Pope Francis explains "The Christian educator, in the school of Christ, is above all a witness, and is a teacher to the extent that he is a witness."
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ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS
TO PARTICIPANTS IN THE GENERAL CHAPTER
OF THE BROTHERS OF THE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS
Hall of the Consistory
Saturday, May 21, 2022
Dear brothers, good morning and welcome!
I thank the Superior General for his words, also for the “Lolo Kiko” [Filipino greeting: “grandfather Francesco”], and I offer my best wishes to him and to his council. I am happy to meet you on the occasion of your 46th General Chapter, which has as its theme "Building new ways to transform lives". It is nice to understand the Chapter in this way, walking, like a construction site of new roads, which lead to meet the brothers, especially the poorest. But we know that the "Way", the truly new road, is Jesus Christ: following him, walking with him, our life is transformed, and we in turn become leaven, salt, light.
For you, according to the charism of St. John Baptist de la Salle, these "new paths" are above all educational paths, to be carried out in the schools, colleges, universities that you carry out in about one hundred countries in which you are present. A great responsibility! I thank the Lord for it with you, because educational work is a great gift first of all for those who do it: it is a job that asks for a lot, but which gives a lot! The constant relationship with educators, with parents, and especially with children and young people is an ever-living source of humanity, despite all the hardships and problems that it entails.
In this relationship, on this journey you take with them, you offer the values of your rich pedagogical tradition: educate in responsibility, creativity, coexistence, justice, peace; educate to the interior life, to be open to the transcendent, to the sense of wonder and contemplation in the face of the mystery of life and creation. You live all this and interpret it in Christ, and translate it into the fullness of humanity. I am reminded of the motto of St. John Paul II in Redemptor hominis: "Man is the way of the Church". You implement this motto in the educational mission. It is your way of realizing what Saint Paul writes: "form Christ in you" (cf. Gal 4:19). It is your apostolate, to educate in this way, your specific contribution to evangelization: to make the human grow according to Christ. In this sense, your schools are "Christian", not because of an external label, but because they are following this path.
We are aware that the world is experiencing an educational emergency. The educational pact has been broken, it is broken, and now the state, educators and the family are separated. We must seek a new pact that is communication, work together. This educational emergency is made more acute by the consequences of the pandemic. The two great challenges of our time: the challenge of fraternity and the challenge of caring for the common home, cannot be answered except through education. Both are above all educational challenges. And thank God the Christian community is not only aware of this, but is committed to this work, for some time it has been trying to "build new ways to transform" the lifestyle. And you, brothers, are part of this construction site, indeed, you are at the forefront, educating to pass from a closed world to an open world; from a throwaway culture to a culture of care; from a throwaway culture to a culture of integration; from the search for partisan interests to the search for the common good. As educators you know well that this transformation must start from the conscience, or it will only be a facade. And you also know that you cannot do this work alone, but by cooperating in an "educational alliance" with families, communities and ecclesial aggregations, with the formative realities present in the territory.
This, dear brothers, is your field of work. But to be good workers, you don't have to neglect yourself! You cannot give young people what you do not have within you. The Christian educator, in the school of Christ, is above all a witness, and is a teacher to the extent that he is a witness. I have nothing to teach you in this, but only, as a brother, I want to remind you: testimony. And above all I pray for you, that you may be brothers not only in name but in fact. And so that your schools are Christian not in name, but in fact.
Thank you for who you are and what you do! Go forward with the joy of evangelizing by educating and of educating by evangelizing. I bless you and all your communities. And you, please, don't forget to pray for me. Thanks!
TO PARTICIPANTS IN THE GENERAL CHAPTER
OF THE BROTHERS OF THE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS
Hall of the Consistory
Saturday, May 21, 2022
Dear brothers, good morning and welcome!
I thank the Superior General for his words, also for the “Lolo Kiko” [Filipino greeting: “grandfather Francesco”], and I offer my best wishes to him and to his council. I am happy to meet you on the occasion of your 46th General Chapter, which has as its theme "Building new ways to transform lives". It is nice to understand the Chapter in this way, walking, like a construction site of new roads, which lead to meet the brothers, especially the poorest. But we know that the "Way", the truly new road, is Jesus Christ: following him, walking with him, our life is transformed, and we in turn become leaven, salt, light.
For you, according to the charism of St. John Baptist de la Salle, these "new paths" are above all educational paths, to be carried out in the schools, colleges, universities that you carry out in about one hundred countries in which you are present. A great responsibility! I thank the Lord for it with you, because educational work is a great gift first of all for those who do it: it is a job that asks for a lot, but which gives a lot! The constant relationship with educators, with parents, and especially with children and young people is an ever-living source of humanity, despite all the hardships and problems that it entails.
In this relationship, on this journey you take with them, you offer the values of your rich pedagogical tradition: educate in responsibility, creativity, coexistence, justice, peace; educate to the interior life, to be open to the transcendent, to the sense of wonder and contemplation in the face of the mystery of life and creation. You live all this and interpret it in Christ, and translate it into the fullness of humanity. I am reminded of the motto of St. John Paul II in Redemptor hominis: "Man is the way of the Church". You implement this motto in the educational mission. It is your way of realizing what Saint Paul writes: "form Christ in you" (cf. Gal 4:19). It is your apostolate, to educate in this way, your specific contribution to evangelization: to make the human grow according to Christ. In this sense, your schools are "Christian", not because of an external label, but because they are following this path.
We are aware that the world is experiencing an educational emergency. The educational pact has been broken, it is broken, and now the state, educators and the family are separated. We must seek a new pact that is communication, work together. This educational emergency is made more acute by the consequences of the pandemic. The two great challenges of our time: the challenge of fraternity and the challenge of caring for the common home, cannot be answered except through education. Both are above all educational challenges. And thank God the Christian community is not only aware of this, but is committed to this work, for some time it has been trying to "build new ways to transform" the lifestyle. And you, brothers, are part of this construction site, indeed, you are at the forefront, educating to pass from a closed world to an open world; from a throwaway culture to a culture of care; from a throwaway culture to a culture of integration; from the search for partisan interests to the search for the common good. As educators you know well that this transformation must start from the conscience, or it will only be a facade. And you also know that you cannot do this work alone, but by cooperating in an "educational alliance" with families, communities and ecclesial aggregations, with the formative realities present in the territory.
This, dear brothers, is your field of work. But to be good workers, you don't have to neglect yourself! You cannot give young people what you do not have within you. The Christian educator, in the school of Christ, is above all a witness, and is a teacher to the extent that he is a witness. I have nothing to teach you in this, but only, as a brother, I want to remind you: testimony. And above all I pray for you, that you may be brothers not only in name but in fact. And so that your schools are Christian not in name, but in fact.
Thank you for who you are and what you do! Go forward with the joy of evangelizing by educating and of educating by evangelizing. I bless you and all your communities. And you, please, don't forget to pray for me. Thanks!
Source: Vatican.va - Image Screenshot Vatican News
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