Br. Michael J.

Broughton FSC
ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE
No. 3 Rules I Have Imposed Upon Myself
based on the book, “De La Salle: A Founder as Pilgrim” by Br. Edwin Bannon FSC,
which studies the doctoral thesis of Br. Miguel Campos FSC
BR. EDWIN BANNON FSC
Stephen Covey
TAKEN FROM BERNARD’S BIOGRAPHY OF DE LA SALLE
NICOLAS BARRÉ
Minim Monk , Spiritual Director of De La
Salle, Founder of the Sisters of the Infant
Jesus
BR. MIGUEL CAMPOS FSC
IN MEMOIR OF THE BEGINNINGS
BR. EDWIN BANNON FSC
’ ’
Done this 21st day of November feast of the
Presentation of the Most Blessed Virgin. Done at Vaugirard, this sixth day of June, feast of the Most
In testimony whereof we have signed. Holy Trinity, in the year 1694.
Very soon, more Brothers
were inspired to commit
themselves to the work
with renewed zeal. The
number of recruits
increased and new
schools were set up.
• Fr. Joachim Trotti de La Chetardye was the parish priest of St. Sulpice.
• He supported the Brothers and their work while intriguing to replace the Founder.
• In 1702, he took advantage of the complaints of disgruntled Brothers to have the
Archbishop of Paris replace De La Salle.
• The Brothers threatened to leave Paris and the Founder was reinstated after 3
months.
BR. EDWIN BANNON FSC
Rule no. 3 of his personal Rules showed that he had understood
the vital unity of a relationship with God, discoverable in the
accomplishment of a mission.
 ’

Dark Night of the Soul

’
“Oui, j’adore en toutes choses, la conduite de Dieu à mon égard.”

ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE, 7 APRIL 1719

from the MEL Bulletin 52 by Brother Anton Marquiegui FSC
De La Salle further
develops his vision of
the function of the
teacher through other
images.
The Conduite is the result of
thirty-five years of collaboration
between the educational guidance
of De La Salle and the classroom
experience of the teachers. It
prescribes the practices which
follow upon the images of the
teacher described in the
Meditations.
• Forming teachers to take care of
Christian Schools in the cities and
of the “country schools” that were
far from urban centers
• Finding “founders” for the schools,
that is, individuals or institutions
who could set up a fund to enable
economic sustainability over time.
• Visiting and following up the
schools and communities
• Full time professional
• A person worthy of confidence
• Representative of Jesus Christ
• Guardian angel of his pupils
• The teacher as an older brother
• Spiritual paternity/maternity
• Professional expression of baptismal
commitment
• Ministers of the Church and of the state
• Creators of an efficient and flexible school
model
• In this society-fraternity
no one who has received
Holy Orders will be
admitted” and apart from De
La Salle, no ecclesiastic
would become Superior of
the Society.
• The teaching profession
makes sense in itself, it has a
complete identity, and
demands great devotion.
• Your work, your ministry,
is “in the place of” the One
to whom these children truly
belong
• They have been entrusted
to you by people who love
them dearly.
• Whoever is worthy of
confidence has a special
dignity and, as a result,
deserves esteem.
• This implies ongoing
formation to keep up
confidence.
• “A good rule of conduct is to
not make any distinction
between the affairs proper to
your state and the affairs of
your salvation and its
perfection.
• The Christian Schools were
a gift from Divine Providence
aimed at children who were
destined to condemnation,
now and in the afterlife, so
that
• they did not go astray
• could realize that they
were loved and
cherished by God and
• become good people.
• La Salle indicated two
concrete activities
regarding the role as
guardian angels:
• you must help them
understand the maxims
as set forth in the Holy
Gospel, and
• you must guide their
steps along the way that
leads them to put these
maxims into practice.
• The teacher shares the
same Father as his
students, but bears the
responsibility to make
them grow, watch over
their needs, protect them
from danger, and correct
them if necessary.
• The teaching profession
has a relational character.
It is not an end in itself.
• Paternity/maternity
generates a relationship
based on blood and
nature, while an
educational relationship
stems from the confidence
that fathers and mothers,
the Church and God place
on the teacher.
• Not only were they
trained as teachers, but
they discovered their
baptismal
commitment, which
united them to Jesus
Christ in his salvific
mission.
“In your work, you ought
to unite zeal for the good of
the Church with zeal for
the good of the nation of
which your disciples are
beginning to be and ought
to be perfect members.”
• La Salle envisaged
teachers who were active in
their natural environments, that
is the school.
• Financing should not
interfere with the autonomy of
the educational and
administrative management,
nor with the gratuity of the
education offered to the
children and their families.
• No fixed model. There was a
spirit offering efficient solutions
in which the students were at
the center of the educational
services of the poor.
• Exemplary conduct
• Ardent zeal
• Thorough training
• Dignified life conditions for
teachers
• Material life
• Health care at work
• Society’s appreciation for the
teaching profession
• Teachers should model whatever
they teach. Preach by example and
practice what you want to instill in
your disciples.
• “Act in such a way
through your zeal that you
give tangible proof that
you love those whom God
has entrusted to you by
procuring for them the
help of instruction.”
• La Salle was aware of the poor
training teachers had in his time. He
discovered that forming the members
of his society was an important part of
his new vocation.
• He was convinced that the lack of
professional training brought about
boredom in the classroom and coud
promote the dropping out of school,
which was so dreaded and detrimental
• Material Life
• De La Salle solved the
possible contradiction
between offering free
education and ensuring
decent life and work
conditions for teachers by
obtaining “founding for the
schools”.
• Health care at work
• Assigned a number of
Brothers to a community
so that responsibilities will
be shared.
• Need for community
recreation
• Distribution of little tasks
in the classroom
• Use of the signal
• School routines
• Simultaneous teaching
• La Salle took practical
measures to prevent
health problems instead of
having to cure them
• Schools needed to earn social esteem,
and thus La Salle tried to make sure that
pupils felt happy after spending a day at
school, so that parents would not have
an additional reason to withdraw their
children.
• “The manner of instruction will please
the parents. The children will not fail to
tell their parents that the teacher has
taught them by making them write while
supervised, that the teacher has
personally guided their hand, and so on.”
• Opposition from Encyclopedists who
were not interested in the universal right
to education.
 FAITH

SERVICE

COMMUNION
Faith answers
WHY we do the
things we do.
FAITH IN • myself
• others
• something
higher, bigger,
greater than
myself.
Faith in myself
I believe I am a man/woman of WORTH

I believe I have GIFTS that can benefit others

I believe I can make a DIFFERENCE -

- what I do matters

I believe I am MORE than

my character defects
my failures and
my mistakes.
I am always so much more
Faith in others
I believe in the WORTH of others

I believe I that all people possess

GIFTS which can benefit others.

I believe others too can make a DIFFERENCE

- what they do matters

I believe that others are MORE than

their character defects
their failures and
their mistakes.
They are always so much more.
Faith in something
higher, bigger & greater
than myself
What gives me meaning and purpose in life?

God, the Universe, a set of values, an advocacy

or cause to which I am deeply committed, a
relationship, my family, my community etc.

This motivates me to live a life of greater

meaning and purpose. It moves me beyond
self-centred interests.
Service answers
WHAT we do in
response to our
faith.
Communion
answers HOW we go
about doing what
we need to do.
WHY THE COMPOUND WORDS?

SEE JUDGE ACT

WHY THE COMPOUND WORDS?