I. Charism - La Salle.org

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MAKING THE LASALLIAN CHARISM LIVE TODAY
good…” 170 The formation which is proposed in these Meditations,
as in all the writings of John Baptist de La Salle, wishes to be an
education which takes charge of all the dimensions of the person of
the child or young person: human, intellectual, practical, social,
cultural, spiritual, Christian (this latter being taken for granted in
the world of Monsieur de La Salle). These are valuable instructions
for directing the Lasallian charism.
The transcendental dimension of the Lasallian project is essential in
putting it into action. In order to live the Lasallian charism to its
full, one must believe that there is something in every person,
young person, child, which goes beyond man; that there is an
‘other-world’ component of his humanity, even if we cannot or dare
not name it…
John Baptist de La Salle was a Christian. His spirituality, his writings,
his thought, his whole life were permeated with the New
Testament and more especially with the Gospels. His vision of the
child and the young person is profoundly marked by the
Augustinian anthropology and theology of his era; the education
project which he put in place with the Brothers, at the end of the
17 th Century, for these children and young people, was obviously a
project founded on the evangelical values which were in line with
the values of contemporary society and culture. Monsieur de la
Salle did not in any way foresee the later developments which the
Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools underwent in
other countries, in other cultures, in religious contexts other than
that of the Roman Catholic Church.
If we confine ourselves to the doctrinal area, the thought of John
Baptist de La Salle is perfectly clear. It is sufficient to re-read the
Preface to the 1 st part of The Duties of a Christian (in continuous
prose), in which he presents the signs by which one can recognise a
170
MTR 193,1.1 & MTR 207,1.1.