Maryknoll Lay Missioners at 50 are Hope in the Darkness

Current and returned Maryknoll lay missioners from throughout the fifty-year history of the organization were present for a four-day jubilee gathering in Ossining, New York, on Aug. 14-17.

Fr. John Sivalon, MM, joined Sr. Ellen McDonald, MM, for the opening night keynote, “The Afternoon of Maryknoll.” Fr. Sivalon spoke of noontime as a moment to take stock of the signs of the times. He described the United States today as “living under a demonic narrative of darkness,” pointing to attacks on immigrants, cutting services to hungry families, ignoring climate catastrophe, arming the perpetrators of genocide, and a narrative of “populism, ultranationalism, and pseudo-Christianity” masking greed and racism.

In contrast, Sivalon described an ever-expanding narrative of light which defines Maryknoll, represented historically in the sharing of the gospel through evangelization, leading later to a “broader and holistic” narrative “emphasizing liberation, social justice, human development, and care for creation.”

In this afternoon of Maryknoll, that narrative is yet more expansive, as science and mysticism combine to teach us a greater awareness of our oneness not only with God and one another but with all of creation.

“If we really believe in God’s active presence,” Sivalon shared, “then God is actively present everywhere without exclusion no matter how hidden that presence may seem because of the demonic narrative of darkness.”

The next night, Marie Dennis spoke on “Claiming Hope in Times of Disorder and Despair.” The former director of MOGC and current director of Pax Christi International’s Catholic Institute for Nonviolence offered concrete examples of people around the world claiming and giving hope.

Noting the undermining of democracy in the United States and atrocities occurring around the world, Dennis reminded the gathered missioners of similar moments of violence Maryknoll have witnessed in mission. Just as Maryknoll missioners have always witnessed signs of hope amidst suffering, Dennis offered a powerful list of current examples including mass organization and public witness across the United States against attacks on immigrants and democratic institutions and support for genocidal violence in Gaza; the bravery of nonviolent land and water defenders around the world; and the Economy of Francesco, a worldwide community of young people organized by Pope Francis.

More broadly, Dennis cited the coming together of two important developments in the thinking of the church, a “new logic for life” from which she draws the “deepest hope: cosmic consciousness and nonviolence.”

“I believe that the intense cultural and political divisions we are now experiencing… are a fear-driven reaction to the deep, transformative change that is underway,” Dennis said. “Our growing awareness that we are part of a cosmic whole and our embrace of nonviolence as the defining characteristic of our relationships with each other and with all of creation are, it seems to me, making it possible – absolutely necessary – to keep on claiming hope, even in times of disorder and despair.”

On the third day, returned Lay Missioner Dan Moriarty, currently with MOGC, spoke on being “Missioners of Hope in Desperate Times.” Many North Americans, he said, go into mission with a “fix-it mentality,” seeking the quick and successful alleviation of suffering, but learn that mission often means remaining in situations where they can only be present to suffering and injustice. It is here that communities who have experienced generations of oppression teach a deeper kind of faith. Missioners learn to witness to God’s reign even in a world where it is practically invisible.

As people urgently seek answers to what can be done when nothing seems to be stopping the “demonic narrative of darkness,” Moriarty pointed to lessons from around the world, from African Americans to the unjustly imprisoned in Bolivia, the anti-Apartheid movement in South Africa to the Palestinian notion of “sumud” – perseverance and steadfastness that defines faithful witness, and inspires nonviolence in the face of ongoing, horrific violence. On the final day of the gathering, Moriarty and MKLM Executive Director Elvira Ramirez reported on Maryknoll Lay Missioners working with local partners to identify forms of violence in their communities, shaping ministries that express the organization’s commitment to nonviolence as its central mission principle.

Faith in action: Watch recordings of these speeches and more at https://bit.ly/MKLM50