I. Charism - La Salle.org

80
IV. DISCOVERING, LIVING, SHARING THE GIFT OF GOD
Departures or deaths of one or other of his disciples, the absence of
new entries, reduced by half the group in Reims and that in Paris,
while hope for renewal through the ‘junior novices’ disappeared
when they were employed in the sacristy of Saint-Sulpice where, for
the most part they lost their first vocation. After a period of experimentation
then of extension and diversification in Reims and the
surrounding region, followed by expansion with a view to more
universality, in Paris, all this over a period of ten years, the Society
seemed to be in danger. It had not yet found its equilibrium after
these changes. Furthermore it was clear that a return to Reims was
impossible, unless they were willing to restrict themselves to the
conditions laid down by the Archbishop of Reims and to abandon
all idea of a mission outside his diocese.
John Baptist de La Salle had to redefine his manner of being present
to the Brothers. He had tried at first to be present at the same
time in both Paris and Reims. In fact the situation got away from
him. This work of God was still too much his personal work. To
face up to it, he discovered that he could not remain alone, that his
too personalised charism had reached its limits with the developments
of the Community.
The birth of Association.
The heroic vow counted more for its spiritual significance and the
stage which it marked in the Lasallian plan than for its immediate
consequences, since it remained secret. At no moment, it seems, did
the two associates of Monsieur de La Salle appear as co-superiors or
as having power, and certainly not in the eyes of the other Brothers,
who knew nothing about this vow until Brother Gabriel Drolin’s
return from Rome (in 1728). Association, therefore, was situated at
a different level than the exercise of “power”.
From 1691 onwards, John Baptist de La Salle knew that the work
undertaken was shared and was built on a “Community”. Decisions