The following was prepared by Bro. Lawrence Scrivani, San Antonio, Texas, November 2018.
1. Writings of the Founders and Close Associates of Father Chaminade
The foundational era is considered to be 1800-1850. Most of the writings of this class are published as compendia of primary documentation. They are intended for research by specialists and not for a general readership. Among the many possible persons in this category, the most significant are considered to be:
Chaminade, Guillaume-Joseph, 1761-1850
Lamourous, Marie Thérèse Charlotte de, 1754-1836
Batz de Trenquelléon, Adele de, 1789-1828
See section entitled “Marianist Studies Subjects” for titles
2. Organizational Documentation of Marianist Foundations
These consist of canonical, juridical, and other official documents needed for the operation of a religious organization, as well as documents generated by daily operations. This type of writing is intended only for the members of the specific organizations.
See section entitled “Marianist Organizational Documentation”
3. Writings about Marianist Studies
The titles in this class seek to interpret and apply the primary sources found in the first group. Marianist Study titles are more likely to be accessible to a general readership especially in the case of titles written after 1980.
See section entitled “Marianist Studies Subjects” for titles
4. Histories of Marianist Organizations and Biographies of Members
With few exceptions, these are in-house efforts aimed at members of the Society of Mary as an audience. Consequently, they assume the reader knows what is being described in general and concentrate instead on minutiae. Most are volunteer efforts lacking in peer review and scholarly apparatus. Titles in this category are likely to be tedious to a general readership.
See section entitled “Marianist Studies Subjects” for titles
5. Writings by Marianists on General Subjects
These writings reflect the interests of individual Marianists and range widely in subject. They are retained theoretically as a way of tracking the application of the Marianist charism to the times, but in actual fact are of interest only because their authors live in the same house as the reader.
List of the Major Marianist Organizations
This list is not exhaustive but names the major foundations in hierarchical order.
Communities of Consecrated Life (“Religious Orders”)
Society of Mary (SM)
Daughters of Mary Immaculate (FMI)
Vowed Communities Related to the Marianists
Les Dames de la Miséricorde (de Lamourous’ foundation)
Brothers of the Beloved Disciple (Fr. George Montague’s foundation)
Sisters of the Beloved Disciple (Fr. George Montague’s foundation)
Sodalicio de Vida Cristiana de Peru
Vowed Communities outside Religious Life
Alliance Mariale
Consacrées
State Community of the United States
Congregation-Estado de Maria Immaculada (CEMI), Peru
Marianist Family Governance
World Marianist Family Council
Includes SM, FMI, Alliance Mariale, Lay Communities
International Organization of Marianist Lay Communities
Includes only Lay Communities
National and Regional Marianist Family Councils
Includes only Lay Communities
Documentary Forms Particular to Religious Foundations
Some of these types are common to all religious orders, though often under other names; and knowing only their titles will not always allow the lay person to correctly discern their nature. It is not likely that any of these would be of use to a Catholic Studies program. The list is provided by way of demonstration.
Constitutions and Rules of Life
General or Provincial Chapter Proceedings, Acts
Circular Letters of Major Superiors
Ceremonials and Rituals
Customs Books or Directories
Formularies of Prayers
Hymnals
Personnels
Necrologies
Menologies
Subjects of Particular Interest
The subjects below have been of particular interest to Marianists because they are perceived to embody the “charism,” that is, the divinely intended identity of the institute. While several of these subjects will be common to all Catholics, they have a formulation that is proper to the Marianists.
Charism – “Charism,” that is, the divinely intended identity of the institute which is regarded as being a “gift” from God usually communicated through private revelation to a choice soul selected to be a founder.
Mariology – Father Chaminade held that God had reserved to Mary the great victory over the heresy of our time which he described as “irreligion and the spirit of unbelief.” He positioned the Marianist organizations “to labor under her orders and combat at her side at the great work of restoring faith and morals in our age.”
Spirit of Faith – The spirit of faith was for Father Chaminade the beginning of the road to holiness and the most important attitude to develop and sustain in an age of secularity where God and religion were held to be irrelevant.
Marianist Direction – In the present context, the term “direction” refers to spiritual direction or to the counselling of individual persons in the work of knowing oneself, knowing God, and growing in virtue.
System of Virtues – The “system” or “chain” of virtues is a technique developed by Father Chaminade for synthesizing the ascetical practice of the Desert Fathers into a form accessible to people living in modern urban society. Chaminade wrote before the invention of modern psychological science, so he did not have that language available to him. Instead he borrows the language of the Desert Fathers which he uses to describe specific behaviors making it possible for the modern reader to understand him.
Mixed Composition – This term “mixed composition” refers to the combining in one monastic community members who are priests, white collar laymen and blue collar laymen while having social equality among all three.
Three Offices – The “three offices” constitute an irreducible governing structure to assure that Marianist organizations remain faithful to their mission and resist deviation into the spirit of the age.
Marianist Pedagogy – This concerns the ends of Marianist education efforts more than the means. (However, Chaminade outlined several techniques for influencing the character development of students as well as some for teaching subjects. During his young adulthood he had taught Math and physical science to middle and high school students.)
Some Recommended Books
The Writings of W. J. Chaminade or so-called “Ecrits Series”
Writings on Direction, in 4 volumes, Dayton, 1966-69, 1981
Writings on Mary, in 2 volumes, Dayton, 1980
Writings on Mental Prayer, 1 volume, Dayton, 1979
Writings on Faith, in 2 volumes, Dayton, 2005
The Chaminade Legacy, in 7 volumes, Dayton, 2006-2016
Letters of William Joseph Chaminade, in 8 volumes, Dayton, 1972-1993
Aguilera, Enrique and Jose-Maria Arnaiz; Enfleshing the Word: Prayer and the Marianist
Spiritual Journey; (NACMS, 2000)
Benlloch, Eduardo; Chaminade’s Message Today; (NACMS monograph 45, 2001)
Benlloch, Eduardo; Origins of the Marianist Family: Notes on Marianist History; (NACMS, 2010)
Fleming, David; A New Fulcrum; (NACMS, 2014)
Gascón, Antonio; Reason, Revelation, and Faith of the Heart; (NACMS monograph 54, 2007)
Hakenewerth, Quentin; Growing in the Virtues of Jesus Christ (San Antonio, 1997)
Hakenewerth, Quentin; The Great Design of God’s Love (San Antonio, 1997)
Lackner, Joseph, Virtues for Mission; (NACMS, 2003)
Lackner, Joseph; Marianist Charism and Educational Mission; (Madrid, 2014)
Moulin, Charles-Henri; Identity of Marianist Education: Roots and Heritage; (Madrid, 2017)
Stefanelli, Joseph; Our Marianist Heritage; (NACMS, 2003)
Chaminade, Guillaume-Joseph, 1761-1850
Simler, Joseph; William Joseph Chaminade: Founder of the Marianists; translated by Joseph
Roy, Dayton, 1986
Vasey, Vincent; Chaminade: Another Portrait; Dayton, 1987
Verrier, Joseph; Jalons: the English Translation of Jalons d’ Histoire sur la Route de Guillaume-
Joseph Chaminade, volumes 1 to 4; Dayton, 2001
Lamourous, Marie Thérèse Charlotte de, 1754-1836
Stefanelli, Joseph; Mlle. de Lamourous: A Resource on Marie Thérèse Charlotte de Lamourous;
Dayton, 1998
Batz de Trenquelléon, Adele de, 1789-1828
Stefanelli, Joseph; Adele: a Biography of Adèle de Trenquelléon; Dayton, 1980
Blume Library Marianist Collection
The Marianist Collection is fully cataloged and items may be found through the Library Catalog. The items in the Marianist Collection are cataloged using a unique call number system designed specifically for Marianist materials. Resources include Marianist periodicals; books by and about Marianists; biographies of members of the Society of Mary, including our founder, William Joseph Chaminade; histories of the Daughters of Mary Immaculate and the Society of Mary; and information about Marianist activities and organizations throughout the world. The Marianist Collection is located on the 2nd Floor of the Louis J. Blume Library, next to the art exhibit area.
National Archives Marianist Province of the US (NAMPUS)
The NAMPUS has a large collection of Marianist documents that might have some of the more recent titles than the Blume collection but not as many of the older or rare specimens as does NACMS.
North American Center for Marianist Studies (NACMS)
NACMS is located in Dayton, Ohio on the Mount Saint John property. It is maintained by the Marianist Province of the United States.
The NACMS library has over 3,000 volumes and is the largest collection of Marianist-oriented books, periodicals, and unbound material in the English-speaking world. An on-line catalog is available that allows basic search.
Bookstore Categories:
· Adèle de Batz de Trenquelléon (14)
· Marianist History/Thought (35)
· Marie Thérèse de Lamourous (8)
· Things Marianist and Talking Points (33)
· William Joseph Chaminade (23)
The Resources site allows the user to download entire documents that exist in electronic format only. These are for the most part different titles than those on the bookstore site. One can download the NACMS Newsletter from this site.