|
RESPONDING TO THE CALL OF THE SPIRIT
David L. Hotek
There is a movement under foot today throughout the Lasallian world that has been labeled the Lasallian Family Movement. In various parts of the world this movement has existed for 10 to 20 years. Here in the region of the United States and Toronto it is just now getting underway. Perhaps the label “Lasallian Family Movement” is a bit of a misnomer for what is happening is actually a part of a much larger movement that is taking place within the Church, brought about, I believe, by the action of the Holy Spirit. Let me explain.
One of the most critical experiences and understandings which has emerged in the Church after Vatican II is that of the common vocation of all the baptized. How many times have we heard this expressed in various ways? “We are the Church.” “The people make up the Church, not just the priests and religious.” “All persons within the Church share in the ministry of Christ.” “We all share equally in the ministry of the Church, lay and religious alike.” Yet there is a significant element in our Church which has yet to recognize the fundamental truth of these statements, much less the profound implications contained in them. What does it mean to say, that by virtue of our baptism into the body of Christ, we are called to a life of community and ministry within the Church? If we are truly honest with ourselves we would have to admit that many of us are still in the process of trying to understand fully the depth of meaning of the phrase and the experience of “Christian vocation.” Indeed to acknowledge ourselves as called in baptism to be followers of Jesus Christ and fully active members of the community of faith, is to acknowledge the all-encompassing nature of the commitment which is required of those who call themselves “Christian.” It is to willingly give ourselves to the task of proclaiming the good news of salvation by making God alive in every aspect of our lives. It is to acknowledge that Jesus truly does “live in our hearts, forever!” What all of this means is that it is simply not enough to acknowledge that each member of the Church is called by God to full participation in the life and ministry of the community, but to also accept that each member of the Church is responsible for participating fully in the life and ministry of the community. Do we take this responsibility seriously?
The Spirit of God is active in our Church today! There is something in the air that is calling us to move forward into the future with hope and enthusiasm. The very future of our Church is closely linked with this action of the Spirit. Traditionally, the living out of our vocation had been undertaken within particular structures which served to separate the members of the Church into the mutually exclusive, hierarchical categories of the ordained, the vowed religious and the laity. Today the Spirit has led us into the process of creating new structures built upon the appreciation of that which unites us, not separates us, with Jesus Christ. In this search for new structures we have found certain values and principles which serve as the foundations upon which to build: collaboration, mutual respect and appreciation, shared and participative leadership, affirmation of gifts, attention to process, shared ministry. These are the qualities that lie at the heart of today’s Church. The more that we attempt to live out these values and principles, the more we become truly the Church, and the more we respond to our call as baptized Christians.
The Lasallian Family Movement, as it is called, is an example of our understanding and experience of the common baptismal vocation of Christians. It is an expression of Church wherein each member is both affirmed and challenged as a full member of the community. The Lasallian Family movement grows out of an awareness and appreciation of the common vocation we share as Christians and emerges from our common experience in relationship to John Baptist de La Salle. In hearing his story -- his sense of the basic injustice of the existing social order, his desire to right that injustice, and his acknowledgement that this could only be accomplished by cooperating with the plan of God as revealed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ; his particular concern for the youth of his day and his struggle to understand how to effectively respond to the overwhelming needs which he saw among them; his conviction that education is a crucial element in responding to the needs of youth and thus to achieving their full human dignity; his recognition that the structures of his day were unable to meet this challenge, and therefore something new needed to be created; his willingness to risk failure and rejection in trying that which had never been tried before for the sake of creating a more just and humane world -- when we hear the story of this man, it touches something in us, it calls something forth, and we recognize ourselves in him. In this recognition we come to know ourselves better, we understand more fully who we are. Our personal vocational awareness is deepened. And as we meet those who share a similar experience, who know the same resonance with the story of De La Salle, we sense a bond with them as well and our communal vocational awareness is deepened. The story of De La Salle provides us a place where we come to meet ourselves and each other and thus it becomes a place of empowerment. This empowerment comes from the Spirit of God himself, calling us to life in its fullness, and to the service of others. In short, the story of De La Salle, brought to life within us by the Holy Spirit, provides us with a means of responding to our Christian vocation, of accepting the responsibility of our shared ministry in the Church.
It seems as if De La Salle was not only a gifted educator and spiritual leader but also a man with a vision, a man very much ahead of his time. He was in touch with the action of the Holy Spirit in his life and one who saw “bushes burning” at every turn. He insisted that his Brothers be convinced that they see themselves as God’s ministers to young people, especially to the poor and neglected. He wanted his Brothers to place their trust in God alone and to understand that it was God, working through them, who brought about the completion of their ministry. In effect, he wanted his Brothers to see their work in Christian education as a response to their baptismal call. To use De La Salle’s own words:
Since you are ambassadors and ministers of Jesus Christ in the work that you do, you must act as representing Jesus Christ himself. He wants your disciples to see him in you and receive your teaching as if he were teaching them. . . They are a letter which Christ dictates to you, which you write each day in their hearts, not with ink, but by the Spirit of the living God. For the Spirit acts in you and by you through the power of Jesus Christ. . . . All your care for the children entrusted to you would be useless if Jesus Christ himself did not give the power, the quality, and the energy that is needed to render your care useful. . . . You have been called by God to this ministry and you have been given the grace of teaching and the gift of exhortation for the sake of those entrusted to your responsibility. Use these gifts you have received with care and vigilance in order to fulfill the main duty of fathers and mothers toward their children.. . . You are co-workers with God in His work and the souls of the children whom you teach are the field that He cultivates through your labors. Since He is the one who has given you the ministry you exercise, when all of you appear before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ, each one of you will give an account to God of what you have done as a minister of God and as an administrator of His mysteries for children. (MTR)
What does all of this mean for you and me today? In a very real sense we have been touched in some way by the story of De La Salle, perhaps some more deeply than others. By the fact that we are working in a school inspired by De La Salle’s educational philosophy, in collaboration with the Christian Brothers, we are part of a “Lasallian world.” As such, we share some connection with the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools worldwide. We are a part of something much larger than this particular school, this particular district, this particular region. We are Lasallian educators, continuing John Baptist de La Salle’s mission to the poor and neglected youth of today.
The movement called “Lasallian Family,” however, attempts to move us beyond merely just being “a part” of the Lasallian world. As members of the Lasallian Family, touched by the story of De La Salle, we challenge each other to respond more fully to the call we received at baptism, the call to ministry in God’s Church. We are challenged to witness, by our lives, the Gospel values affirmed in the vision and mission of John Baptist de La Salle: living in the presence of God; trusting in God’s providence; expressing a spirit of faith and zeal in our ministry; exhibiting a genuine concern for the poor and neglected youth of the world; believing that Christian education is a real ministry in the Church and a means of responding to the needs of youth; coming together in association with other like-minded persons to fulfill this ministry. We are challenged to make a difference in today’s world, to take seriously the Christian responsibilities we accepted at baptism.
The Lasallian Family Movement is therefore a part of a much larger movement that exists within the Church today. It is a movement based upon a belief in a collaborative Church, a Church where all the members contribute equally to the mission of Jesus Christ. For you and me, this means that the Lasallian Family Movement can provide a means by which we can fully live out our Christian vocation while contributing to the mission and vision of John Baptist de La Salle, a mission which, as we have seen, is a valid ministry within the Church.
Practically speaking, what does this require of us? First and foremost it requires that we believe that we have been called by God, through our baptism, to a commitment to Jesus Christ and that therefore we have a responsibility to live out that commitment through our ministry of Christian education. In the words of De La Salle, we are to “touch the hearts” of the young people “entrusted to our care” so that they may “achieve their salvation.” This is not something we can relegate to the teacher in the next room, the religion department, the campus minister, or the administration of the school. It is something that we must accomplish together as a community of believers. Secondly, this belief will require that we place our trust in God’s providence, realizing that we can not accomplish this mission alone. We must be a praying community, for without prayer our commitment will soon become weak and our ministry less effective. When we truly believe that we are called to minister in God’s Church and that God alone, through us, can accomplish this ministry, then will we see the work that we do in the field of education as the work of the Church. We will realize, like De La Salle, the dignity of this God-given ministry. We will look upon those students, seated before us each day, as placed there by God, and therefore deserving of respect and love. We will develop a special concern for the poor and neglected students, the students who are most in need. We will realize that we do not minister alone, that we are part of a community of Christians who share a common vocation, and that each of us has something unique to contribute to this ministry. Like De La Salle we will be able to say:
In carrying out our service to children, we will not fulfill our ministry adequately if we conform only to the external actions of Jesus Christ in his guidance and in his conversion of souls. We must also enter into this way of thinking and adopt his goals. . . . This must be our goal when we teach our students, that they live a Christian life and that our words become spirit and life for them. (paraphrase MTR)
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
- What does the expression “the common vocation of all the baptized” mean to you? Do you experience a shared ministry within the Church today?
- In what ways have you experienced the action of the Holy Spirit in your life? In the Church today?
- What is it about the story of De La Salle that has touched your life?
- In what ways has the story of De La Salle challenged you to respond more fully to your Christian vocation? Has his life made a difference in your life?
- Do you experience your ministry to youth as a shared ministry? How is this shared ministry expressed at your school/apostolate?
- What can the Lasallian Family Movement offer to you to help you in your fulfillment of your Christian commitment to Jesus Christ and his Church?
|
