Dear Friends of the Christian Brothers,
Touching hearts with the Good News of Jesus Christ and teaching minds with the help of the Holy Spirit is the purpose of Lasallian education. The Brothers, our Partners, and friends know that together we can form young women and men to be proactive cooperators with Jesus Christ to ensure that everyone, especially those who are poor, can live life to the fullest.
The recently published Declaration on the Lasallian Educational Mission observes, “John Baptist de La Salle warned early on, from his first meeting with the teachers employed by Adrien Nyel, ‘that these schools did not produce the fruit that was expected of them because there was no uniform order; each teacher followed his own inclination …’ That is why, to respond to the needs of the children, the school demanded teamwork, or better yet in De La Salle’s words “to educate together and by association.”
For more than three centuries, Lasallian Catholic education has been a “together endeavor.” In the District of Eastern North America, Brothers and Lasallian educators work together to create educational communities that, in the words of De La Salle, “touch the hearts of the students and inspire them with the Christian spirit.”
Br. Dominic Viggiani, FSC, President of De La Salle College, Toronto, reminded his faculty of the key foundation of Lasallian Catholic education when he wrote, “In Catholic schools of a Lasallian tradition, we acknowledge that God exists. God is not an abstraction to present to the young in the hope that some may believe, but a daily witness that we believe and that our actions speak of this belief. In this way, we demonstrate that God matters. As Lasallians, this is essential and should always be done to enhance the significance and dignity that the belief in God’s real presence gives to the work of education.”
In this issue of Lasallian Notes, we highlight some of our ministries where the “together endeavor” of providing a quality human and Christian education continues and, inspired by the Gospel, responds to the many challenges before us. The Lasallian Catholic educational mission continues to be a partnership among Brothers, Lasallian educators, our students, and the many friends who help ensure our future.
Thank you for your continued support! Live Jesus in our hearts. Forever!
Br. Robert Schaefer, FSC
Visitor/Provincial