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God inspires us to walk in the footsteps of his Son.

Meditation 3.3

3. To be “Lasallian”

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The Context

Jesus of Nazareth lived from around 4BCE until 30 CE and led to the creation of Christianity. The Catholic Church is one of many Christian denominations.
The term catholic means universal.

The Brothers of the Christian Schools are an example of one of many Religious Orders that make up the Catholic Church and help the Church carry out her mission.

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Other Religious Orders

Marist Brothers were founded in 1817 by Saint Marcellin Champagnat to make Jesus. Christ known and loved through education.

The Order of Saint Augustine was founded based on the life of Saint Augustine and the monastic lifestyle, they attempt to reflect the mystery of the Trinity.

Vincentians and Daughters of Charity are founded by Saint Vincent de Paul and Saint Louise De Marillac. The community was established for the purpose of serving the poorest of the poor.

Dominicans were founded by Saint Dominic to proclaim God’s word in our world.

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The Institute

At the time of De La Salle’s death, there were 101 Brothers and a number of schools in France.
In 1725, the Papal Bull of Approbation was issued by Pope Benedict XIII, which officially recognized the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools as a religious order.

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Why is De La Salle the Patron Saint of Teachers?

Clear purpose
Commitment

Ask the students to discuss: What qualities make a teacher a good teacher? Focus on the characteristics, not names.

What do you think is necessary for these teachers to develop these characteristics? For example, if they say a good quality is patience, what do they think would help a person become patient? Experience or time? What else?

What do you think De La Salle would say?

He did not really say but when you look at what he did and how he trained the teachers, there are two main themes that are evident. De La Salle did not train his teachers to see their work as merely a job.

For example, think about the difference in the quality of work for the classes you think of as a “have to” class and the classes that you love. When something is only a job or you are only doing it for a grade or a paycheck it may get your effort but it will not get your heart.

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Clear Purpose- Innovation in Teaching

Teaching is a vocation, not merely a job.

Vocation is a calling or an invitation from God to a personal relationship with God.

Education brings about salvation.

Education is a way to help students discover their own vocational path.

Do they remember the definition of vocation? (page 17 from the book)

De La Salle was a priest and would have been familiar with the idea of vocation and that all of life is an invitation from God. He was introduced to this at a young age when his grandmother read to him the lives of the Saints and it would have been taught in the seminary. De La Salle took this idea and applied it to the life of teachers and elevated the role of teacher to an expression of religion.

De La Salle taught the Brothers to say a prayer upon entering their classroom. This is a clear reminder that God is present in the classroom and not just in a Church.

Salvation comes from the Latin word “salvare” meaning “to save,” and the Roman goddess Salvs, the goddess of health and wholeness. Health is very much a physical problem, the first level of salvation has to do with your well being in the earthly world. Your wholeness is more than physical. When you think of wholeness, this includes happiness and peace this has to do with your spiritual well being and in the Christian context, your relationship with God and your ability to rejoin God in heaven.

De La Salle believed education was the best way to bring about both physical and spiritual wellness.

De La Salle was clear that the purpose of education both originated with God (vocation) and strove toward God (the student’s vocation and salvation). This vocation is worthy of the commitment and dedication of a lifetime.

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Commitment

Poverty
Chastity
Obedience
Association for the service of the poor through education

Stability in the institute

To own nothing individually

To abstain from sexual activity

To listen to God and the Brothers

To provide salvation through education to all, in particular the poor

To be a positive contributor to the mission

The first three are evangelical counsels vows promised by all religious orders in the Catholic Church.

Poverty: an intentional act of humility and trust in God’s providence.
All people are called to be dedicated to their vocations. If married, they are asked to be faithful to their spouse, if living as a member of a religious community to remain dedicated to the mission of their community.
Brothers vow of obedience is to their superiors and to the body of the brothers. When De La Salle was at Parmenie he was reminded of this vow that he is to be obedient to the brothers, even though the was in charge.
This vow is central to the identity of the brothers and makes them different than other religious orders. There are two aspects to this vow, the first is the mission of the brothers and the second is the communal bond of the brothers.
With stability, one promises to devote themselves for life

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Community and Charism

It is a great gift of God, this grace he has given you to be entrusted with the instruction of children, to announce the gospel to them and to bring them up in the spirit of religion…this is the work of God.

- Meditation for the Time of Retreat 201.1

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Community and Charism

Community: A group of people joined TOGETHER and by ASSOCIATION for the same mission.

Charism: Gift received and gift given to help the Church continue her mission.

Faith and Zeal

This vocation is from God. God also provides what you need to live your vocation. As DLS said, God gives grace.

The first gift is the community. The vows emphasize this idea of community. DLS emphasized community first by inviting the teachers into his home and then moving out with them to the cradle of the institute, by creating the habit and writing letters to each brother and taking the vows. This commitment of vows takes place in an educational community where teachers are associated together to live out their vocation to teach. Think about the very nature of them choosing to call themselves ”brothers”.

Charism is not only the gift an order gives to the world but God also gives the order gifts so they may be able to provide this gift. Remember DLS’s meditation, this is the work of God, not just individuals who want to do good. If it was just up to the individuals, most would give up as it is too much work and too difficult a life.

There are many gifts God can give to people and each person or group receives different gifts (1 Corinthians 12:4-7) best suited to their vocation. The gifts DLS believed the brothers received are faith- the ability to see the will of God and zeal- enthusiasm. These two gifts, in combination with their community make this commitment possible, their purpose clear, and have sustained the Brothers for the last 300 years.

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ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER LEO XIV�TO THE BROTHERS OF THE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS�Thursday, 15 May 2025�

"After three centuries, it is wonderful to see how your presence continues to carry the freshness of a rich and far-reaching educational reality, through which, still today and in various parts of the world, you devote yourselves to the formation of young people with enthusiasm, fidelity, and a spirit of sacrifice.”

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Faith in the presence of God: This LCP does not necessarily mean you believe in God. It means we as a school believe in God.

Notice, the wording is not faith in God. Why do you think this is? It is faith that God is with you. This is a whole different level of faith. A Catholic nun, Mother Angelica said “Simply believing in the existence of God is not exactly what I would call a commitment. After all, even the devil believes that God exists! Believing has to change the way we live.” It is a belief that God is present and an active influence in our daily lives, within our friendships, our extra curriculars, and our classes.

Respect: Discussion question idea: What are examples of respect? So then, what does respect mean? The etymology of respect means to see again. Spect- like spectacle or spectators. So respect means to see someone for who they are, it means to see someone with new eyes over and over again.

Inclusive Community: Discussion question idea: What does it mean to be an inclusive community as opposed to a community? Inclusive means everyone is included and belongs. This is different than everyone being accepted it means everyone feels they are valued and that this school belongs to them. Does this change our answers to before? Do our actions demonstrate respect for all persons we encounter and do we include all members of our school community?

Quality education: Discussion question idea: What does this mean? What is the difference between an education and a quality education? The DLS favored the term Free Christian Schools to distinguish the Brothers' schools from the other charity schools that existed at that time because charity schools were known to be chaotic run by underpaid and undertrained writing masters. De La Salle insisted on trained teachers, cleanliness, politeness, discipline and -- what was most unusual for the time-- regular attendance.

Concern for the poor and social justice: Discussion question idea: Why both? Why not just concern for the poor? What is the difference between the two? One loves an individual person and helps them their current situation. Social Justice works an institutional level to prevent this from happening to people . A “social” justice is concerned with the care that “free and responsible people” have for one another, and builds a common good instead of just an individual good. It is also achieved through social means, through developing skills that enable groups to do much more than any one individual can do: forming associations, being willing to take leadership of small groups, and developing a habit of cooperating with others.