Thoughts on the Society of Mary (Marianists)

[CuriousAlan]

Just a quick question, what does everyone think of the Society of Mary (Marianists)? I go to a Marianist run college prep academy, and their priests and religious don’t appear to be the most traditional around, as many of the nuns are without habit and the priests don’t even wear a chasuble to celebrate Mass. One of the nuns also speaks highly of Eastern spiritual practices like Tai Chi and meditation. Music during Mass is particularly awful and I can recount that two of the hymns, which happened to be written in the 1970s, were written by Protestants and were directly against Catholic theology on salvation. While the priests and religious seem to be a bit…progressive, the staff, in specification, the theology department seems to be very traditional and spot on with Church teaching and have not misinterpreted any Vatican II documents.

Anyways, a few basic questions:

*Is the Society of Mary tradition friendly? The priests and religious at my school seem to be in the spirit of the Council, which I fully accept and all, but it seems they went the “charismatic” way. You know, like totally ignoring any focus on hell and acting as if all is great and good and everything is super grand and God is never mad.

*Any experiences with the Society of Mary?

*How should I approach my school about these liturgical practices, that from my knowledge, are not corresponding with the GIRM?

• While the Theology department seems to be fairly adept, they are often too politically correct, as they prefer to not speak of heresy or excommunication or anything involving the Inquisition.
• What are your views of the Society of Mary?

*Do they tend to be progressive?

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Anyways, thanks for the help. I know this all may seem a little much, but I am a good traditional Catholic teen who is in good standing with the Church and I do not reject any of the Councils. I am simply curious about the Marianists and my school’s liturgical practices, as I would prefer there be a bit more traditional elements to it all…

Thanks! Alan.
Christus regnet super omnia. :knight2:

 

[AdvanceAlways]

A good friend of mine attended a Marianist prep school and all he could talk about was how orthodox they were and how much they shaped his faith. I know that isn’t much, but that’s my one anecdote on them.

 

[Googler]

I think your concerns are warranted.
I’ve begun researching the Marianists myself and came across this page explaining Blessed William Joseph Chaminade’s (the founder) spirituality:
campus.udayton.edu/mary/meditations/chaminade/mariology.html
I’ve emailed the vocational director for more info.
Please post back with your experiences. Thank you.