The Brothers of the Christian Schools

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I’ve recently been considering a vocation to the Brothers of the Christian Schools (aka Christian Brothers). They were founded by St. John Baptist de La Salle to educate children and they were revolutionary at the time of their foundation. They still are to this day.

While I feel called to serve as a Brother, I’ve heard certain negative things about the way that they treated their students back in the day with extremely strict discipline. I know that La Salle himself believed that corporal punishment should be used only as the last possible resort, but I’m curious how true all of this is.

In a way, I’m doubting my vocation because of what I have heard. I’ve even been tempted to tell God to give it someone else that could make much better use of it than I could. I know that being a Brother would fulfill my vocation as a teacher and as a religious, but I need some advice from you. So here are some things:
  1. Do any of you remember the Brothers back in the day? Were they as harsh as I have heard or are they the charitable, wonderful people that I have met and talked with in my own experience?
  2. What are their schools like for those of you that went there or sent your kids there?
Thank you for any help and prayers you can provide.
 
They were no more severe than any other teachers back in those days.

Don’t make your decisions off rumors and innuendo. Contact them and learn about them for yourself. What have you got to lose?
 
I was taught by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart but there was a Christian Brothers school here as well.

Discipline was strict at ALL Catholic schools during that time. Corporal punishment was the norm at home and at school. Brother R. paddled me and another boy in 8th grade for talking on the stair well. Later, Br. R. would meet me when I was waiting for the bus in college as he was riding his bicycle. And he followed my career, writing me when I was in the Navy. The other boy is now Br. H. 😃

What went on back in the 60s was the norm. It is not so today. It should not have any bearing on you or your decision today.
 
agoukass said:
I’ve recently been considering a vocation to the Brothers of the Christian Schools (aka Christian Brothers). They were founded by St. John Baptist de La Salle to educate children and they were revolutionary at the time of their foundation. They still are to this day.

While I feel called to serve as a Brother, I’ve heard certain negative things about the way that they treated their students back in the day with extremely strict discipline. I know that La Salle himself believed that corporal punishment should be used only as the last possible resort, but I’m curious how true all of this is.

In a way, I’m doubting my vocation because of what I have heard. I’ve even been tempted to tell God to give it someone else that could make much better use of it than I could. I know that being a Brother would fulfill my vocation as a teacher and as a religious, but I need some advice from you. So here are some things:
  1. Do any of you remember the Brothers back in the day? Were they as harsh as I have heard or are they the charitable, wonderful people that I have met and talked with in my own experience?
  2. What are their schools like for those of you that went there or sent your kids there?
Thank you for any help and prayers you can provide.
Click to expand...
Your interest in the Christian Brothers is an answer to my prayers for their vocations. Please look into them. There’s a lot of information on the net about them, to include their wonderful spirituality. The first community he tried to gather were “rough” schoolmasters, and they all left. They didn’t have vocations.

St. John Baptist de LaSalle’s feast day is tomorrow. I’m about to put a pic of a Christian Brother on the homepage of our “religious habit” yahoo group.

groups.yahoo.com/group/thereligioushabit/

LaSallian spirituality is also present in a murder mystery I’m working on. The fictional religious order in the book is LaSallian, but in imitation of St. Benildus, one of LaSalle’s more famous sons. (The victim is a married lay archivist at the Benildian convent. Her husband was an Anglican priest who came in through the Pastoral Provision).

Enough about that though. I repeat what we so often say here on CAF–get a spiritual director. If God is calling you, respond, for He has great things in store for you.

Blessings,
Cloisters
 
They have a high school right near me and it is one of the highest ranked schools in the state.
 
Thanks all for your kind words and (name removed by moderator)ut!

I did talk to their vocations director down in Napa, CA about what they do and how many vocations they usually get. He told me that they don’t toot their own horn with posters, websites (although they do have them), and so on on college and high school campuses. He believes, as did La Salle himself, that God would send them vocations in His own due time.

Cloisters, I agree with you that they are a wonderful Order. I have heard that their students are completely different from others that go to Catholic schools. After meeting one or two, I believe it.

As far as discipline, I know that times have changed vastly since the old days and there is no point in even trying to make comparison. Times have changed and Brothers have changed. Heck, the discipline thing has been making the rounds about the Brothers since La Salle founded them and that was a long time ago!

Thanks once again for your kind thoughts. Let’s keep the discussion going!
 
I went to a school taught by the Christian Brothers and I felt like I had a really well-rounded and incredibly good education because of them.
(mid-80s.)

I had some memorable and wonderful teachers and treasure my high school experience. Things have changed, there are fewer active brother’s teaching at my alma mater and the school has changed quite a bit, but it’s still thriving and I hope it’s still just as strong when (if ) I have children to send there one day.

There was an article recently written about one of the oldest living brother’s in the US and Canada. He happens to be my mom’s first cousin, he’s much older than she, and obviously way older than me. His life was quite fascinating.
 
Let me start off by saying that I am currently in my senior year at a high school run by the Christian Brothers. I love them! My dad had them “back in the day” and his stories about them were the same as his stories about the nuns who taught him in grade school. But that is neither here nor there. As far as how they are today, they are some of the best men I know. Their numbers have been down as of late, but my school was graced to have received a really young brother (probably in his mid-20s). They are definitely in need of vocations, so please consider them if you believe that you have a vocation to them. You won’t be disappointed. You are in my prayers. Schnitz
P.S. If you are ever in the Pittsburgh area, they run Central Catholic HS (the best high school in the nation in my humble opinion!). Stop in.
 
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