The Musings of a Senior Brother: “Their Finest Houri”
“For all that has been, Thanks. To all that shall be, Yes. ii”
Brother Colman Coogan, F.S.C.
February 10, 2015
Introduction
In June 1940, when London was under its heaviest bombardment, in his address to the
House of Commons, Sir Winston Churchill said that this was Britain’s “finest hour,” confidently
asserting that England’s steadfast courage would be remembered “for a thousand years.” His
goal was to strengthen the people’s resolve when hope and help seemed to be at their lowest ebb.
Similar words could be applied to DENA’s Senior Brothers as we reflect on the past and look to
the future. Because of our age, the departure and death of so many confrères, the scarcity of
“young blood,” and other factors, we are being called to a new resolve to view the future with
hope and expectation. We experienced difficult times also in those heady years following the 39th
General Chapter. The heavy hand of obedience was lifted enabling us to become more directly
involved in decision-making, but there were few guiding precedents to help us. Those were
uncharted waters, some mistakes were made.
Promptings
These “musings” spring largely from my reading of The Fragile Hope of a Witness, iii
A recent biography of Michel Sauvage, by Miguel Campos, et al. My thoughts are inspired also
by Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation, The Joy of the Gospel iv, and by Brother Robert Schieler’s
letter, Proposition 1, the Acts of the 45th General Chapter v and the recently published Provisional
Rule vi should raise our enthusiasm. Although I speak only for myself, I discern a similar reaction
among other Brothers in my age group.
Strength in Numbers
A recent DENA canvass, in preparation for the development of “guiding principles,”
elicited information about Brothers’ ages that is similar to this, published in January 2015:
Ages 20-39 = 1.3%; 40-49 = 11.9%; 60-69 = 30.0%;
70-79 = 30%; 80-89 = 22.0%; 90-99 = 2.3%; 100+ = 0.66% vii
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More than 50% of the District is age 70 or older. Wouldn’t any organization see this fact as an
actuarial liability in planning for the future? Probably, but I view it more positively. The
Brothers in this age group represent a reservoir of faith, zeal and dedication that has extended
over more than five decades. These “ancients” formed the pivot when the Church, in Vatican II,
and the Institute, in the monumental Thirty-Ninth General Chapter, ushered us into the modern
age. Time does lend perspective.
Consider how some of our senior Brothers began their ministry in the parochial schools later
moved into secondary levels and university education. They lived through often-mindless times
when an unreformed Church rigidly stressed doctrine and conformity over the sensus fidelium.
The Institute, too, was controlled by a seemingly remote authority expecting obedience and
conformity with little or no interest in either subsidiarity or personal discernment. The Brothers
struggled to observe faithfully an archaic Rule that often obfuscated our primary mission as
catechists and evangelizers governed by “association for the service to the poor,” hobbled by
convoluted interpretations of “gratuity” yet many, to their credit, chose to work directly with the
poor, particularly those on missionary assignments.
During their lifetimes these Brothers
observed five versions of the Rule; three since 1946 alone. They preserved for the present our
essential charism and identity. Clearly, these Brothers represent our “finest hour.”
Despite all of the above, our Senior Brothers seek no praise, special recognition nor accolade.
During the long period of renewal, their hope was sustained by great Brothers like Luke Salm,
Gus Loes, Gabe Moran, Bill Quinn, Charles Henry, Leo Kirby, John Martin, Michel Sauvage,
Miguel Campos, and a host of others who blazed a trail toward a future that was barely on the
horizon. Freed by Vatican II, our 39th General Chapter took repossession of the original Rule and
promoted fidelity to its charismatic genius. These Brothers deserve our eternal gratitude for
setting forth the Chapter’s ideals, some of which are yet to be achieved. Commenting on this,
Pedro Gil said,
Everything that happens in the 1960’s is not for that decade, but for the century yet to
arrive. Only thus can we see the event, its preparation, and its consequences as a grace
of the Spirit for the Church. It is a question of situating ourselves in the future, not in
the immediate present, and therefore, the task must be a lengthy one. The new face of
the Church and of the world has yet to appear.viii
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Thus, in good faith, through General and District Chapters we took personal responsibility for:
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a greater personalization of community life and variations in lifestyle;
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a Rule we could live by;
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endorsement of new works, including the Miguel schools and Bethlehem University;
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Lasallian Volunteers, development of our shared mission with Partners, and more.
Simultaneously we witnessed a drastic decline in our membership, then private apostolates,
choice through the “principal of attraction,” small communities, as well as other improvisations.
When expedient, four Districts merged into one; the Region itself expanded into Francophone
Canada. We, too, faced the crisis of child abuse. Yes, mistakes were made in those heady and
often unstable times. Dozens of our most talented confrères left us to pursue marriage, priesthood
and other life goals. Yet, throughout, we maintained “adequate” financial stability — a
remarkable achievement, given the times.
Foreseeing some of these changes might have intimidated the fainthearted, but we journeyed
with the Church and other religious communities in a search for the right answers. Our “finest
hour,” an Exodus of sorts, is over now; an era has closed, bringing us to the present.
Renewal vs. Refoundation
To avoid a semantic duel, on this question let me come down on the side of
“Refoundation.” Because so much has changed over the years, we are dealing with a virtually
new entity unforeseen when the original “renewal” began. We are now more than we were then.
The whole is far greater than the sum of its parts, as addressed by Miguel in the Michel Sauvage
biography. ix We move much closer to recapturing the Founder’s original intent; now is a time for
rebuilding. There are new workers on the scene.
The Institute today gives witness to the growing prominence of the lay vocation in ministry, to a
better educated membership in the Church, and to an influx of colleagues and volunteers who
share our enthusiasm for mission. Brotherhood and sisterhood (can there be one without the
other?) have been proclaimed as the social foundation of the Christian community.
Evangelization through Spirit awareness has been sounded. The wisdom, and even the language,
of our Founder is now seen as virtually prescient in the role he championed for us as “ministers.”
3
We lay men and women in catechesis now constitute the evangelical cutting edge of the Church.
The theology of De La Salle has withstood the test of time.
A New Confluence of Leadership
Vatican II dominated our lives after St. John XXIII opened the Church to a new era.
Although decried by many, and implemented haltingly, Vatican II began a renewal that, even
after fifty years, hardly began to achieve its potential until Pope Francis courageously took it up
by both proclamation and example. Today we are blessed with the leadership of a Pope, Superior
General and Visitor who are in harmony with the spirit of all that has gone before us. Each of
these leaders has firsthand experience with “service to the poor.” Loyalty to the Church, so
definitively professed by the Founder on his deathbed, x remains strong. The Institute, in concert
with the Church, calls attention to the significance of consecrated life now and for the future.
Additionally, we are blessed by the increased participation of lay men and women who, because
of our strong formation programs, understand and value the Institute’s charism, yet neither claim
nor seek the vowed consecration of the Brothers.
A Consecrated Purpose
Consecrated for what? Certainly not for the religious lifestyle as a canonical structure
without application. The challenge to go “beyond the borders,” voiced by the Holy Father, our
Superior General, and the 45th General Chapter, xi will not be satisfied by prayer alone, but by
those who “walk the walk.” While we hope for younger men to join us, we dare not ask their
commitment to what we ourselves are unwilling to do. Rather, they must see zealous role
models in every dimension of faith, service, and community. Our consecration is not
synonymous with that of our un-vowed colleagues; we alone are the “heart, memory, and
guarantor” xii of the mission in its deepest sense.
Can we do this without abandoning the schools? Let’s face it, most of us have already been
replaced by lay associates in a trend that will continue. The schools have not been abandoned.
God will have the Church and the Institute continuing to serve His people. Perhaps one of the
current signs we see is the Holy Spirit nudging the Brothers to examine alternative educational
forms better suited to a mission on the periphery.
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Our District still has a cadre of Brothers rich in experience, talent and vitality who could be freed
to minister at the borders. Millions of immigrant children and adults flooding into our country
lack the resources for adaptation to their new environment—and to the local Church. This is just
one among many areas where the call is being sounded. These are today’s poor, and therefore,
our future if we chose to go to the frontiers. This is the new Promised Land, strange as it may
seem. Saint John Baptist de La Salle frequently said, “The need for this Institute is very
great.” xiii Avoiding the challenge by holding too tightly to self-determination or individualism,
rather than looking for direction by the community, will only forestall the inevitable. The most
important Chapter for us, and yet to be held, is the one that takes place in our own hearts.
Who Led the Way?
Allow me one additional reflection that may be appropriate here. When summoned from
Parmenie in 1714, De LaSalle asked simply, “What do you want me to do?” During the last five
years of his life, he did not retire. Rather, in response to the body of the Society, he
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•
•
•
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enriched the charism he had developed, consolidated structures,
and strengthened the faith of the Brothers by his presence;
finalized the Rule in dialogue with the principal Brothers;
reviewed his extensive writings;
graciously turned over leadership to the body of the society; and
calmly prepared for death.
He did so by living perfect docility, flexibility and creativity as expressed in his original formula
of commitment. Such was and remains the stuff of sainthood.
One Last Hope
As we older Brothers draw the curtain on our past fifty years, we realize how much has
been accomplished — but not always well. Had we listened more carefully to our Chapters, we
might be leaving a richer apostolic patrimony to our successors. Perhaps a greater number of us
should have offered to serve in works dedicated to the disadvantaged, some of which shriveled
for lack of interest. Maybe we placed too much emphasis on our personal preferences or
professional enhancement, and too little on the selection of those we would serve. Other things,
too, we might have done better, and, if not for the exigencies of age and illness, we might wish to
be a part of what lies ahead. Our upcoming District Chapter, to which delegates have already
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been elected, has an opportunity to compensate for some past shortfalls by integrating into our
lives the new spirit now moving through Church and Institute.
Returning to the Exodus theme, let us recall that it was not a lack of navigational skill that
caused the Israelites to spend forty years in the desert; rather, it was their stubbornness of heart in
not listening to God when he spoke. Only when they heard Him did they finally advance to what
had been promised as a new people and nation. Readiness was everything.
God’s gift to us now will not be territorial; it will be a call heard clearly in our Church, Chapter,
and Rule, but are we ready? We senior members can at least pray for others to move forward
with courage and wisdom, toward a re-foundation that has already begun.
As we prepare to move on in God’s good time, well beyond our so-called “finest hour,” may we
do so with the confidence that characterized the Founder’s hope for a future he did not live to
see. Moses, too, great leader that he was, never got to the Promised Land, but God showed it to
him from afar xiv. I sense that such a vision lives among us also, so that with Eliot we might say:
We shall not cease from exploration.
And at the end of all our exploring
We will arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time. xv
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i
John Bartlett, Familiar Quotations, rev. (Boston: Little Brown and Co., 1980), 744
Dag Hammarskjold, A Room of Quiet: the United Nations Meditation Room (New York: United Nations, 1971).
iii
Miguel Campos, Rbt. Comte, Paul Grass, and Diego Munoz. The Fragile Hope of a Witness, Lasallian Studies,
No 18. (Rome: Brothers of the Christian Schools, 2014).
iv
Pope Francis, the Joy of the Gospel, an Apostolic Exhortation, (Boston: Pauline Books and Media, 2013).
v
th
th
Circular 469, The Documents of the 45 General Chapter, November 30 , 2014
vi
The Provisional Rule of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, 2014.
vii
DENA Seniority by Age, January 1, 2015
viii
Brother Pedro Gil, Three Centuries of Lasallian Identity, 359.
ix
Cf. Campos, p. 577.
x
W. J. Battersby, edited by Brother Daniel Burke, John Baptist de La Salle, Collection of Short Treatises (Landover
Maryland, 1993). 96.
xi
th
Circular 469, Acts of the 45 General Chapter, Nov.30, 2014 paragraphs 1.17, p.11 and 3.26. 28.
xii
Ibid, 2.12.
xiii
Rule of 1987, Chapter 10, art. 141. Page 149; Meditations for Time of Retreat numbers 9, 15.
xiv
Deuteronomy 34:14; Numbers 20: 11, 14.
xv
T. S. Eliot, Four Quartets, (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1943). “Little Gidding” 29.
ii
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