The Lasallian Research Seminar was held at Generalate in Rome from 28 October 2024 to 1 November 2024. It was coordinated by the Office of Lasallian Heritage and Research and by the Association Commission of the Institute. The main theme is `Lasallian association for Mission, its development for the future’. The document “From the Vows to the Community – Living the Lasallian Heritage Today” by Br. Pedro Gil served as the basis for discussions in the seminar. During the Seminar, there were a lot of presentations and inputs from Br. Pedro and Br. Santigo, including “From one world to another: The great desires of humanity, opportunities for association and the pedagogy of fraternity in the world and in societies for the latest 50 years and the latest 50 years in the Church and the Institute”, “The initial story: Monsieur De La Salle discovers association for the educational service of the poor”, and “Association finds an institutionalized form” and “The Story of the Bull of Approval and its subsequent path”. Ms. Heather Ruple also presented “the Stories of association for mission in recent years” and “The system and structures of association we know: is this system valid for current institutions of association for mission?” Participants were divided into groups and then shared their reflections on the presentations and discussed the Challenges at different levels of Lasallian life for “the entities and institutions or structures of association for mission” and for “Lasallian formation in relation to the experience of association for mission”. Finally, individual district or region would make a draft on the guiding ideas for action.
It should be understood that an era of change and a change of era are not the same thing. In Br. Pedro’s work, they organized the process into two blocks, each with three elements. Between the six of them they constitute a system that defines the Lasallian Community as it has emerged over the last century. The first block is “Evidence” and the second one is “Questions”. The three elements in the first block are the dynamics of History, the New Evangelization and Vocational awareness. The second block revolves around the Mission, consisting of Mission, The soul of the Mission and The Face of the Mission. Between Evidence and Questions, three axes appear, the one between History and New Evangelization, then between Vocation and Mission and finally between Interiority and Community. The three axes can further be refined into three concepts. The first axis, History and Gospel could be called This World. The second, which brings together Vocation and Mission could be called the Call; and the third, Interiority and Community could be called Belonging. It is very clear how close it is to the system that appeared in the Lasallian institution at the 1966-67 Chapter. Then it was said Consecration, Community and Mission.
For the journey of Association for the Lasallian family, Heather shared views on increasing the appreciation of the role of laity in Church and in Church ministries. The focus would be inclusion, communion, Church as People of God. Partners could share and make the Mission possible. Lasallian Spirituality is oriented towards community. It is lived together in the faith of zeal, together for mission in association for the education services of the poor.
Below are some insights from Mr. Alan Li (HK) and Ms. Christine Soe Hlaing (MM)--members of the LEAD Mission Council--who attended the Lasallian Research Seminar.
"It was the valuable contribution of Br. Pedro, from his research. The point of his sharing approached through two perspectives: considering the past from the present and considering the present from the past. When we encounter new experiences, we often interpret them based on what we have already known from the past. This natural tendency leads us to compare current situations with past experiences. We can look at the past through our present-day experiences, projecting our current values, beliefs, and emotions onto historical figures and events. This perspective allows us to be surprised, inspired, or even challenged by the past. The historical commitment to education was that people in the past, like us, were driven by a strong sense of commitment to education, especially for the less fortunate. Early educators believed in their work as a divine calling, dedicating themselves to teaching not for material gain, but for a higher purpose, guided by faith.
He continued talking about the role of Association. What is the role of association today? Today, educators are asked to dedicate themselves to the same higher purpose—serving the less privileged and faith-driven communities. It challenges us to recognize that today's educational mission is rooted in the same values and Lasallian traditions as those of the past, despite the changes in society and education over the centuries. As the last point, the Lasallian family across the world has grown deeper and deeper into the experience of Association. Associating for a common purpose and working together as one. Taking our own bit and draw our own part to create a better picture of the world." -- Ms. Christine Soe Hlaing
Some insights from Mr. Alan Li:
- Element and Dimension. Br. Pedro mentioned about the six elements and their interactions in his work. Elements are something we focus on but it is more important if we look at from the point of view of Dimension. Dimension is from where we can get something.
- Limit or Border. For Lasallian family, limit is an organization concept and border is referred as Community. Community means a set of permeable borders at once maintained and at the same time disappearing. There should be no limit to Lasallian Community. Each member of a community is a person, responsible, capable of initiative, and also part of others to exercise responsibility.
- System and Culture. The dynamics of the six steps mentioned in Br. Pedro’s work is the System. This is to form the new community. The fundamental criterion that shapes the Community is its nature as a Sign of God. At this point of history, it is the primary task of the Community to care for the formation of its members in fidelity. The religion is the substance of the culture. The culture is the form of religion. Culture is the way looking and watching life. So far as in our sector/district level, unlike other regions where Catholicism is the dominant religion or where the political systems are relatively free, the sector/district comprises countries that vary in terms of religion, politics and level of economic development. These pose great challenges in pursuing the mission in societies. Despite of these challenges, our sector/district are doing quite well and even expanding and deepening in our work as our primary mission to provide a human and Christian education to our youth, especially the poor and marginalized.
- Person and Relationship. Br. Santiago emphasized that “Person” was important in our Lasallian mission and there should be good relationship between Brothers and Lay people in order to create new model for the Community. Brothers and lay Lasallians see themselves as being called together and united by God, each in their own individual vocation, to respond to the needs of society. Today the number of Brothers is decreasing while the laity increases. Motivated by the lay people’s commitment, together with the Brothers they can declare themselves the heart, memory and guarantor of the shared mission. Besides, women, alumni, retired persons and youth can be new Agents in the mission. As in many other spheres of society, the contribution of women has brought great richness an enormous possibility in the implementation of the Lasallian Educational Mission. Young Lasallian and Volunteer have a great capacity for contacting those people in our society who are the most vulnerable, and also their work and contribution ensure the sustainability of the Lasallian Mission.
- Formation. Formation programmes can be carried out at various levels: local, district, regional and international; and from initial to ongoing formation that have supported Lasallians. They can be tailor-made for different stakeholders in schools. Some guiding ideas for actions about Formation were drafted by the LEAD group and stated as below.
