Jeremy Gray

Our brother, Jeremy Gray SM, died as he lived. There have been stories in the secular and Catholic press that call Jeremy a hero. It is true, what he did was heroic. To give up your life while saving someone else demands courage of the highest order. We are very proud of what Jeremy did. We will honour his memory always.

 

In a way, we are not surprised at what happened that day at the beach near Yate, New Caledonia. For this heroism is simply the logical outcome of a life lived for others. Jeremy, by his religious vows, professed a desire to live completely for others. As a religious, he offered himself in service of his fellow men and women and so he gave his life to save Ismael Fisiipeau from the waters.

 

Jeremy's sacrifice is of the same order as that of earlier Marists, St Peter Chanel, Br Blaise Marmoiton, Bishop John-Baptist Epalle, Fr Emmet McHardy and many other Marists. We do not forget these and those others who lived long lives of faithful labour in trying circumstances; struggling heroically with difficulties and personal limitations in the service of the Gospel.

 

Jeremy's heroism began the day he consecrated his life in the service of others. This is what happens when someone abandons themselves completely, body and soul, to the will of God.

 

As Jeremy himself put it in a reflection written for the Seminary website:

 

"Things started to resound deeply in my heart: I wanted to live in the Spirit of Mary, in a Society that was under her name, a Society that seeks to make her present in the Church today, as she was at Pentecost. At the moment, I feel grateful that He has called me to Marist Life, and am happy to try and abandon myself more and more to Him."

 

Jeremy abandoned himself utterly to the Lord. May his example touch the hearts of many young men and women to consecrate themselves in the service of the Lord and his Church.

 

May Jeremy be with the Lord he loved so much.

 

Rest in peace, Jeremy.

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Mexico

This is my first time writing in this diary from Mexico, where I have been for the past 3 months and where I will continue to be for the following 21 months. I feel very blessed to be able to have this opportunity to live in another culture and to learn a new language. The people here have been fantastic to me also, which has made the transition much less of a struggle than it could have been. There are many things I could write about, many incidents that stick out in my mind from my time here. I feel however that for this forum it would be best to write about my time through the lens of faith, rather than the lens of travel stories.

 

For me the thing that has dominated my time here completely is learning Spanish. I am 32 years of age and have never learnt another language before. Furthermore my memory is not the best, which all adds up to a very difficult struggle. The most difficult part of the struggle however has been feeling like a idiot, whenever I try to communicate with people. For most of my life I have usually been quite competent at whatever task I am given, and if I have not been then I will try and find a way out of it. Here in Mexico I have found myself in unfamiliar territory. I  have very little competence in Spanish, I can't hide this fact from anyone, and finally I can't run away. What this has done is strip me of all my normal coping mechanisms. I have had only one option, and that is to fall on my knees and beg for the help I need. Not just help with the language, but help with my reaction to the struggle, which can often be anger, frustration, and impatience.

 

As I slowly trudge through the mud of this struggle I am aware that God is teaching me to be patient (not my strong suit) and also showing me that when I am most upset it is actually my ego throwing a little tantrum. Because my inability in Spanish is there for all the world to see, I find myself becoming really frustrated when I cant communicate. But the real focus of my frustration is that I feel everyone will think I am an idiot, and this is an intolerable thought for my ego to handle, and hence I become angry and frustrated. My only solace is to continue to bring all this to Jesus in prayer, confident that he is leading me and teaching me to let go off my worry about what others think. For it is only in him that my true identity can be found, not in some imaginary person that needs to be competent at everything and likes to show off that competence.

 

Here is a couple of photos of my house and the view from me house.  Also a couple of photos of one of my excursions around Mexico City

 

 

 

14 May 2007 by Matthew Crawford

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