Zion Community hosted a Marian Conference on Saturday, October 7 and Sunday 8.

Held at Presentation College, Chaguanas, under the patronage of Archbishop Edward Gilbert, the conference theme was Mary, Mother, Prophet and Intercessor.

It focused on these particular roles of Mary in the life of the Church. Participants, parishioners from various parishes in the archdiocese and from a community in St Lucia gathered to honour Mary, Mother of the Church and to study. 

All the talks and workshops dealt with issues concerning faith in Mary and the life of prayer.  Booths included “Youth and the Chaste lifestyle” and “Marian Apparitions, their messages and their implications for Trinidad and Tobago”. It was the first Marian Conference of this type in the archdiocese.

On Saturday, October 7, Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, morning Mass was celebrated by Fr John Theodore. Praise and worship, led by Zion’s Choir was highlighted with youthful dancers. The rosary was prayed at different periods during the day by couples and family members.

Later, the living rosary was prayed by students of St Gabriel’s Girls’ RC, San Fernando. Archbishop Gilbert delivered the feature address, “Mary, Prophet for our time of crisis”.  He defined crisis and listed multiple world crises, which are evident in our land. He raised the question “What do we learn from Mary, Mother of the Church to process crisis”?

He encouraged all to reflect on Mary’s life and draw conclusions. He focused on three dynamics:
(1)        Complete trust in God, which was rooted in her (Mary) life of faith and prayer.
(2)        Trust and openness to her mission. He emphasised, “We must believe that God will use our lives and our efforts to build the kingdom. We trust in that, in an absolute faith and allow nothing to shake it … We have a precedent in Mary”.
(3) Reflecting on and engaging in the history of the Church as it influences history even in the midst of misunderstanding and seeming indifference to Church wisdom. “Mary personified a faith tradition and brought forth life without fully understanding the overall plan of God. You and I, the people of God in 2006 must also personify a faith tradition individually and as a community, in trust and confidence (in God). We allow the spirit of God to be the spirit of God”.

Fr John Theodore and Mary Baptiste gave the other main talks. They encouraged participants in different ways to take up the tradition of prayer, self-sacrifice and charity to deal with the evils of our society.

Persons were challenged to strengthen their faith in Mary’s intercession and imitate the saints in becoming committed intercessors for their church and their nation. The question time was full of interest as different questions and issues were raised concerning Mary in the life of the Church and day-to-day spirituality.

The challenge of working through Catholic faith with other persons of other Christian traditions was real and strong! Some persons pointed to the reality of limited knowledge.

The youth and adult workshops were marked by lively speakers who included priests and lay persons. Many of the young people were zealous in receiving clarification of issues to empower them to face ongoing challenges about Marian spirituality.

General sessions were marked by deep worship, lively fellowship and deep interest in growing in the Catholic faith. Many experienced a new strength and dedication to prayer in the session of prayer for the nations.

The conference ended on a note of deep gratitude to God in the Eucharist celebrated by Archbishop Gilbert. – Zion Community