My Vocation as a Brother of the Christian Schools: Moments of Challenge, Wholeness, and Solidarity
This essay is written with several ideas in mind. The life of the Brothers of the Christian Schools is one of taking the “good news” of Jesus seriously and as the challenge and source of great joy it is. It is a way to wholeness. It must be lived in solidarity with those in need. Such a journey would be impossible without the grace of God and the company of the good men with whom I have served and made my home for many years.
I came to the Brothers out of the very typical (for the time) experience of first meeting them in high school in Queens, NY, during the 1960s. The “light bulb” did not go off in my head until senior year. Before that I felt certain that my call in life was to the profession of journalism. I would start with newspapers and then follow a hero of mine, Walter Cronkite, to the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th Street in Manhattan. But in senior year the cumulative effect of the Brothers on me was palpable. Men such as Brothers Omer Malachy, Timothy Murray, Robert Daskiewiecz, Maurice Frechette, John Buckley, David Carroll, Paul Goodwin, John Norton, Anselm Scott, Kevin Malinowski, Raymond Blixt, Andrew Cordell, Eugene Gorman, Francis Mulligan, Thaddeus Aubrey, and Francis O’Rourke guided, supported, and challenged me.
By December 1967, I could think of no other life. My entrance to the novitiate one week after high school graduation was a big question mark but one I was eager to encounter. And what an encounter I had in 14 months in Narragansett, Rhode Island. There I was in the company of more than 20 idealistic young men, including two others from my class at Mater Christi High School. A third classmate joined the Brothers after college. We were a happy “band of brothers” who were taught and inspired by 3 holy, wise, and intelligent men: Brothers John Veale, John Greeley, and James Loxham. They were quite different in background, temperament and areas of expertise. But they were just what a young novice needed: men who were credible, men who were giving, men who were understanding, and men who were in love with God and God’s people. One was a psychologist, one a master theologian, and one a scholar of liturgy. The great work done by the postulancy directors, Brothers Gerard Duncanson and Hugh Carroll, during the two-month period before the start of the novitiate, provided an enduring theme of welcome and warmth. The scholastic (college) years further formed and strengthened me through the inspiring witness of men such as Brothers Peter Drake, John Greco, and Timothy Balfe.
What I saw in the Brothers, that which I wanted to imitate, was a way of service lived out of a vibrant faith in a prayer-filled community of like-minded men. The Brothers were men who focused the whole of their lives on the search for God. These men were filled with the vision of St. John Baptist de La Salle and the generations of Brothers who came before us. That vision and its legacy has always centered on finding God through addressing the challenges for young people, especially those who were most in need, to grow in mind, body, soul, and spirit. Once I joined the Brothers I was surprised, though, at the many layers of depth and complexity that make up this wonderful vocation. The late 1960s and early 1970s were difficult times in religious communities. The new life called for by the Second Vatican Council was addressed in various ways by the Brothers. Moreover, the world of education was changing rapidly during those years. We succeeded and we failed. We journeyed together and also grew apart. Sometimes, as the saying goes, the center did not seem to hold. But it did in the end. Our God is faithful and remains a source of love and nourishment for those of us who continue to live the life of a Brother. Those I knew well who left us for other callings are still men I admire and they have remained faithful to the God who also continues to walk with them.
My early years of teaching were adventurous and life-giving. I learned to appreciate the men and women with whom I served and the young people who were great sources of joy, amusement, and puzzlement for me. When I began the ministry of school administration in the 1980s, I found more to ponder, question, and confirm about Catholic, Lasallian education and grew to see why it is so treasured. I also had the wonderful opportunity to serve on several occasions outside our network of ministries, most especially with the Xaverian Brothers. Together my years of service and community living within and outside the Lasallian world have given me a perspective and a conviction that would have been hard to imagine when I started teaching in 1973.
My vocation was affirmed by my loving mom and dad. They loved the Brothers who had taught me in high school. While they may not have completely understood why I was going to test a vocation, they knew deeply and without hesitation that I was going to be in good company. I even convinced my younger brother, educated by the Jesuits, that this was the case! (Full disclosure: I was taught by Jesuits at Fordham University, Boston College, and St. Louis University and deeply admire them).
The Brothers have been men who lift me up and continue to be great companions on the journey. They have shown me the face of God and they give religious faith a good name. They are men who are alive with energy and vitality. Wherever I have served — east coast, west coast, New York, Washington, D.C., New England, California — I have tried to serve young people in ways that reflect what the Brothers have done for me. We work to develop individuals who are thinkers, people with heart, men and women who tend to their souls, and folks who care about others and stand with the poor. We do this together, exploring and celebrating the embracing presence and love of God in and through our communities and schools. What a life!
Now after more than 40 years, nurtured and formed in the vision and legacy of Saint John Baptist de La Salle and generations of Brothers and, in collaboration with Lasallian Partners-In-Mission, I can only speak words of gratitude and anticipation for what the future holds as we Brothers seek together to pray deeply, serve with passion, and live through a simplicity that makes us stand with the poor. The paths of challenge, wholeness, and solidarity continue to be laid out before us. The vows we live, the witness we offer by our consecration, and its concrete manifestations in prayer, ministry and community life, wake us up and, we hope, will also serve to wake up the world!
Live Jesus in our hearts, forever!
Brother Robert J. Wickman, FSC
Robert,
Hope all is well.
Enjoyed your writing.
All.good.at.Loughlin.
Expecting 4th grandchild in July
Peace,
John