Lasallian Mission: Past and Present

In these waning weeks of Summer I offer you two items of possible interest to you–one is an item from the past (50 years ago); the second is an item about the future.

On June 3, 1963 Pope John XXIII died.  He was an affiliated member of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (as is Michael McNamara, a teacher at La Salle Academy) because of his long relationship with the Brothers (as a young priest he was connected to the school San Giuseppe located in Rome near the Spanish Steps; as papal nuncio to Turkey and France he had widespread contact with the Brothers in those two countries).  His final public statement in a General Audience was made on May 15th (Feast of the Founder)—you might be interested in reading what this soon-to-be-canonized saint has to say about the Lasallian Mission.  http://www.fscdena.org/pdfs/history/2013/june/PopeMessage-LasallianDigSummer1963.pdf

On Wednesday, August 14th there was a special Mission-departure ceremony at Manhattan College (http://lasallian.info/2013/08/23/lasallian-educators-commissioned-for-service-in-jamaica/) to “send-off” the two Brothers and one layman who will begin the newest ministry of the District of Eastern North America (DENA) in Jamaica.  The Mission-departure is a traditional ceremony in the life of the Brothers as the members of the District formally commission the new missionaries to bring the Lasallian Mission to a new part of the world.  The three to be commissioned are Brothers Augustine Nicoletti and James Wallace of Manhattan College and Richard Ward, a former Lasallian Volunteer who most recently was Campus Minister at La Salle School in Albany.  Here is information about this new ministry  http://www.fscdena.org/news/2013/april/new-community-jamaica.php.

We can make our own the words of Blessed John XXIII as we give our newest three missionaries a prayerful send-off from here in RI: ” And so here are the sons of the Saint – the Brothers of the Christian Schools – who prove the Church’s love for the poor by taking care of their education and nourishing their youth with the bread of truth. This is really and truly one of the highest ends of human life and one of the most meritorious responses to one of the Lord’s choicest vocations.”

founderafrica

We pray that in this newest DENA ministry of St. Vincent Strambi School the poor will be educated and nourished with the bread of truth.

Brother Frederick