From the General Councilor

Dear Brothers and Partners,

Greetings from Christian Brothers Conference.

Approximately 40 young Brothers from around the world are gathering in assembly in the Philippines July 29 to August 7. They are all Brothers under the age of 40 and either in temporary vows or their first years of perpetual vows.  This gathering was proposed by the delegates to the last General Chapter, inviting the young Brothers to express their hopes and dreams in anticipation of the 45th General Chapter in spring, 2014.  In anticipation of this event, young Brothers from across the Institute held Regional assemblies in 2012 and prepared statements reflecting their particular realities and how they and all associated with the Lasallian mission might respond to the needs of the poor and the young.

In Circular 466, They will call themselves Brothers, we members of the General Council wrote:

Living as Brothers of the Christian Schools at the beginning of the 21st century means being immersed in a universe – material, cultural, moral and religious – that changed profoundly during the second half of the preceding century and that continues evolving at more or less the same pace depending on the culture. This situation can be defined in one word – crisis. We speak of crisis – economic, educational, moral and religious (p. 9).

The circular goes on to say that during times of crisis John Baptist de La Salle, like other Founders, always looked to the future.  Our young Brothers gather in this spirit.  The outcome of the assembly will be a report presented to the Superior General, Brother Álvaro and the delegates to the 45th General Chapter.

When speaking to the young Brothers in the United States in 2011 Brother Álvaro reminded them of the challenge of our vocation regardless of our age. We are men of the Gospel, he said, and the ministry of evangelization and catechesis is our principal function:

It is essential to be evangelically significant and not just professionally effective. We are called to live the gospel radically, without looking around for explanations to weaken its message (Circular 466, p. 39).

Let us keep our young Brothers and the success for their assembly in our prayers. They are our future and we have every confidence in them.

Fraternally,

Brother Robert Schieler, FSC
General Councilor - RELAN