I. Charism - La Salle.org

66
IV. DISCOVERING, LIVING, SHARING THE GIFT OF GOD
The teachers speak.
John Baptist de La Salle became aware that, in concrete situations,
with specific persons, God asked him to make a choice. The change
began to affect him deeply when the teachers called into question
his solidarity and loyalties. Facing the novelty of the project on
which they were embarking, the teachers were worried about the
future: there was nothing fixed or stable about their situation, they
were sacrificing their youth in the service of a public which would
forget them. In old age they would not be assured of a home, they
would end their days in poverty.
The teachers had the feeling of being at the mercy of events, of public
interest, of the notables in particular, of those who belonged to
the world of John Baptist de La Salle. For the moment “these”
accepted them, but what of tomorrow Nothing really solid kept
them in the school functions which they occupied. There was no
solidarity between them and those who employed them. It was
exactly the situation of the poor of the period, depending entirely
on the circumstances, being able to count on no one except themselves,
even in their old age. Since the soothing response of
Monsieur de La Salle did not satisfy them, they called him into
question even more strongly. Blain explains very honestly why the
first reply of the Founder fell flat:
It was easy for him to speak so eloquently of abandonment to
Providence when he was a wealthy man, […] Tired of simply thinking
these thoughts, one day the schoolmasters summoned up their
courage to the point of expressing their grievance and gave De La Salle
one of those blunt, direct replies that the heart feels is unanswerable:
“You speak with inspiration amidst your ease, for you lack nothing.
You have a rich canonry and an equally fine inheritance; you enjoy
security and protection against indigence. If our work fails you risk
nothing. The ruin of our entreprise would not affect you. We own
nothing. We are men without possessions or income or even a trade to