Confidence in the Providence of God
The Sermon on the Mount is the first, longest, and most famous of Mt’s five teaching sections. It is packed with some of Jesus’ most well-known and beloved ethical and spiritual teachings: the Beatitudes, the Lord’s Prayer, the exhortation to “turn the other cheek” and “walk the extra mile.” If there is one part of the Sermon that St Marcellin exemplified, it is the passage at the end of Chapter 6, verses 25-34, in which Jesus calls his disciples to have faith in the providence of God and to take risks for the sake of the Kingdom. Marcellin was a man who was not afraid to take risks. His entire project of founding the Marist Brothers was frequently criticized by his peers as a reckless endeavor that might ruin him and the men who joined his congregation.
The construction of the Hermitage in 1824 represented a special act of faith on Marcellin’s part. Coming off of a recent draught of vocations, Marcellin decided to borrow money to purchase five-acre property on which to build a residence for a hundred brothers. To many, this must have seemed an act of insane optimism. Ultimately though, Marcellin proved to be the “wise man who built his house on rock.”
Champagnat told his first brothers, “Let us not offend God by asking him for very little.” As modern Marists, we are called to follow the spirit of the Sermon on the Mount in the manner of St. Marcellin. We are called to identify the needs of our world, especially the needs of young people, and act boldly to address those needs, confident in God’s providence.