… More

September Saints (0)

Blessed Maria Vittoria Strata of Genoa
(1562-1617)

Maria Vittoria De Fornari was born in Genoa, the seventh of nine children.

Maria married Angelo Strata on 21 March 1579 and bore six children. In late 1587 her husband fell ill and died not long after, leaving her pregnant with her last child.… More