Education is at the heart of Catholic tradition, and as a Lasallian school founded in these values, BSM invited two Christian brothers to connect with students and discuss an opportunity to further explore their faith.
As Lasallian Brothers, Larry Schatz and Juan Manuel Hernandez-Bernal have their roots in education. The Christian Brothers were founded in the 1600s in France by St. John Baptist DeLasalle whose focus was opening schools for the poor and marginalized. Since then, the organization has grown into an international community in more than 80 countries serving millions of youth across the globe. “Our principle mission or charism is education, especially for the poor. For this reason, our position in the church is this: try to talk about Jesus in… high school[s], in universities, and our position in the Lasallian schools is [to] try to continue the legacy of St. John Baptist DeLasalle,” Hernandez-Bernal said.
Our principle mission or charism is education, especially for the poor. For this reason, our position in the church is this: try to talk about Jesus in… high school[s], in universities, and our position in the Lasallian schools is [to] try to continue the legacy of St. John Baptist DeLasalle
— Brother Juan Manuel Hernandez-Bernal
Brother Larry Schatz and Juan Manuel Hernandez-Bernal visited BSM On Wednesday, September 21st to share a possible retreat for juniors and seniors that focuses on discernment, helping students discover their calling and purpose in life. “We’re encouraging young juniors and seniors to make a discernment retreat with fellow Lasallian high schools because we really feel it’s important for young people to have the ability to discern what God might be calling them. It’s an important decision. If you don’t really learn some technique about good discernment, I think that sometimes you can make not great decisions,” Schatz said.
Additionally, BSM looked to better represent their Lasallian history by building a relationship between students and the Christian Brothers. “The purpose… was so that students and staff could get to know the Christian Brothers a little better… One of the founding charisms of the school is the Lasallian charisms, and so they want it to just be visible in the building, so students would know who they [are],” Service Learning Coordinator Peg Hodapp said.
However, the practice of going into schools is relatively new for this chapter of the Christian Brothers. They had tried to hold a retreat for students on a Saturday, but very few people were available. Instead, they decided to hold a retreat during the school day and partner with schools to expose more students to the opportunity, reaching out to BSM as one of five Lasallian schools in the Twin Cities. “We [wanted to] have a relationship where people know us, we’ve talked to them, we invite them. I think it’s about the relationship, so that’s why we’re trying this,” Schatz said.