Board Formation

The Three Constitutive Elements of the

De La Salle Christian Brothers

The Sources

The Brothers of the Christian Schools, Declaration on the The Brother of the Christian Schools in the World Today. Lincroft, NY: LaSalle Provincialate, 1997

The Brothers of the Christian Schools, The Documents of the 44th General Chapter. Rome: The Generalate, 2007

The Brothers of the Christian Schools, The Rule. Rome: S.G.S-Instituto Pio XI, 1987

Salm, Brother Luke, A Religious Institute in Transition – The Story of Three General Chapters. Romeoville, IL: Christian Brothers Publications, 1992

“The vocation of the Brother is a complex integration of an apostolic mission that stems from a religious consecration and includes community, lay status, educational work with the preference for the poor, carried on in schools for the most part but also in other suitable educational situations.”

(From A Religious Institute in Transition, p. 127)

The Three Constitutive Elements

• Consecration

• Apostolic Ministry

• Community Life

Consecration

“… Wherefore, I promise and vow association for the service of the poor through education, chastity, poverty, obedience, and stability in the Institute.

(Updated Vow Formula, 2007)

Association for the Service of the Poor Through Education

1. “We (the Brothers) have rediscovered our consecrated identity in light of our vow of association for the educational service of the poor and it is through it that we attempt to clarify the other vows.”

(Documents of the 44th General Chapter, Introduction)

2. “We are challenged to live our association today…in a way that is open and integrated with our Lasallian partners, who participate with us in the Lasallian charism, spirituality, and mission.”

(Documents of the 44th General Chapter, 2.1)

Poverty

1. “By their poverty lived according to the Gospel, the Brothers become poor in order to follow Christ who was poor and in order to serve better all persons as their brothers and sisters, especially those most in need.”

(The Rule, 32)

2. “The Brothers live simply as persons of ordinary means, having everything in common.”

(The Rule, 32)

Poverty

3. “In their use of money and material goods put at their disposal the Brothers are careful to act as faithful steward.”

(The Rule, 32 a)

4. “In every situation the Brothers will avoid any external show that would be offensive to the poor. They furnish their establishments to reflect a simple lifestyle and shared poverty and so allow the most disadvantaged to feel at ease there.”

(The Declaration, 31.5)

Chastity

1. Chastity, rooted in the Gospel and lived in celibacy, is an expression of love totally vowed to God. It is a gift of the Spirit. It frees the Brothers for the service of others and for the kingdom of God.”

(The Rule, 27)

2. Chastity disposes the Brothers to live united together in community. It sustains them in their educational work and teaches them how to leave each and every person with an unselfish and respectful love.”

(The Rule, 27)

Chastity

3. “Chastity frees the Brother to be more totally available for his work; it makes his work more effective, even as it makes greater demands on him in the area of the apostolate.”

(The Declaration, 18.6)

Obedience

1. “The Brothers live out their vow of obedience by their availability within a community committed to accomplishing the mission of the Institute.”

(The Rule, 36)

2. “Obedience is a communion with the Holy Spirit…It is through world events, through young people, the community of the Brothers and the Superiors, through the body of the Institute and the Church, that the Spirit manifests His purposes.”

(The Rule, 36)

Stability in the Institute

1. “By this vow the Brothers commit themselves to remain in the Institute in order to accomplish its specific mission and to live in fraternal and apostolic communion with the Brothers. They remain faith to the Institute and to its spirit, to their Brothers, and to those they serve in their ministry.”

(The Rule, 42b)

Questions or Comments

Ministry

“The purpose of the Institute is apostolic.”(The Declaration, 22.2)

Ministry1. “Lasallian institutions make the means of salvation

available to young people through a quality education and by an explicit proclamation of Jesus Christ.”

(The Rule, 130

2. “The Brother’s principal function consists of the work of evangelization and catechesis.”

(The Rule, 15)

3. “Lasallian institutions are centered on the young, adapted to the time in which they live, and designed to prepare students to take their place in society.”

(The Rule, 13)

Ministry

4. “The Brothers tie together the work of evangelization with the effort to develop a good citizen and to give them access to a good human education.”

(The Declaration,40.2)

5. “Brothers are attentive to each of their students, especially those most in need. Brothers are available to all in an attitude of brotherly companionship.”

(The Rule, 13)

Ministry6. The Brother is immersed in the lives of his

students: he knows their interests, their worries, their hopes.”

(The Declaration, 40.4)

7. “Our orientation to the poor comprises an integral part of our Institute.”

(The Declaration, 28.7)

8. “The Brother works in service to those whose poverty in an obstacle to their development as human persons or to their ability to receive the message of salvation revealed in Jesus Christ.”

(The Declaration, 13.4)

Ministry

9. “Place the poor, especially those who are young, at the center of our community and educational projects in order to better know the reality in which they live and in order to respond to the different local needs. For example, students who have difficulties with their studies, children of dysfunctional families, migrants, those on drugs, orphans, and other new forms of poverty.”

(Documents of the 44th General Chapter, 1.3.1)

Ministry10. “In their educational activity the Brothers will

(1) help their students become more aware of human suffering in its concrete form; (2) waken in them a universal sense of brotherhood; and (3) invite them to share their goods and to serve those who are in need.”

(The Declaration, 32.2)

11. “Our education works should beInstruments of the education of the poor, the rights of the child, education for social justice. andIslands of creativity and agents of social transformation.”

(Documents of the 44th General Chapter, 2.1)

Ministry

12. “ The Brothers gladly associate lay persons with them in their educational mission. They provide for them the means to learn about the Founder and to live according to his spirit.”

(The Rule, 17)

Community

“From the very beginning the Brother has fulfilled his mission ‘together and by association’ as a member of a community by whom he knows he is accepted, supported, and entrusted with his mission.”

(The Rule, 16)

“The Brothers’ community should be simple and planned in a way that fosters family spirit, work, and prayer.”

(The Rule, 55)

Community and Mission

1. “The Brothers’ community shares in the animation of the institutions of which it is involved…It’s action to promote the Gospel aims to bring into being a community of faith in the educational community.”

(The Rule, 51a)

2. “The reason Brothers live together and associate in community is that they stimulate and help one another to procure the glory of God through the salvation of young people.”

(The Declaration, 22.4)

Community and Home

1. “The community is for the Brothers their home. They live together. They experience the friendship, the esteem, the trust and the respect they have for one another. They share meals. They share recreation.”

(The Rule, 54)

2. “The Brothers accept and love one another in their differences and in their similarities.”

(The Rule, 54a)

Community and Faith

1. “The Brothers’ community is where the spirit of God is shared.”

(The Rule, 48)

2. “In community the Brothers gather to listen to God.”

(The Declaration, 26.5)

3. “The Brothers find the principal sources for their prayer in holy scripture, in liturgy, and in the challenges that come to them in their ministry.”

(The Rule, 67)

Community and Faith

4. “We are called to createCommunities of faithIsland of hope and creativity

• Which serve as a reference for adults, for youth, and for children– Because of the witness of the Brother’s interior life

Where Brothers look forward to coming to prayer”

“We are called to beThe human face of GodCompanions for others along the pathway of their own spirituality.”

(Documents of the 44th General Chapter, 2.9)

Conclusion

“We dream of Brothers and communities-that open their doors to welcome those who hunger for bread, friendship, spirituality, culture, consolation, and the experience of God-that are inserted in their environments, who live simply, and are committed to combat human suffering.”

(Documents of the 44th General Chapter, 1.2)

Questions or Comments