Lasallian Educational Service of the Poor – Selections from Recent Institute Documents
These are selections from recent documents from the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools that are related to Lasallian educational service of the poor.
The original documents that are cited in this overview are listed below. Each listing below is also a direct link to a PDF version of the entire document.
Collected and compiled by Dr. Greg Kopra – Director, Formation for Mission (District of San Francisco New Orleans)
Lifting Students to God
This is a prayer resource for teachers that provides a format for personal prayer centered around specific students and their challenges, character, and/or specific concerns. Guiding questions, addressed in the presence of God, draw us into a deeper appreciation of their situation and focuses our prayer for that individual.
Author: Br. Michael Livaudais, FSC
Lasallian Videos – by Ed Sirois
These videos were created by Mr. Ed Sirois, a religion teacher at La Salle Academy in Providence, RI. There were made for the morning prayer times for the school’s student-body, focusing attention on a specific person, event, or commemoration that was the subject of prayer that day.
Each video is short, poignant, and well-focused.
A full list of the videos, aligned with an academic-year calendar, is available HERE.
Let Us Remember – Octavo for Choir
This is a setting of a popular invocation of the Lasallian prayer: “Let us remember that we are in the Holy Presence of God.” The setting is arranged for four voices (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass) and simple to learn. Nevertheless, the harmonies are rich and complex. It is a great piece for choirs in Lasallian schools to us at their liturgies, prayer services, or as a prayer for Lasallian events.
HERE or below is a link to the page that includes the print Octavo, the PDF Octavo, and a recording sample.
Arrangers: Otto Wild & Br. Martin Yribarren, FSC
Composer of original tune: Br. George Van Grieken, FSC
The Chapel of Disclosure
This video celebrates a new way of experiencing transcendence in a secular context through the transformation of a church space at Centrum De La Salle in Groot-Bijgaarden, Belgium.
Based on the work of Br. Herman Lombaerts, FSC
Length: 5 min.
(There is also a French version at THIS link.)
The “Show the VIDEO” tab below lets you run the video from here.
Catechesis and the Laity
Catechesis and the Laity: The Participation of the Laity in the Ministry of the Word and the Mission of the Teaching Brother in the Church
This is the translation in 358 pages of sections four and five of an important work published in France in 1962. The footnote references to the Meditations of De La Salle are particularly invaluable.
Author: Michel Sauvage, FSC. (1923 – 2001)
Translation by: Oswald Murdoch, FSC.
PDF of the original work is HERE.
100 Short Quotes by De La Salle
This is a set of 100 short quotations from St. John Baptist de La Salle, taken from various writings during his life, and arranged according to specific themes. It is a worthwhile resource for displays or for prayer or group reflection.
Author: St. John Baptist de La Salle, Patron of Teachers
Compilation: Nicholas Hutchinson, FSC
The Life of De La Salle (& Manhattan College)
This is a video in commemoration of the tercentenary celebration of the death of St. John Baptist de La Salle in 1719. His life story is told via sections from interviews with individuals at Manhattan College. Along with the story of De La Salle, many students relate why they appreciate Lasallian education, and what they are doing to continue that inspiration into the future. See the fuller description below.
Produced by Manhattan College – New York
Length: 12 min.
The “Show the VIDEO” tab below lets you run the video from here.
Tricentenary and the Year of Lasallian Vocations
2019 is the tricentenary anniversary of St. John Baptist de La Salle’s passing into eternal life. It has also been declared as the Year of Lasallian Vocations.
The goals of this tercentenary year are to:
- Celebrate and give thanks for our common heritage and our vitality through our association for the transformative human and Christian education of the young, especially the poor.
- Renew our commitment to respond to the reality and needs of today through promoting our mission, charism, and founding story.
- Share our hope for the future within the unity and diversity of Lasallian vocations by witnessing the movement of the Spirit in our lives and ministry.
The resources on this page are to assist in providing a variety of ways to educate, collaborate, and celebrate within the Lasallian world and elsewhere.
If there are resources you wish to contribute, please contact Br. Chris Patiño, FSC (brochrisfsc@dlsi.org).
Br. James Miller, FSC
The Vatican announced on Thursday, November 8, 2018, that Pope Francis approved a decree recognizing that Brother James Miller died as a martyr Feb. 13, 1982, in Huehuetenango, Guatemala. The process for declaring him a martyr began in 2009 and received this important ‘green light’ from the theological commission, which means we will soon be able to celebrate his beatification. Br. James will be the first De La Salle Christian Brothers from the United States to be beatified. The cause of beatification was undertaken by the Diocese of Huehuetenango, Guatemala and received the Decree of Validity in Rome in 2010 when Brother James was designated a Servant of God and a martyr for the faith. As a martyr, Br. James must have one miracle posthumously attributed to him to reach the next level toward official sainthood, which is canonization.
In the afternoon of February 13, 1982, at the age of 37, in Huehuetenango, Guatemala, Brother James (Santiago) Miller was shot several times by three men and he died instantly. Attempts to identify the assassins were unsuccessful. After funeral rites in Guatemala and in Saint Paul, Minnesota, he was buried in the parish cemetery in Polonia, Wisconsin.
Frère – A Graphic Novel
This is a graphic novel on the life of Saint John Baptist de La Salle that was created by De La Salle – College of Saint Benilde in the Philippines. It is based on a cartoon video of the same name, which may be seen HERE.
Graphic Novel Adaptation: Benjie M. Marasigan, Jr.
© De La Salle – College of Saint Benilde
2533 Taft Avenue
Manila, Philippines 1004
www.benilde.edu.ph
Lasalliana BINDER
This is a PDF “Binder” of the ALL the published Lasalliana articles.
It is an OCR PDF format and therefore may be searched for specific words and phrases.
→ PDF BINDER LINK ←
Frère: De La Salle – Patron Saint of Teachers
This is a movie-length cartoon about the life of Saint John Baptist de La Salle that was created by De La Salle – College of Saint Benilde in the Philippines in 2011. There is also a graphic novel of the same name, which may be seen HERE.
© De La Salle – College of Saint Benilde
2533 Taft Avenue
Manila, Philippines 1004
www.benilde.edu.ph
Honneur a Toi – Song in Honor of St. John Baptist de La Salle
This hymn is sung by Brothers and others to honor St. John Baptist de La Salle on celebratory occasions. See the resources for it below.
Honneur a Toi was first printed in in Recueil de Cantiques Anciens et Nouveaux (1889 edition). It was one of two hymns composed to mark the beatification of John Baptist de La Salle in 1888: “Honneur a Toi” [Honor to You] and “Veritable Ami de l’Enfance” [True Friend of the Young].
The author of the text of “Veritable” was Brother Idelphus, FSC, a well known translator from Spanish of the poems of Theresa of Avila and John of the Cross. He was chapel master at Passy. The composer of the music was Brother Albert des Anges, FSC, successor to Brother Leonce as chapel master at Passy, who authored a large number of hymns and wrote almost all of the accompaniments of the 1889 collection. Both Brothers were commissioned by the superiors to revise the texts and musical settings for the 1889 edition of Recueil de Cantiques Anciens et Nouveaux.
According to Br. Edwin, based on a French Brother who provided the history of the song in 1991 to a Belgian confrere via a letter, “It would be hard to believe that the authors of the Honneur a Toi were not these two contributors.”
Cahiers lasalliens – Lasallian Studies
This set of scholarly Lasallian resources focus on the person of St. John Baptist de La Salle, his writings, and the origins of the Institute of Brothers of the Christian Schools. All of them are the product of extensive research and scholarly deliberation. They are the primary texts for any serious historical or pedagogical consideration of Lasallian history, education, or spirituality.
The PDF copies made available on this page are OCR-enabled; i.e., they allow individuals to download and search for specific words or phrases. Most of the volumes are in French, but some have been translated into French and/or Spanish.
As more volumes are scanned and processed, they will be added to this page.
Iconographie – Lasallian Images and Resources Collection (ROME)
SCROLL DOWN for the collection of 160 images and documents related to Saint John Baptist de La Salle that was prepared for the tricentenary of the birth of the Institute in 1680. They were provided as a set of large display-quality plates in an ornate blue box, and many of these are still to be found in Brothers’ communities, libraries, and elsewhere. There was also a boxed set of color slides, accompanied by a small booklet that explained each of the images.
They are provided here as JPG and PDF files for the larger Lasallian family.
A PDF of the entire book (257 MB) is HERE.
Br. Emile Rousset, FSC, headed the project. Also involved were Br. John Johnston, Br. Patrice Marey, Br. Jose Cervantes, Br. Leone Morelli, Br. Maurice Hermans, Br. Leon de Marie Aroz, and Br. John Hazell.
Produced in France: December 15, 1979
ACHEVÉ D’IMPRIMER SUR LES PRESSES
DE L’IMPRIMERIE LIMET
92100 Boulogne
Complete Works in FRENCH – John Baptist de La Salle
This collection of all of De La Salle’s writings is a treasure trove for those who would like to research, or simply read, the works of the Founder in his native tongue. Anything that De La Salle wrote is included in this volume. And the PDF is provided in OCR format – which means that you can search for a French word of phrase.It is also an accessible resource for students in French language studies who would like to read some of De La Salle’s writings, especially his letters, which are personal and written with simple language.
This compendium is based on the extensive research behind the production of the multi-volume set of Cahiers lasalliens series.
Publication Date: 1993
Publisher: Ètudes Lasalliennes, FEC, via Aurelia, 476, 0016, ROMA
Must-Have Digital Lasallian Resources
The resources listed below are mostly available online and are indispensable in the work of creating and facilitating Lasallian mission formation programs at a Lasallian schools or institution. Unless otherwise noted, all of these resources are available through this Lasallian Resource Center website.
The resources list was compiled by Dr. Greg Kopra for the “Local Formators Gathering” of the SFNO District in April 2019.
The Letters of John Baptist De La Salle
This volume contains the letters that were written by. Although few in number, their contents provides a unique and personal insight into the relationship so of De La Salle and the first Brothers with whom he shaped the Institute. There are also some letters to individuals for whom he was a spiritual director..
The introduction and commentary by Colman Malloy, FSC, and Augustine Loes, FSC, gives the context for each of the letters and gives an overview of what they reveal about the writer of these letters.
(1988; 304 pp.)
Translated by Colman Malloy, FSC. Edited by Augustine Loes, FSC.
Volume 1 of Lasallian Sources: The Complete Works of John Baptist de La Salle
Publisher: Christian Brothers Conference – Lasallian Region of North America
Lasallian Research Platform
This is a central online location for scholars to discover research projects and collaboration opportunities.
Hosted at Bethlehem University, the website describes itself as a Lasallian Research Network initiative designed to facilitate research collaboration in a wide variety of subject areas between faculty at the 64 Lasallian institutions of higher education.