Bro. Joel Giallanza, CSC, explains the theme of this year, "Lives Given to God, Love Given to All." . . .
On October 17, 2010, the Congregation of Holy Cross gathered to celebrate the canonization of Brother André Bessette, C.S.C., by Pope Benedict XVI. Commencing on the first anniversary of St. André’s canonization, Holy Cross invites all people to celebrate both the Congregation’s first saint and the Year of the Brother.
Mandated by the 2010 Holy Cross General Chapter, the Year of the Brother honors the brother’s vocation and the important ministry of service and compassion to the Church and the world by the brothers. It is also recognition of the important work still to be done, an invitation to others to consider offering their lives in service as a brother and an opportunity for the faithful to pray for vocations to Holy Cross.
In their religious consecration, brothers give their lives over to the Lord in service to all of God’s people. During the Year of the Brother, let us give thanks for their service, compassion, and the prayer they share with the world and with one another in community.
Brothers are called by God, committed to a life consecrated to God, characterized by public profession of vows – chastity, poverty, obedience. While this description provides basic information, the vocation of Brothers is best understood through the witness of their lives and ministry.
The very word “Brothers” indicates men who are in relationships. This is key for the Brothers’ way of life: in response to God’s call and as a means of continuing the mission of Jesus, they build relationships reflecting God’s transforming presence and activity in the world.
Lives Given to God
Brothers are in relationship with God; they are Brothers of the Lord! This relationship marks who Brothers are and what they hope to accomplish in the world today. Their identity and ministry are rooted in God and proclaim that God is at work in this world, that God has not abandoned humanity, regardless of global events that suggest the contrary. Brothers live and minister by faith, convinced of God’s concern for all people. We in Holy Cross see ourselves as “… instruments of God’s redeeming presence in the world.” Brothers are such instruments precisely because they are Brothers of the Lord.
Love Given to All
Brothers are in relationship with others; they are Brothers to all! This relationship enables Brothers to be a model and a means for unity among others. In a world that sees distinctions and creates divisions, Brothers demonstrate that it is possible for people of different perspectives and politics, languages and lifestyles, cultures and colors to live and work together. Brothers live and minister by love, convinced of the goodness of humanity. They are teachers and administrators in schools and colleges, pastoral ministers in parishes, or counselors, social workers and directors in agencies and clinics that serve those whose needs are greatest. We in Holy Cross seek “to conform our lives to that of Jesus in order to live as he did: a life of love in today’s world.” Brothers give witness to this conformity and so invite others to live as Jesus did.
Brothers are in relationship with the members of their community; they are Brothers with one another! This relationship engages Brothers in“interdependence,” supporting one another in community, contributing to and drawing strength from community. This also shapes Brothers’ presence and activity in ministry, reflecting the fundamental unity among all people as created in God’s image and likeness. Brothers live and minister by hope, convinced of the permanence and power of that image and likeness. We in Holy Cross recognize “a profound spiritual hunger in our cultures.” Brothers respond to that hunger by being men with hope to bring.
Brothers of Holy Cross
The Brothers of Holy Cross trace their roots to early 19th-century France and to Father Jacques Dujarié, a priest of the Diocese of Le Mans, who founded the Brothers of Saint Joseph in 1820. They served in schools and parishes, working to rebuild society in the wake of the French Revolution. Fifteen years later, under the leadership of Blessed Basile Moreau, also a priest of Le Mans, they evolved into the Brothers of Holy Cross and continued to serve in educational, parochial, and pastoral ministries. From simple beginnings in France, the Brothers of Holy Cross now serve in sixteen countries on five continents, and with the priests of Holy Cross form the Congregation of Holy Cross. By their commitment, courage, and conviction, Brothers strive to exemplify this motto: Lives given to God, Love given to all.
No comments:
Post a Comment