Generalate – Closing of the year dedicated to St Joseph

 

On Tuesday 7 December the Brothers and collaborators of the Generalate celebrated together, inspired by the reflections of Brother Rafa Matas, General Councillor, the conclusion of the year dedicated to St Joseph.

In 1871, Pope Pius IX declared St Joseph the Patron Saint of the Catholic Church. On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the proclamation, Pope Francis established 2021 as the special year of St Joseph “in which every believer, by his example, may daily strengthen his or her life of faith in the full fulfilment of God’s will”.

The Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools has dedicated to St Joseph a website on lasalle.org (https://sj2021.lasalle.org/?lang=en) through which it has been possible to know and appreciate better this beautiful and humble figure of a man devoted to his family, strong and courageous, also through the testimonies of Brothers, associates and volunteers who, following his model, live and work in the Lasallian social and missionary fabric.

St John Baptist de La Salle, in his Meditations, addresses educators as being “responsible for these children, just as Saint Joseph was made responsible by God for the Saviour of the world”.

In his biography of the Founder, Canon Blain explains De La Salle’s devotion to Saint Joseph: “What struck him most in the admirable life of the holy spouse of the Mother of God was his great docility to the action of Divine Providence, his submission to the strictest commands, his prompt obedience to the voice of the Lord, his hidden life, his angelic chastity and, finally, his tenderness and love for Jesus and Mary. Virtues of this great saint that he wished to imitate”.

The Lasallian Districts and Regions have thus accepted the invitation of Brother Robert Schieler, Superior General, to produce material, reflections and works dedicated to Saint Joseph, sharing them especially through social media.