MESSAGE

Dear MA Committee, Counsellors and the Members,

Before the end of the 2nd Mandate of my Presidency, may I express my sincere thanks to all the MA Committee Members, the Counselors, and all the Members who helped in the past development and operations of the MA Group. Thanks to the Provincial Superiors from past to present for their unending encouragement while working for the growth and development of the Group.

To recall, while working in the companies, I had never thought of coming to work for the MA group, nor being interested in MA activities at all. The former MA President, Prakai Cholahan, used to invite me to MA Presidency so many times, but to no avail. Only a few years back, when I recalled the good works and real dedicated services of some of our Junior MAs who donated and contributed to our MA group. I began to realize to do something for our MA.

Reverend Bro. Philip Amnuay Pinratana, our former Provincial Superior, used to say that “You, the MAs, come to meet, eat and do nothing.” This saying of his is still clear in my mind. Only then did we begin to think of the Assumption Paradise (AP) Project in the past, in which we tried to work as co-partners with the Saint Gabriel Foundation and the Assumption College Sriracha (ACS). It is a great attempt of ours to help develop AP Plantation and to revive the AP Learning Center. Much had been done to revive the same. Rev. Bro Surasit Sukachai the Former Provincial Superior and Bro. Dr. Chamnan, the Director of ACS, took necessary steps to improve AP Houses and Plantations. After 1 year of work at AP, due to the changes in policies and management of AP, MA smoothly moved out of AP Project. We still hold AP experience with a lot of things to be shared and learned.

Some may ask what will the future of the MA Group be when the Montfortian Gabrielite Associate Group comes into existence. My answer as of now is that we will continue to do good things to our MAs, to keep the Spirit of Montfort alive and living, do things for God Alone, with a true devotion to Mary, our Mother, and help the BSG in whatever way we can, when need be. We will try to do what we can and what we must. God will guide and lead us for the future to His greater glory and the brotherhood of man.

As to our junior MAs, we the Senior MA members have entrusted MA Office and MA Thaveesub Fund to look after them. May your tender, loving care help develop them for the good of MAs and many others.

Dear MA Members,

As we journey as followers of St. Louis Marie de Montfort, I would like to share with you the life of Montfort in his early days at RENNES - 1685-1692: as a student at Thomas Becket School; - October 1760 after the pilgrimage to Mount St. Michael; - * meal with his parents (the finest plate for the poor); - * the sermon to the nuns of Calvary; - * the sermon to the senior seminary: it was highly valued by Fr. Esnouf who wants to keep him. - Year 1714: Montfort meets Mr. 'Orville and the Morquis de Magnanne; - The rosary in the " high street " (street of St. Malo) - The Letter to the Friends of the Cross; - He says goodbye to Mr. d'Orville: I wish you lots of crosses. ( cf.Le Crom 319, 339-340)

A few facts He gives his clothes to a poor man (cf. Lecrom 24) : This is my brother and yours; I made a collection in my class and this is all I have. If it is not enough, it is up to you to supplement it." He kisses a poor idiot (cf. Lecrom 30). He visits the churches in Rennes and spends a long time praying to the famous images of the Virgin: Our Lady of Miracles and Virtues at St. Saviour's, Our Lady of Peace at the Carmel, Our Lady of Good News at the house of the Dominicans. It must be pointed out that at one point his parents moved to Rennes. Rennes was the intellectual capital of Brittany in the seventeenth century. It has an educational establishment in full prosperity: Thomas Becket Secondary School run by the Jesuits. This school welcomed young people from Upper and Lower Brittany. Its rolls numbered from two to three thousand.

Young Louis-Marie was eleven years old when he entered Thomas Becket school. He boarded at the house of his uncle, Alain Robert, a priest from the parish of Holy Saviour. The school does not exist any longer, a state secondary school has taken its place. However, the cloisters and the chapel are still there, and the chapel is the present church of All Saints.

The vocation of St. Louis began from his childhood, it had been nurtured slowly day by day. Through self-deny and humility, from his good family, his willingness to help the poor and needy were always in his heart and mind.

There are many more historical of St. Louis Marie de Montfort during his time. His devotion to Our Lady and Love of the Cross was symbolic which can be an example in our daily living. We can begin our small mission as he did, denying himself and preaching the Good News to all. What are we doing now? I encourage all of you to practice St. Louis's heritage he had given to us. Just begin today in a concrete way for the prosperous of M.A.

Brother Dechachai Sripicharn
Provincial Superior
Provincial of Thailand

Last April 2023, a group of Thai Brothers, Superiors and Directors, had a pilgrimage to Rome, Loreto and France in the footsteps of Montfort. Apart from our routine program, we were structed to know about the tragic death of Fr. Olivier Maire, the Provincial Superior of the French SMM., at St. Laurent sur Sèvre, on 9 August 2021.

He and his religious community had been offering shelter since the end of May to a 40-year-old Rwandan immigrant who had been refused political asylum and is a suspect in the arson attack on the Cathedral of Nantes in June 2020. On Monday, the man turned himself in to police, confessing to the murder of Fr. Maire.

French President Emmanuel Macron took to Twitter to pay tribute to the slain priest. He wrote that Fr. Maire’s “generosity and love for others were reflected in his facial features.”

Personally, I recall how he was so kind, as an archivist and Assistant General, to show us the manuscript of Montfort’s “The Love of Eternal Wisdom” to a group of Thai Brothers visiting SMM Generalate on 20th April 2009.

I consider Fr. Olivier Maire as one of the latest followers of St. Montfort in showing charity and kindness to everyone in need, even at the expense of his own life. How Montfort himself cried: “Open to Jesus Christ” at Dinan, or in his letter to Marie Louis (L.27) wrote: “If you don’t take risk for God, you won’t give (him) anything worthwhile.”

God bless you all,