The Red Book

CHRISTIAN BROTHERS UNIVERSITY

CHRISTIAN BROTHERS UNIVERSITY:

CATHOLIC AND LASALLIAN MISSION

FIRST PRINTING 2021 MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE FAITH, SERVICE, COMMUNITY

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ABOUT THIS BOOK When you come to Christian Brothers University (CBU), whether to enroll as a student, work as a member of the faculty or staff, visit as a parent or friend, or return as a graduate, you enter a community that makes a promise about the future that is buttressed by the accomplishments of the past. The University community is not only shepherded by its mission, commitments, and curriculum, but also formed by its heritage, traditions, and values.

This book introduces CBU’s Lasallian Catholic mission and heritage by focusing on St. John Baptist de La Salle and the Christian Brothers. It explains how their mission continues to inspire the University’s person-centered educational philosophy, its insistence on academic excellence and exemplary teaching, and its emphasis on faith, service, and community. The book also shows how the Catholic heritage has shaped CBU’s identity and even informs the University’s welcome of students, faculty, and staff of all faiths and backgrounds.

Part of the Lasallian tradition is to take time out each day and “remember we live in the holy presence of God.” To aid in this practice, the reader will notice that every other page of this book contains a prayer or reflection from De La Salle, sacred scripture, Catholic saints, contemporary prophets, philosophers, theologians, as well as men and women of different faith traditions.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS I.

The Mission, Identity, and Heritage of Christian Brothers University: Signum Fidei ............................................................................................... 8

II.

What Does It Mean To Be Lasallian? .............................................................................................. 14

III. Christian Brothers University Founding Story ............................................................................................. 30 IV. Saint John Baptist De La Salle: The Founder’s Life As Inspiration and Model ............................................................................................. 44 V.

Lasallian Saints and Revered Lasallians ............................................................................................. 54

VI. Perpetuating the Mission: Lasallian Formation Programs ............................................................................................. 78 VII. Campus Ministry and the Center for Community Engagement ............................................................................................. 86 VIII. Daily and Other Prayers ............................................................................................. 90

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This work of teaching is one of the most important in the Church.

ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE

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PART I

MISSION, IDENTITY, AND HERITAGE OF CHRISTIAN BROTHERS UNIVERSITY, AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SIGNUM FIDEI MISSION STATEMENT Christian Brothers University is a Catholic university in the student-centered tradition of the De La Salle Christian Brothers.

CBU fosters academic excellence in a range of programs to prepare students from all faiths and backgrounds for careers and lives informed by the Lasallian values of faith, service, and community.

OUR IDENTITY Christian Brothers University is a Catholic university founded on the heritage of Lasallian education. While large enough to provide transformational educational opportunities in the arts, business, education, engineering, and sciences, the University is small enough to promote teaching as ministry and to provide challenging studentcentered learning and personal growth. Students of diverse cultures and religious traditions are encouraged to grow in their own faith.

The University welcomes students into an educational community of faith and service, one that is committed to academic excellence, the betterment of society, and the care of God’s creation.

OUR HERITAGE Let us remember that we are in the holy presence of God. Live Jesus in our hearts . . . forever.

As a Catholic institution of higher learning, Christian Brothers University brings the timeless wisdom and religious heritage of centuries into an encounter with the 21st century. Universities are dedicated to teaching, fostering research, and educating students 8

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Faith and reason are the two forces that lead us to knowledge.

ST. AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO

It is well for us to reflect in this day and age that we can never allow mere gadgetry that records and reproduces data to replace the personal relationship that is the act of teaching.

BROTHER LUKE SALM, FSC

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who freely associate with their teachers in a common love of knowledge. The privileged task of a Catholic university is to bring together in one community the intellectual search for truth in the context of faith, based on the gospel and mission of Jesus Christ. St. John Paul II described the Catholic university as “an incomparable center of creativity and dissemination of knowledge for the good of humanity… born from the heart of the Church.”

At CBU, the rich intellectual heritage of the Catholic university is expressed within the Lasallian tradition. St. John Baptist de La Salle is the patron saint of teachers and an educational innovator who founded the Brothers of the Christian Schools in 17th century France. Now a worldwide community of vowed religious brothers and dedicated associates, the Lasallian family remains committed to the vision of the founder: “… not only is God so good as to have created us, but God desires all of us to come to the knowledge of the truth.” St. John Baptist De La Salle, therefore, made it his life’s work to bring the blessings of a practical education beyond the privileged classes of French society, to all people, especially the young, who have an inherent dignity as those created in the image and likeness of God. A Lasallian institution continues to affirm the dignity of all people and embraces the presence of God. SIGNUM FIDEI: THE LASALLIAN STAR The Signum Fidei, or Star of Faith, is a guiding emblem of Lasallian principles that appears in the stained-glass window above the front entrance of Barry Hall and is also carved into the stone atop the entrance. This seal was adopted by the Institute of the Christian Brothers in 1751. It is by no mistake that the schools conducted by the Christian Brothers made certain the Signum Fidei was integrated into its lexicon.

The Signum Fidei recalls the story of the Three Wise Men who followed the Star of Bethlehem, trusting that it would lead them to Jesus. Even today, faculty, staff, and students at Christian Brothers 10

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A Catholic University, therefore, is a place of research, where scholars scrutinize reality with the methods proper to each academic discipline, and so contribute to the treasury of human knowledge. Each individual discipline is studied in a systematic manner; moreover, the various disciplines are brought into dialogue for their mutual enhancement.

POPE JOHN PAUL II You must not be satisfied with keeping the students in your care from doing evil. You must also lead them to practice well all the good of which they are capable…. Your zeal for the students under your guidance would be very imperfect, if you expressed it only in teaching them; it will only become perfect if you practice yourself what you are teaching.

ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE

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University may begin a prayer or reflection with “Let us remember we live in the holy presence of God” and end with the salutation “Live Jesus in our hearts,” which has been used by the Brothers, Lasallian Partners, and students in Lasallian schools for over 300 hundred years.

The star’s five points are linked to the Five Core Lasallian Principles of the Institute of the Christian Brothers set forth by Saint John Baptist de La Salle: Faith in the presence of God. We believe in the living presence of God in our students, in our community, and in our world.

Respect for all people. We honor and respect the dignity of all individuals.

Quality education. We engage in quality education together as students, staff, and faculty by thinking critically and examining our world in light of faith.

Inclusive community. We celebrate diversity and welcome all members to our community.

Concern for the poor and social justice. We are in solidarity with the poor and advocate for those suffering from injustices.

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All things are ready, if our minds be so.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE God, who guides all things with wisdom and serenity and whose way it is not to force the inclinations of persons, willed to commit me entirely to the development of the schools.

He did this in an imperceptible manner and over a long period of time, so that one commitment led to another in a way that I did not foresee in the beginning.

ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE God accepts the good will and work of his servants, no matter how we feel.

JULIAN OF NORWICH

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PART II

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE LASALLIAN? Educational institutions founded or affiliated by the De La Salle Christian Brothers were known by that very title, “A Christian Brothers School.” However, in the early 1980s, schools around the world sponsored by the Christian Brothers became known as Lasallian schools. So what does that mean today? Brother John Johnston, a native Memphian and former Superior General of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, gave an explanation of this term Lasallian in 2005 at the presidential inauguration of Brother Vincent Malham, the 20th President of Christian Brothers University.

BROTHER JOHN’S 2005 ADDRESS Brother Vincent, you have generously accepted responsibility for leading the Christian Brothers University educational community to live its mission: to live it with faith that it is God’s work, to live it with sound vision, to live it with the passionate enthusiasm John Baptist de La Salle called zeal, and to live it, in his words, “together and by association.”

You consistently remind us that CBU is Catholic, Lasallian, and Distinctive. During this past year, I have had the opportunity to address the faculty, staff, and Board of Trustees on the Catholic dimension of CBU. My theme this afternoon is the second of the three adjectives: Lasallian. I have entitled this talk “That Strange Word: Lasallian.” I am convinced that one person who finds the word quite perplexing is John Baptist de La Salle himself. I can almost hear him saying, “What is this talk about Lasallian? I founded Christian schools. To run them I founded the society of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. What are people talking about?”

Many of you are Memphians and have a long relationship with 14

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We must look honestly towards the future.

Since the year 2000, when I began my ministry of animating the Institute, I have frequently insisted on the need for us to be converted towards the future. This is essential at this new period in the life of the Lasallian mission — a mission that the Lord in His goodness has entrusted to us to forge into reality the project of salvation and universal love, which in our case is oriented primarily towards the poor, the unloved, the excluded, and the disoriented youth of our world.

BROTHER ÁLVARO RODRÍGUEZ ECHEVERRÍA, FSC

Do not have any anxiety about the future, but leave everything in God’s hands, for God will take care of you.

ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE

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Christian Brothers College, Christian Brothers High School, or Christian Brothers University. You too are asking about this strange word Lasallian.

I propose seven characteristics of a Lasallian institution.

I. Reverence for Each Student as a Unique Person The starting point of Lasallian education is the student. Our institutions exist for no other reason than to respond to the needs of students. Today the international Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools invites all of us — administrators, teachers, staff, board members, former students, benefactors — to see ourselves as men and women called by God to wholehearted commitment to the education of youth and adults; and, as such, men and women called to have profound reverence for each student. This reverence will lead inevitably to communicating to each, with and without words, “You are important. You have unique talent and potential.

Strive to be the person God wants you to be.” Reverence means approaching each student with loving and active concern. It means being ready to “walk side by side” with students as they wrestle with questions that touch the very meaning of their existence.

Walking around the campus one evening some months ago, I met two students that I know personally. One of them was complaining about some rather small matter. I teased him a bit and encouraged him to be brave. He laughed and acknowledged that the matter was not really of earth-shattering importance. More than that, he added, “Brother, there are many very positive things about CBU.” I responded, “For example?” “Brother,” he said, “at CBU the teachers really care about us. They take their teaching very seriously. They want us to succeed. They are ready and willing to help us when we need help.”

Lasallian education is always about the students. Reverence for each student is the most fundamental of the characteristics that 16

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Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the earth.

Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill.

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

MATTHEW 5:3-11

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constitute Lasallian education.

II. The Spirit of Community John Baptist de La Salle was not the first to establish schools for the poor children of his day, but it is historically accurate that he was one of the few to succeed. Many attempts at education, especially of boys, failed because the teachers were neither motivated nor trained.

De La Salle and the first teachers succeeded because the children knew the Brothers loved them. Experiencing this love, they grew in self-esteem. They were motivated to develop their God-given potential. More than that, they learned that they had to be in loving relationships with one another. The schools were successful because a spirit of community reigned in them. The students were happy. They knew they were learning and found great satisfaction in their accomplishments. They knew that caring teachers were helping them liberate themselves from the slavery of illiteracy and ignorance. The organization of the schools called for students to accept responsibility for a variety of services to one another. These all-male schools helped boys learn to be brothers to one another.

Jesus came to announce and promote the Kingdom of God, the world that God wants the world to be: a communion of persons that God loves unconditionally. A world where people receive that love and in turn love one another, love one another across the racial, ethnic, national, religious, political, economic boundaries that so often divide us. A love without boundaries, a love that is unconditional and universal. The world that God wants to exist is a world where all can live in dignity, justice, and peace.

Lasallian schools are signs of the Kingdom of God. Christian Brothers University, specifically, must make this kind of world visible. It must manifest that it is possible to live together as brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of the same God. What a wonderful opportunity we have. CBU is blessed to be diverse racially, ethnically, religiously, economically. We thank God for the 18

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Consider this an honor for you, and regard the children whom God has entrusted to you as children of God. Have much more solicitude for their education and instruction than you would have for the children of a king.

ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE Be convinced of what St. Paul says, that you plant and water the seed, but it is God through Jesus Christ who makes it grow, that he is the one who brings your work to fulfillment.

ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE Teachers are ambassadors of Christ and ministers of grace who stand in a providential and privileged relationship with their students.

ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE

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spirit of community that exists, and commit ourselves to building on this strength.

III. Quality Education De La Salle and his disciples succeeded not only because of the love they had for their students and the spirit of community they created among them, but also because the students really learned. De La Salle and the Brothers spent hours searching for and developing methods for helping the young people they had in their schools learn to read, to speak, to write, to calculate, to understand the essentials of their religion. When Lasallian men and women today discover the pedagogical writings of De La Salle and of his successors, they are amazed at the methods these pioneers developed, methods grounded in loving concern for and attention to each student.

I am not the person — nor is this the appropriate time — to talk about the academic programs at CBU. I limit myself to expressing a conviction of many years. We must be who we claim to be.

We describe ourselves as a university with small classes and with competent teachers who take genuine and loving interest in helping students learn and grow. I believe there is quality teaching at CBU. Students in this institution, undergraduate as well as graduate, know they have highly qualified teachers. Strong, quality teaching is a strength that CBU must continue to build upon. Quality teaching must characterize Christian Brothers University.

IV. Catholic De La Salle called his schools Christian Schools and the society he founded the Brothers of the Christian Schools. While we might like to credit De La Salle with pioneering in the ecumenical movement, we cannot. For De La Salle, to be Christian was to be Catholic; to be Catholic was to be Christian. In this regard he was a man of his time. Nevertheless, it is true that he conducted schools that were open to young people who were not Catholic and that he insisted the Brothers treat them with respect.

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De La Salle is entitled to be ranked among the advanced educators of the 18th century and among the greatest thinkers and educational reformers of all time. His system embraces the best in the modern educational methods. He gave an impetus to the higher educational progress which is the distinctive mark of modern times, and bequeathed to his own disciples, and to educators in general, a system of teaching which is adaptable to the wants of schoolgoing youth in every country.

THE CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA

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CBU describes itself as a Catholic institution of higher education in the tradition of the [De La Salle] Christian Brothers. At the same time, CBU acknowledges that it is a multi-faith institution: the percentage of declared Catholics in the day and night schools combined is less than 25%. CBU describes itself, therefore, as a Catholic institution with a multi-faith educational community.

From its earliest days, Christian Brothers College described itself, without ambiguity, as a Catholic institution, but welcomed young people of all faiths. That welcome led Memphians to call CBC a Temple of Tolerance. Today, in 2005, there are four Lasallian institutions in Memphis: university, high school, and two Jubilee primary schools. Each is Catholic with a multi-faith educational community.

Openness and respect toward young people of all faiths is a reality not despite the fact we are Catholic, but, rather, because we are Catholic. Pope John Paul II stated that the Church, because it is Catholic, is “open to dialogue with all other Christians, with the followers of non-Christian religions, and with all people of good will.” The Pope’s comment is an affirmation of what Lasallians have done in Memphis since 1871.

CBU’s board, administrators, faculty, and staff must be intentional and proactive in articulating the identity of CBU as Catholic and commit themselves to making CBU the institution it claims to be.

They must be ready to address the questions and concerns of students who are searching for meaning, students with profound religious, philosophical, and moral questions. Students of CBU must have opportunities to pursue truth and knowledge in a faith-inspired atmosphere free from any kind of political correctness, whether of the right or of the left. The university must provide students excellent religion and philosophy courses, taught by highly qualified professors. Moreover, a campus ministry program that enjoys high priority must provide students the opportunity to live their faith 22

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Union in a community is a precious gem which is why Our Lord so often recommended it to his apostles before he died. If we lose this, we lose everything. Preserve it with care, therefore, if you want your community to survive.

ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE May we be so united and closely bound together, having but one spirit, namely, the Spirit of God, that we may never be disunited.

ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.

HADITH, OR SAYINGS OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD

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with others of faith. CBU must make available celebrations of the Eucharist, prayer, and other appropriate religious services.

V. Solidarity with the Poor Solidarity with the poor is an essential characteristic of a Lasallian institution. John Baptist de La Salle created schools that would give economically poor children the opportunity to receive a solid education. To make such schools a reality, he founded the society of the Brothers of the Christian Schools.

Today Lasallians strive to the best of their ability to make their educational institutions available to young people from middle and low-income families. In countries such as the United States, where financial assistance from the government is not available, or available only in limited ways, pursuit of this objective is often painful and frustrating. Still, pursue it we must. For this reason, CBU, with the help of generous benefactors, strives to provide financial assistance to those in need.

As important as it is to make our institutions as available as possible, solidarity with the poor has other dimensions. Students in Lasallian institutions must have opportunities to know and struggle with issues of poverty, justice, and peace. They must come to know the social teaching of the Catholic Church. These teachings often startle us. They challenge us to examine our values and to commit ourselves to building a world where all can live in dignity, justice, and peace. Theoretical knowledge, however, is not sufficient.

Lasallian institutions at all levels must give high priority to service programs, programs that provide opportunities for all students to serve others.

Graduates of CBU must be women and men who have received a solid education in accord with their gifts, learned what it means to live as sons and daughters of God, learned to live as sisters and brothers among themselves, and learned to be brothers and sisters to 24

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Catholic saints are holy people and human people who lived extraordinary lives.

Each saint the Church honors responded to God’s invitation to use his unique gifts. God calls each one of us to be a saint.

ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE He lived in the love of God from morning until evening.

STUDENT OF ST. BENILDE Saints are the most excellent of voices, the most brilliant of stars.

AVERY CARDINAL DULLES Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength.

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES

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and for others, women and men committed to making a difference.

VI. An Educational Community That Is Authentically Lasallian De La Salle stumbled into the mission of founding Christian schools for the poor. He wrote that God led him in an imperceptible way over a long period. He began by finding space for schools for the poor. He soon recognized that providing space was not enough. He realized that what was important was the quality of teachers – and he was not happy with what he saw. Consequently, he and the teachers began working together, exploring ways of teaching poor children effectively. He quickly became convinced that teachers living and working as a community could be highly effective in the educational process. As a result, he invited the teachers to live together. In time these groups became faith communities. And a short time later, the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools became a reality, a society of men consecrated to God and committed to working “together and by association” for the education of children and youth, especially poor children and youth.

Today the Brothers constitute only 3% of the 80,000 men and women engaged in the mission as administrators and teachers.

Thousands more serve as staff members, parents, former students, board members, and benefactors. Our institutions are no longer Brothers’ schools, as they once were. That is why we call them Lasallian schools. That is why we invite our coworkers to understand the Lasallian mission and to participate wholeheartedly in making the characteristics that De La Salle considered essential realities in our institutions.

VII. Living Today Our Founding Story Reverence for each student, spirit of community, quality education, Catholic identity, solidarity with the poor…These five characteristics can and certainly do exist in other educational institutions. In themselves they do not make us different or distinguish us. What distinguishes us is that we live these characteristics around the story 26

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Don’t be discouraged by anxieties and troubles. Life is full of them.

ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.

REINHOLD NIEBUHR To deal with young people very harshly is to forego all hope of bringing about any good.

ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN

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of John Baptist de La Salle and the first Brothers. Recalling and celebrating this story expresses and nourishes our identity. The story inspires and challenges us. It plays an indispensable role in the way we understand ourselves and our mission. We strive to live the story today, in a world and time very different from that of France in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

In union with the thousands of other men and women living the same story in 80 countries of the world, we Lasallians of the CBU educational community strive to respond to the needs of both young and adult learners. We strive to live our mission at CBU in a way that John Baptist de La Salle would recognize and would approve.

Brother Vincent, we welcome you as our new president. We acknowledge and appreciate the challenge that is yours. We commit ourselves to work “together and by association” under your leadership in the service of those God is confiding to our care at Christian Brothers University.

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The thought manifests as the word.

The word manifests as the deed.

The deed develops into the habit.

The habit hardens into the character.

The character gives birth to the destiny.

So watch your thoughts with care And let them spring from love born out of respect for all things.

MAHA GHOSANANDA Always address people by their names and with great respect.

ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE

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PART III

CHRISTIAN BROTHERS UNIVERSITY FOUNDING STORY

Christian Brothers College was founded in 1871 by members of the Institute of the Brothers of Christian Schools, an international Roman Catholic religious teaching congregation.

The Memphis clergy, determined to establish Catholic education in Memphis, envisioned not only elementary and secondary education but college education, too.

The closing of the Memphis Female College on Adams Avenue, about eight blocks from the river, made the property available for a new school. The first president, Brother Maurelian Sheel, came from Pass Christian, Mississippi, along with three other Brothers displaced by the Great Chicago Fire. The new college on Adams Avenue was dedicated on Sunday, November 19, 1871. It opened 30

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Know your students individually and be able to understand them.

ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE People should think less about what they ought to do and more about what they ought to be. If only their being were good, their works would shine forth brightly.

MEISTER ECKHART What is nobler than to mold the character of the young? I consider that he who knows how to form the youthful mind is truly greater than all painters, sculptors, and all others of that sort.

ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM

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its doors with four Christian Brothers and 87 students.

EARLY STRUGGLES The initial decades in Memphis were a struggle for Christian Brothers College. Recovery from the Civil War and Reconstruction was tedious, and yellow fever and financial difficulties plagued the city and the Brothers’ community.

Brother Maurelian served as President for 33 years during which time the college functioned as a combined elementary school, high school, and college, granting both high school diplomas as well as bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

World War I strained the Saint Louis District of the Christian Brothers, which governed the Memphis college and another in St. Louis. With so many young men away serving in the military, the District could not support two colleges. In June 1915, Christian Brothers College awarded its last college degrees for several decades.

Elementary classes were dropped in 1922, and the institution operated as a high school for the next 18 years. During the 1920s and 1930s, the high school’s enrollment outgrew the Adams Street facility.

In 1939, a joint public fundraising drive with St. Agnes Academy was initiated with a goal of the then-enormous sum of $250,000.

When the drive successfully managed to almost double the goal by raising $452,000, CBC purchased a plot of land in the suburbs on East Parkway. On June 9, 1939, the Brothers laid the cornerstone of a three-story building on the new property and eleven months later held the dedication ceremony for what would come to be called Kenrick Hall. Battersby Hall was constructed soon afterward.

The school re-opened a junior college department and granted Associate of Arts degrees in 1942. But with World War II raging, 32

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The solution of a geometry problem does not in itself constitute a precious gift, but the same law applies to it because it is the image of something precious. Being a little fragment of particular truth, it is a pure image of the unique, eternal, and living Truth, the very Truth that once in a human voice declared: “I am the Truth.” Every school exercise, thought of in this way, is like a sacrament.

SIMONE WEIL

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the next year saw a dramatic decline in junior college enrollment, and it was forced to close again temporarily. It reopened in 1947 with 70 students enrolled, half of them war veterans attending under the new G.I. Bill of Rights.

BOOMING GROWTH Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, student enrollment grew, as did the Christian Brothers Community. New housing, classrooms, administrative buildings, and the De La Salle Gymnasium were built during this period.

In 1953, the junior college expanded into a four-year institution so it could serve the needs of the community. The new four-year curriculum began with degrees in Business Administration and Electrical Engineering and with the first bachelor’s degrees in 40 years being awarded in 1955.

Enrollment continued to increase, and the number of college students quickly surpassed the high school enrollment, which necessitated an enlarged college faculty. There were no more than three or four Christian Brothers available, so they began hiring lay faculty.

The original bell tower, erected in 1958, was a project of the CBC Mothers’ Club. Brother Lambert Thomas designed it and dedicated it to “all the deceased mothers of Christian Brothers’ students.”

In 1961, Brother President Thomas Matthews wrote that the school was operating at full capacity. “It is quite obvious that there is a need for a new high school,” he wrote. “There is not sufficient room here to house a college the size that CBC is tending to become, and a high school of 1,000 students.”

In September 1961, a 27-acre plot of land on Walnut Grove Road was purchased, the new home of Christian Brothers High School, 34

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We build too many walls and not enough bridges.

SIR ISAAC NEWTON

Education is all a matter of building bridges.

RALPH ELLISON

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which opened its current location in 1965. In the meantime, Christian Brothers College had made a different sort of history.

CBC had been quietly and peacefully integrated since 1960 when Ernest Donohue transferred from LeMoyne-Owen College, but no secondary school in Memphis, public or private, had been integrated prior to 1963. In August 1963, Brother President Terence McLaughlin accepted the application of Jesse Turner Jr. and made CBHS the first racially integrated high school in the city. Turner graduated as co-salutatorian of the Class of 1967.

In 1970, spurred partially by the imminent closure of nearby allfemale Siena College (formerly St. Agnes College, affiliated with St. Agnes Academy), women were accepted as students for the first time at Christian Brothers College — which had been all-male for 99 years. Today, the student population of CBU is half female.

EXPANDED ACADEMIC AND ATHLETICS OFFERINGS An accelerated Evening Program was added in 1978 to meet the needs of adult students; today’s College of Adult Professional Studies is a separate branch of the university with its own faculty and offers bachelor’s and associate’s degrees in Business Studies and Professional Psychology.

Programs at the graduate level were reinstated in 1987, and as a result, Christian Brothers College officially became Christian Brothers University in June of 1990. Today, CBU offers master’s degrees in Accounting (MAcc), Business Administration (MBA), Education (MEd, MAT, MSEL), Engineering Management (MSEM), Computer Information Systems (MSCIS), Data Science (MSDS) and Physician Assistant Studies (MSPAS).

In 1996-97, CBU athletics entered Division II of the NCAA as a member of the Gulf South Conference. Since that time, the Buccaneers have won 10 conference championships — two in Men’s Basketball (2008, 2013), three in Men’s Soccer (2000, 2011, 36

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Thou hast made me known to friends whom I knew not.

Thou hast given me seats in homes not my own.

Thou hast brought the distant near And made a brother of the stranger.

RABINDRANATH TAGORE

It is impossible to please God if you do not live on friendly terms with others.

ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE

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2012), and five in Women’s Soccer (2000-2004). The Lady Buc soccer team won the NCAA Division II National Championship in 2002 and was National Runner-Up in 2001. In 2014, CBU was awarded the NCAA Academic Excellence Award in recognition of its 90% Academic Success Rate.

CBU has grown to a student population of more than 1,800 and has expanded its degree offerings. Today, CBU offers bachelor’s degrees in more than 60 academic majors and concentrations in the arts, business, engineering, and sciences. A dozen buildings have been added to the campus in the last 50 years, most recently the CooperWilson Center for Life Sciences (2008), the Living Learning Center (2011), and the Rosa Deal School of Arts (2017).

CHRONOLOGY

1871. Christian Brothers College (CBC) was founded November 19, 1871 by members of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, a Roman Catholic teaching congregation. The College opened at 612 Adams, Memphis, Tennessee. CBC functioned as a combined elementary school, high school, and college until 1915.

1875. First bachelor’s degrees offered.

1877. First master’s degrees offered.

1915. Due to World War I, collegiate courses were suspended.

1939. Cornerstone laid for Kenrick Hall on the new campus (now the site of the Rosa Deal School of Arts).

1940. CBC moved from 612 Adams to 650 East Parkway South.

1940. College division reopened as Junior College.

1940. Battersby Hall constructed.

1942. Began granting Associate of Art Degrees.

1943. Due to World War II, collegiate courses suspended until 1946.

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Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do.

POPE JOHN XXIII

Let us be united, let us be filled with hope, let us be those who respect one another.

ARCHBISHOP DESMOND TUTU

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1950. Barry Hall constructed.

1950. De La Salle Gymnasium constructed.

1953. Junior College was expanded into a four-year institution.

1954. St. Joseph Hall constructed.

1955. Began granting bachelor degrees in Business Administration and Electrical Engineering.

1958. Maurelian Hall constructed.

1958. Original Bell Tower constructed (renovated in 1992).

1959. Stritch Hall constructed.

1960. Saint Benilde Hall constructed.

1960. CBU Theatre constructed.

1963. Became the first integrated private school in Memphis.

1965. Rozier Hall constructed.

1965. Christian Brothers High School opens separate campus on Walnut Grove Road.

1967. Science Center constructed.

1969. Plough Library constructed.

1970. Became co-educational.

1971. Thomas Center constructed.

1978. Accelerated Evening Program began.

1983. Rosanne Beringer Center for Computer Studies established.

1986. Nolan Engineering Building constructed.

1986. Buckman Quadrangle constructed.

1989. Began MEM and MBA programs.

1990. Christian Brothers College (CBC) became Christian Brothers University (CBU).

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The star did not appear to them in vain, for this sight caused them to receive the grace of God, and it made this day a day of salvation for them because they showed themselves most faithful to the divine inspiration. Are we attentive to the inspirations we receive from God? Are we as quick to follow them as these holy Magi were in letting themselves be led by the star that guided them?

ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE

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1992. Buckman Hall constructed.

1997. Began MEd program.

1999. CBU Capstone Apartments constructed.

2001. Began MAT and MSEL programs.

2002. Lady Buccaneers won NCAA DII National Women’s Soccer Championship.

2003. Saint Benilde Hall renovated for engineering labs.

2004. De La Salle Gymnasium renovated, renamed De La Salle Hall; new Canale Arena opened.

2007. CBU Theatre renovated, renamed University Theater.

2008. Cooper-Wilson Center for Life Sciences construction completed.

2008. Assisi Hall Science Learning Center renovation completed.

2010. Master of Accountancy Program established.

2011. Living Learning Center construction completed.

2011. RN to BSN Nursing Program established.

2011. Physician Assistant Studies (MSPAS) Program established.

2014. New College of Adult Professional Studies established.

2017. Rosa Deal School of Arts construction completed on the former site of Kenrick Hall.

2017. Master of Science in Computer Information Systems established.

2019. Center for Community Engagement began.

2019. Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation began.

2021. Master of Science in Data Science established.

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All men by nature desire knowledge.

ARISTOTLE

A room without books is like a body without a soul.

CICERO

Academic work is one of those fields containing a pearl so precious that it is worthwhile to sell all our possessions, keeping nothing for ourselves, in order to be able to acquire it.

SIMONE WEIL

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PART IV

SAINT JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE: THE FOUNDER’S LIFE AS INSPIRATION AND MODEL

JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE John Baptist de La Salle was born in 1651 in Reims, France, during the reign of Louis XIV. The first child of a wealthy and prominent family, his father was a lawyer and magistrate and his mother was a Moët, the family that to this day operates the prestigious champagne business.

Sharp class distinctions and an emphasis on social status characterized 17th-century France. The social class of French society into which a person was born determined his or her life prospects. De La Salle therefore had many advantages that the vast majority of Frenchmen lacked. Whereas he grew up in a mansion and was well educated, 44

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Stir up your trust in the infinite goodness of God. Give honor to your Creator by leaving the care of your person in the hands of God. Don’t be troubled about the present or disquieted about the future, but be concerned only about the moment you must now live.

Do not let anticipation of tomorrow be a burden on the day that is passing.

What you lack in the evening, the new morning will bring to you, if you know how to hope in God. ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE

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most of his contemporaries lived in poverty and lacked even basic education.

At the age of 10, De La Salle decided to become a priest, and at the age of 16, he was appointed a canon, which is a member of a body of clerics for the cathedral of Reims. Many who were canons of Reims later became popes, cardinals, bishops, and saints. De La Salle’s early accomplishment suggested he could look forward to a very bright future.

By the age of 30, De La Salle was ordained a priest and earned his doctorate in theology. As Brother Luke Salm, FSC, a noted Manhattan College theologian, stated in a talk given at La Salle University in 1993: At that moment, as a devout 30-year-old priest, recently ordained and with first-class academic credentials, he had an influential network of family and friends ready to further his prospects for a distinguished career in the Church. It was only a matter of time before he might become a bishop or a cardinal.

As such, he might have lived and died and then been completely forgotten.

TEACHING AS VOCATION A chance encounter completely changed De La Salle’s life. In 1679, he met Adrian Nyel, who wanted to establish schools for poor boys.

He knew a wealthy benefactor who would help if De La Salle would become associated with the project. The need was great. If poor and working-class children attended school at all, they attended only briefly and were viewed as unworthy of attention. In Reims, Paris, and other French cities, poor children usually roamed the streets begging or committing petty crimes.

De La Salle agreed to help Nyel, expecting to get the project underway but not become involved in its daily activities. He did 46

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The Brothers’ community is ever mindful that its apostolic activity takes place within an educational community in which all the functions, including positions of responsibility, are shared.

ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE The Brothers have demonstrated permanency by providing for over three centuries an astonishing array of activities from the most basic literacy learning to the most complicated technological learning for both children and adults… so that they can be fully integrated in community and society.

THE UNITED NATIONS UNESCO NOMA LITERACY PRIZE, 1990

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not realize it would become his life’s work. But he soon recognized that not only the poor students, but also the teachers in the schools needed to be educated, since many teachers were barely literate.

Within a short time, De La Salle realized that as a model for his teachers he would need to take the same steps they were taking.

He literally would have to enter the life of the poor. That meant he would have to forsake the scholarly, secure life of a churchman, and accept the uncharted, unwanted, and unappealing life of a reformer.

He became completely dedicated to creating a new kind of school, a new kind of teacher, and a new kind of religious congregation.

De La Salle reasoned that the place to start in providing quality schools was with the teachers. He convinced them to see teaching not as a lowly job to be done only until something better came along, but rather as a vocation through which their own salvation and that of their students could be achieved.

THE VALUE OF COMMUNITY De La Salle wanted teaching in his schools to be of the highest caliber and envisioned teaching as a communal activity best done in an actual community. This spirit of community (called “association for mission”) explains why De La Salle’s movement was so successful. He nurtured the community, writing for its use books on spirituality such as Meditations for the Time of Retreat and Methods of Interior Prayer. He also wanted his teachers to be teachers only and not to become priests. It was the decision of the first members of his Institute to call themselves “brothers,” since they were “brothers to one another.” They are now identified by the initials FSC, an abbreviation of the Latin Fratres Scholarum Christianarum (Brothers of the Christian Schools).

By 1683, De La Salle had resigned from his position as canon of Reims cathedral and had invited his teachers to live in his home.

While continuing to support his own family, he gave away most of his money to feed the poor, whom he considered the children of 48

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Today, many people who choose to work in a Lasallian school may not necessarily share the Christian heritage on which the work was founded. Among such persons are Christians of other denominations, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Confucianists and Shintoists, followers of traditional religions or of no religion at all.

Many find themselves in agreement with Lasallian emphases on such basic principles as gratuity, compassion and personal relationships— all things beyond the material— and expressive therefore of a “spirituality.” This is particularly so when they see the Lasallian enterprise working to “save” young people from the consequences of structural poverty in order to prepare them for a life lived with greater dignity as human beings.

BROTHER GERARD RUMMERY, FSC

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God. He implored his teachers to see Jesus beneath the rags of those they instructed and told the Brothers to treat poor children even better than they would treat royal children. This commitment to the poor became the fundamental moral engine of the movement and sustained Lasallian education from its earliest days.

Like many reformers throughout history, De La Salle was vigorously opposed by local authorities and by Church leaders. Many people recognize the need for change in principle, provided their own positions are not threatened. De La Salle, however, knew that preserving the status quo would hamper serious educational progress, and he was willing to put himself at risk to achieve such progress. Over the years, he was sued, fined, and harassed because his ideas were considered radical. The situation became so dire that he and two teachers took a vow for life to continue the work they had begun no matter the consequences.

Signatures of John Baptist de La Salle and the two Brothers, Nicholas Vuyart and Gabriel Drolin, from the Heroic Vow of November 21, 1691 PATRON SAINT OF TEACHERS In time, the quality of the schools became widely known and respected. De La Salle took over more charity schools and in their place established Brothers’ schools, places that he saw as communities of faith. With this success, even those who were not poor wished to send their sons to a Brothers’ school. This growing 50

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People are hungry, especially the young.

They are hungry for God and you are here to satisfy that hunger. Be faithful to the great gift that God made you to be teachers, educators, light, His light, in the world among young people. The future of the world depends on what you do.

MOTHER TERESA (to the De La Salle Brothers)

The only educators worthy of the name are those who can instill in the hearts of their pupils the vision of beauty, the light of truth, and the practice of virtue.

ST. BONAVENTURE, OFM

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popularity, however, did not divert his attention from serving the poor. Neither new market forces nor financial concerns weakened De La Salle’s educational mission and its focus on social justice.

De La Salle introduced many innovations to improve teaching and wrote numerous practical guides, including The Conduct of Schools, the first curriculum and method of management for elementary schools. No aspect of the classroom escaped his notice, even where students were to be seated (not grouped based on social status) and what they were to be taught. He popularized simultaneous instruction, where, for the first time, teachers instructed small groups of students together. Another innovation was to teach students in French, not Latin. He began the first teacher preparation programs, created schools for delinquents, opened a boarding school, and taught classes on Sunday for workers unable to attend during the week.

When De La Salle died in 1719, there were 100 Brothers teaching in 37 schools in France. He never dreamed that his faith, zeal, and ideas would change all of France, let alone the entire world forever.

De La Salle is often portrayed as the model teacher shown instructing a student. He was beatified in 1888, canonized in 1900, and proclaimed the Patron Saint of Teachers in 1950.

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If you walk toward Him, He comes to you running.

HADITH, OR SAYINGS OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD

In prayer we shift the center of living from self-consciousness to self-surrender. God is the center toward which all forces tend. He is the source, and we are the flowing of His force, the ebb and flow of his tides.

RABBI ABRAHAM JOSHUA HESCHEL

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PART V

LASALLIAN SAINTS AND REVERED LASALLIANS LASALLIAN SAINTS According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), “All Christians are called to be saints. Saints are persons in heaven (officially canonized or not), who lived heroically virtuous lives, offered their life for others, or were martyred for the faith, and who are worthy of imitation.

In official Church procedures there are three steps to sainthood: a candidate becomes ‘Venerable,’ then ‘Blessed’ and then ‘Saint.’ Venerable is the title given to a deceased person recognized formally by the pope as having lived a heroically virtuous life or offered their life. To be beatified and recognized as a Blessed, one miracle acquired through the candidate’s intercession is required in addition to recognition of heroic virtue or offering of life. Canonization requires a second miracle after beatification. The pope may waive these requirements. A miracle is not required prior to a martyr’s beatification, but one is required before canonization.”

SAINT SOLOMON

Saint Solomon was the first Christian Brother to be martyred. During the French Revolution, the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools lost its legal status in France. Refusing to take an oath of allegiance to the French revolutionary government, Brother Solomon was arrested in 1792, 54

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The trouble with us in the past has been that we were too often allied or drawn into an alliance with the wrong side. Selfish employers of labor have flattered the Church by calling it the great conservative force, and then called upon it to act as a police force while they paid but a pittance of wage to those who work for them. I hope that day has gone by. Our place is beside the workingman. They are our people, they build our churches, our priests come from their sons.

GEORGE CARDINAL MUNDELEIN

A Catholic University must become more attentive to the cultures of the world of today, and to the various cultural traditions existing within the Church in a way that will promote a continuous and profitable dialogue between the Gospel and modern society.

POPE JOHN PAUL II

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imprisoned, and then executed. He was beatified in 1926 and canonized in 2016.

SAINT BENILDE

Saint Benilde (1805–62) is the first Christian Brother to be canonized a saint. For 20 years, Brother Benilde taught in elementary schools in rural southern France before becoming the head of a new school in Saugues. There for another 20 years, he devoted his life to the education of village and farm boys. An effective role model, he inspired more than 200 students to become Brothers. He was beatified in 1948 and canonized in 1967.

SAINT MIGUEL FEBRES CORDERO, FSC

Saint Miguel Febres Cordero, FSC (1854–1910) is the Patron Saint of Ecuador and was one of the first Latin Americans to be canonized by the Catholic Church. In addition to being dedicated teachers, the De La Salle Christian Brothers developed a strong tradition of scholarship, which Saint Miguel exemplifies.

A diligent student with a love for books, Saint Miguel aimed to preserve for Latin Americans the purity of Castilian Spanish.

Like De La Salle, he was academically successful as a young man, publishing his first book, a Spanish grammar, before he turned 20. His numerous books on linguistics and literature won him membership in the National Academies of Ecuador, Venezuela, France, and Spain. When the Brothers were expelled from France in 1904, he translated the French texts so crucial to the Lasallian mission into Spanish for use by his confreres in exile. He excelled as a teacher of religion, as a scholar, and as a model for his Brothers in community.

Saint Miguel died in 1910, shortly after a revolutionary crisis in Spain, during which he supervised the overnight evacuation of young students in his charge. When his grave was disturbed during the Spanish Civil War, his body was found to be incorrupt. Later 56

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Our first reaction in dealing with others should always be to find something about them worthy of praise.

ST. MIGUEL FEBRES CORDERO, FSC

Never speak to anyone except with kindness, and if you fear to speak otherwise, keep silent.

ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE

Nothing can bring greater happiness than doing God’s will for the love of God. ST. MIGUEL FEBRES CORDERO, FSC

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reinterred in Ecuador, he was beatified in 1977 and canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1984.

SAINT MUTIEN MARIE

Saint Mutien Marie of Belgium, FSC (1841–1917) taught music and art in the Christian Brothers boarding school at Malonne, Belgium for 58 years. He was renowned for his piety and patience and for his devotion to the Brothers’ Rule. After his death, several miracles were attributed to his intercession. He was canonized in 1989.

BLESSED BROTHER JAMES MILLER, FSC

Blessed Brother James was born in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, on September 21, 1944.

He attended Pacelli High School in the City of Stevens Point, where he met the Brothers for the first time. In August of 1962, he took the habit of the Brothers and the religious name Brother Leo William. Later, like so many other Brothers, he went back to using his baptismal name.

He was assigned to Cretin High School in Saint Paul, Minnesota for three years. There, besides teaching classes in Spanish, English and religion, he supervised school maintenance and coached soccer.

In August 1960, after making perpetual vows, he asked to be assigned to Bluefields, Nicaragua. He taught there until he was assigned to Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua in 1974, where he was the Director of the Brothers’ school. Under his leadership, the school population grew from 300 to 800 students. Brother Santiago, as he was known, also accepted the task of supervising the construction of ten new rural schools. His religious superiors ordered him to leave Nicaragua in July 1979 during the time of the Sandinista revolution. It was feared that since he worked for the Somoza government he might 58

FAITH, SERVICE, COMMUNITY

The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.

DANTE ALIGHIERI The means by which we live has outdistanced the ends for which we live. Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. Consider your origin; you were not born to live like brutes, but to follow virtue and knowledge.

DANTE ALIGHIERI

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be at risk. For that reason he returned to the United States and again taught at Cretin High School in the fall of 1979.

He again requested to serve in mission territory, this time to Guatemala, in January 1981. He taught at the secondary school in Huehuetenango and also worked at the Indian Center, where young indigenous Mayans from rural areas studied and trained in agriculture.

On the afternoon of February 13, 1982, he was shot 36 times by three men, and he died instantly. Attempts to identify the assassins were unsuccessful. After funeral rites in Guatemala and in Saint Paul, Minnesota, he was buried in the parish cemetery in Polonia, Wisconsin. He was beatified by Pope Francis on November 8, 2018.

He is the first De La Salle Christian Brother from the United States to be beatified.

REVERED LASALLIANS BROTHER CHARLES HENRY BUTTIMER, FSC

Brother Charles Henry Buttimer, FSC (1909–1982), graduated from Manhattan College in 1933. A great scholar-teacher who specialized in medieval theology, he earned his PhD from The Catholic University of America in 1939. He served as a teacher and dean of students at De La Salle College (Washington, D.C.) before becoming an administrator within the North American offices of the Institute.

In 1966, he was elected the first American Superior General of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. Serving until 1976, during an exciting if sometimes difficult time of change in the Catholic Church brought about by the Second Vatican Council, Brother Charles labored tirelessly and effectively to reconcile opposing interests in the Institute and to strengthen it. At the request of the Vatican in 60

FAITH, SERVICE, COMMUNITY

I remember the day when I discovered the mystery of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, the mystery of the vocation of religious educators; when I felt the call to this state of life.

I then felt the compulsion, the absolute necessity of making myself one with that community, a joyous and irresistible necessity which was not there before!

BROTHER CHARLES HENRY BUTTIMER, FSC First American Superior General of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, 1966-1976

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1973, he worked to establish Bethlehem University as a Lasallian institution in the Holy Land. He was named by Pope Paul VI to participate in the World Synod of Bishops in 1974 and received the Cross of the Legion of Honor from the French government in 1976.

The Buttimer Institute of Lasallian Studies is named in his memory.

Founded in 1984, it is an intensive Lasallian formation and education program that studies the life and work of St. John Baptist de La Salle and the origins of the Lasallian educational mission.

BROTHER MAURELIAN SCHEEL, FSC

Brother Maurelian served as CBU’s first President when it was founded in 1871.

He came to Memphis after having been uprooted from his leadership positions in New Orleans’ schools by the ravages of yellow fever. At Pass Christian College in Mississippi, Brother Maurelian, a yellow fever survivor himself, saw nine of his college faculty Brothers die, most within a few days of one another. As a result, he worked tirelessly to discover ways to combat the dreaded fever.

He was a born leader, a Brother of national and international repute. He organized the education section of such expositions as the New Orleans World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition in 1884, the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893, and the Tennessee Centennial Exposition of 1897. He helped to bring recognition for Catholic education in the United States at a time when Catholic schools were not well understood. He served as President of Christian Brothers College three times — from its founding in 1871 to 1891, again from 1894 to 1899, and following time in Reims, France and at Manhattan College in New York, he returned in 1904 and served until 1909. Brother Maurelian died in 1920 and is buried in Calvary Cemetery in Memphis.

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A university training is the great ordinary means to a great but ordinary end; it aims at raising the intellectual tone of society, at cultivating the public mind, at purifying the national taste, at supplying true principles to popular enthusiasm and fixed aims to popular aspiration, at giving enlargement and sobriety to the ideas of the age, at facilitating the exercise of political power, and refining the intercourse of private life. It is the education which gives a man a clear conscious view of his own opinions and judgments, a truth in developing them, an eloquence in expressing them, and a force in urging them.

JOHN HENRY CARDINAL NEWMAN

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BROTHER JOHN JOHNSTON, FSC

Brother John Johnston, FSC was a native Memphian and graduated from the high school division of Christian Brothers College in 1951. He became known and highly respected for his great competence and influential leadership style. Time and again, he was asked to address special religious conferences, and in many groups he joined, he assumed leadership responsibilities, including Vice President of the Union of Superiors General in Rome, Auditor for the Synod of Priestly Formation, and consultant for the Vatican Congregation for Consecrated Life.

His special passion was evolving the Lasallian mission, the transformation from Brothers’ schools to Lasallian schools. Brother John made it clear as he spoke to his listeners “that lay partners and the Brothers collaborate as members of an educational community that has responsibility for the life and mission of the school.” He was instrumental in developing leadership programs for the laity who were active in Lasallian schools. In addition, Brother John was a strong proponent of children’s rights. In January of 1999, Brother John published one of many pastoral letters entitled, “The Defense of Children, the Reign of God, and the Lasallian Mission.”

In it he called on Lasallians to contribute to the construction of an “international communion of persons in which all children can live as the children they have a right to be.”

Brother John served as a De La Salle Christian Brother for 56 years. He began his schooling at Little Flower School in Memphis, Tennessee, and attended Christian Brothers College (now Christian Brothers High School) in Memphis, and St. Mary’s College (now University) in Winona, Minnesota. He was a high school teacher, school administrator, and director of student Brothers in the thenSt. Louis District. In 1971, Brother John was appointed Provincial 64

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Lay people take their place as full partners with the Brothers and we Brothers gladly associate them with us in mission. We accept that from now on our schools will not be Brothers schools, animated with secondary collaboration with lay teachers, parents and students. They will instead be Lasallian schools animated by Lasallian educative communities of faith within which the apostolic activity of Brothers communities takes place.

BROTHER JOHN JOHNSTON, FSC Superior General, 1986–2000

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Visitor of the St. Louis District; in 1976, he became Vicar General of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools in Rome; and in 1986, he became the Superior General of the Institute.

Brother John returned to the United States in 2001 to be the Regional Director of Education. In 2003, he returned to his hometown of Memphis and to the Christian Brothers Community at CBU, where he continued his involvement in education as a senior consultant for the Lasallian Association for Mission at Christian Brothers Conference. He conducted retreats and was a presenter at many educational conferences in the United States, Haiti, Africa, and Europe. Brother John passed away in 2007 and is buried in Calvary Cemetery in Memphis.

BROTHER JEFFREY GROS, FSC

Brother Jeffrey Gros was a native Memphian, who, after attending the high school division of Christian Brothers College, entered the novitiate (initial phase of formation) of the Christian Brothers in 1955. A scholar in every sense of the word, he earned a BA and MA in Biology Education, an MA in Theology from Marquette University, and a PhD in theology from Fordham University. Research and study grants took him to Hebrew Union College Jerusalem (1968), Germany (1969), Costa Rica (1968), the Far East (1976), Latin America (1980, 2000), Africa (1968), the Strasbourg Ecumenical Research Institute in France (1991), Colombia (2007), and Chile (2008).

During his career, he served as a high school teacher, university professor, associate director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Director of Faith and Order to the National Council of Churches, and President of the Society for Pentecostal Studies. He authored or edited over 20 books, 310 articles, and an uncounted 66

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The Brothers of this Institute ought to have a great love for the holy exercise of interior prayer, and they ought to look on it as the first and principal of their daily exercises and the one that is the most capable of drawing down the blessing of God on all the others.

ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE

Never be in a hurry: do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES

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number of book reviews. Brother Jeffrey passed away in Chicago on August 12, 2013.

BROTHER TERENCE MCLAUGHLIN, FSC

Brother Terence McLaughlin was born in Duluth, Minnesota and attended Cathedral High School, which at the time was staffed by the Christian Brothers. In January of his sophomore year, Brother Terence transferred to La Salle Institute in Glencoe, Missouri and entered the juniorate, a preparatory high school for young men discerning the life of a Christian Brother. After high school, Brother Terence entered the novitiate, the initial phase of religious formation, and after taking his first vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, he spent the next three years at Saint Mary’s College in Winona, Minnesota where he earned his BA in 1940. While teaching at St. Patrick’s High School in Chicago, he earned an MA from De Paul University. In addition, Brother Terence has been awarded two honorary doctorates: one from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota and the other from Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois.

Brother Terence served as a teacher, athletic director, coach, and administrator in several Lasallian secondary schools in Chicago, Minneapolis, Vincennes, Indiana, and Memphis (1949-1953). In 1962, he returned to Memphis and began serving as President and Director of Christian Brothers College, which included both the high school and college. The school broke ranks with Southern culture and tradition in 1963, when Brother Terence accepted the application of Jesse Turner Jr. and made CBC the first racially integrated high school in the city. Throughout the ordeal, Brother Terence held firm in the face of strong opposition from both civil and religious leaders.

A man of integrity and high moral standards, students and 68

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Born from the heart of the Church, a Catholic University is located in that course of tradition which may be traced back to the very origin of the University as an institution. It has always been recognized as an incomparable center of creativity and dissemination of knowledge for the good of humanity. By vocation, the Universitas magistrorum et scholarium is dedicated to research, to teaching and to the education of students who freely associate with their teachers in a common love of knowledge.

SAINT POPE JOHN PAUL II

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colleagues alike knew they were honored, valued, and respected by Brother Terence. As one of his former graduate students said, “his sensitivity and compassion for others has left an indelible mark on me as well as my classmates.”

DR. ROSA DEAL, AFSC

In 1961, Rose Grace Deal was invited by the president of Christian Brothers College (now University) to become Registrar and to teach Latin. She accepted the position, thus becoming the first woman to teach at CBU since its founding ninety years earlier in 1871.

In 1963, she left her position as Registrar but remained at the University as Assistant Professor, teaching courses in Latin, French, and European History.

She initiated the Foreign Language Program at CBU in 1965 and became its Coordinator. In 1968, she received tenure and was promoted to Associate Professor and two years later was appointed head of the newly established Foreign Language Department at the University. In 1975, CBU created the Liberal Arts Division, and she was appointed Coordinator of the Foreign Languages Program.

She continued to serve in that capacity until her first retirement as Professor Emerita in 1980. One year later, she returned to the classroom and taught courses in French and Italian at CBU until her second retirement in 1994.

“Rosa,” as she was called by her friends, was awarded the CBU Alumni Association’s highest award, the Brother Lawrence Egbert Distinguished Service Award in 1990, which cited her as a “Renaissance Person.” One year later, she was nominated for the prestigious Theodore M. Hesburgh Award by the TIAA Institute, and in 1992, she was listed as an “Outstanding Educator” in the First Edition of Who’s Who Among Italian Americans (NIAF). She was the only female Italian American selected for this honor in the State of Tennessee. In 2004, she was the recipient of one of CBU’s 70

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I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality, and freedom for their spirits.

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

Charity is no substitute for justice denied.

ST. AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO

If you want peace, work for justice.

SAINT POPE PAUL VI

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highest honors when she was named the recipient of the Maurelian Medal. In November of 2002, she was named an Affiliate of the De La Salle Christian Brothers and became “Brother” Rose Deal, AFSC. She passed away on May 23, 2012, and in 2017, the Rosa Deal School of Arts was named in her honor.

H. LANCE FORSDICK, AFSC

A prominent Memphis business leader and philanthropist, H. Lance Forsdick served as interim President of CBU from July 1 until December 1, 2005 when Brother Vincent Malham assumed the presidency. During Brother Vincent’s presidency, Mr. Forsdick served as the Strategic Advisor to the President, was a member of the CBU Board of Trustees, and the chair of the Advancement Committee. Lance Forsdick returned as interim President again in May of 2008 upon the death of Brother Vincent, and served on a full-time volunteer basis until July of 2009 when Dr. John Smarrelli assumed the presidency.

Mr. Forsdick served as chair of the CBU Board of Trustees as well as a past chair of CBHS Board of Trustees. He graduated from CBU in 1961 with a BS in Business Administration majoring in accounting and, during his professional career, he operated various corporate interests in construction, development, hospitality, real estate, property management, and personal financial investment. Mr. Forsdick was an active supporter and friend to many organizations in the greater Memphis area. In addition to his service to CBU and CBHS, he served on the boards of St. Dominic School and St. Agnes Academy, St. Peter Villa, and St. Francis Hospital as well as several corporate boards. He was made an affiliated member of the Christian Brothers in 1993 (AFSC) and was named Humanitarian of the Year by the National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ) in 1994. In 1999, he received the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, the highest papal award given to a layman, and received an honorary 72

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Example makes a much greater impression than words.

ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE

What a great favor God does to those He places in the company of good people.

ST. TERESA OF AVILA

The most satisfying thing in life is to have been able to give a large part of one’s self to others.

PIERRE TEILHARD DE CHARDIN, SJ

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doctorate from CBU in 2004. Mr. Forsdick passed away on June 18, 2021.

DR. MARGUERITE COOPER

Dr. Marguerite Cooper attended the University of North Carolina obtaining a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Chemistry in 1937. After raising a family, she went back to Memphis State University (University of Memphis) in 1964 to get a master’s degree in Chemistry, which she received in 1968. She continued her education at Memphis State and received her PhD in chemistry in 1974, becoming the first female to receive a doctoral degree in Chemistry at the university.

Teaching was always her desire to help others, and in 1976, Christian Brothers University offered her a faculty position in the Chemistry Department. She worked at CBU until the age of 91 and retired in 2009. She was referred to as “Dr. Mom” by one of her students, and the nickname stuck. She wore a chemistry lab coat with “Dr. Mom” monogrammed on it throughout her career. Dr. Cooper devoted her life to God and teaching others. The Dr. Marguerite Cooper Distinguished Professor Award was established at CBU in 1988, to be presented annually to a full-time School of Science professor who exemplifies excellence in teaching; service to the faculty, staff, and students; professional growth and development; and scholarly research.

The Cooper-Wilson Center for Life Sciences Building at Christian Brothers University is named in her honor. Her portrait hangs in the lobby, greeting students and visitors alike with a warm welcoming smile — and wearing her “Dr. Mom” lab coat. Dr. Cooper was honored in 2007 as one of the Distinguished Alumni of the University of Memphis and again in 2012 as one of the 100 Women who have contributed to the vitality of the University of 74

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If you have knowledge, let others light their candles at it.

MARGARET FULLER

If you show yourself firmly convinced of what you teach, you will give to your voice the voice of power. The voice of action is much more impressive than that of words; act as you speak.

ST. BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX, OCIST.

If a man empties his purse into his head no one can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

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Memphis since its’ founding in 1912. She was awarded the Brother Dominic Dunn Service Award in 1994 at CBU for her extraordinary appreciation for the art of learning, especially in the sciences. She passed away on July 3, 2014.

MS. SADIE LISENBY

Ms. Sadie Lisenby was the Director of Counseling at CBU for 31 years, always insisting that the students kept her young, which was verified by the fact that she retired reluctantly at age 84 in 2018. Born in 1933 during the Great Depression, she was the sixth and youngest child of a farm family in Madison County, Tennessee.

In a 2018 interview she stated, “I learned many lifelong lessons from living on the farm, including an appreciation and love of nature, a love of plants and animals, and the value of hard work.” She recalled fondly that her parents were humble people whose priorities were God, church, family, their children, and opportunities for continuous education. She valued her education and used each degree she earned to improve the lives of others by earning a BA in English and French from Union University and an MA in Physical Education and Education and Counseling from Vanderbilt University Ms. Sadie’s contributions touched the lives of nearly every student through the Peer Counselor and Pet Therapy programs among others. She was known for her kindness and compassion to all, her humor, and playfulness. She described her life at CBU and the work of counseling “as more than a job. It was a passion.” Ms. Sadie, considered the heart and soul of CBU for 31 years, passed away on April 12, 2019.

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Be at Peace.

God, whose very own you are, will lead you safely through all things; and when you cannot stand it, God will carry you in His arms. Do not fear what may happen tomorrow; the same understanding Father who cares for you today will take care of you then and every day.

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES

I consider that the most important things in our association are not the structures, or the measures to ensure a certain efficiency, but a goal: answering the needs of children and young people, especially the poor. What matters most are persons.

BROTHER ÁLVARO RODRÍGUEZ ECHEVERRÍA, FSC

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PART VI

PERPETUATING THE MISSION: LASALLIAN FORMATION PROGRAMS A paradigm shift in the Catholic Church began in the mid1960s, particularly after the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965).

Convened by St. Pope John XXIII, the Second Vatican Council called for the Catholic Church to “open its windows” onto the modern world. As a result, the traditional Latin Mass was updated; lay people were now included in some practices reserved for priests and religious, and the concept of religious freedom started a dialogue with other religions. With these changes many women and men religious requested a dispensation from their vows, and the Christian Brothers were no exception. Consequently, one of the realities the Brothers faced was the Lasallian training or formation of the women and men who began to fill the roles once held by the Brothers. How would St. John Baptist de La Salle’s unique philosophy of education continue with the diminishing number of Brothers? While Superior General of the Christian Brothers, Brother John Johnston had the wisdom and foresight to begin instituting and promoting Lasallian formation programs throughout the different regions of the world.

Listed below are programs in which CBU faculty, staff, and students are invited to participate in.

DISCOVERING THE LASALLIAN MISSION RETREAT The Discovering the Lasallian Mission Retreat is a relaxed and informal professional development experience designed specifically for employees of Christian Brothers University, particularly those who are new to the University. Through this program, faculty and staff can better inform their own teaching and work — all in an effort to enhance the student experience in the spirit of the Lasallian mission of “Together and by Association.” This four-day experience is structured around the themes of: The Life and Times of Saint 78

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Therefore, O students, study mathematics and do not build without foundations.

LEONARDO DA VINCI

The ancient Greek definition of happiness was the full use of your powers along lines of excellence.

JOHN F. KENNEDY

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John Baptist de La Salle, The Lasallian Educator and the Christian Brothers, Social Justice, Lasallian Spirituality, and the Lasallian Movement.

BUTTIMER INSTITUTE OF LASALLIAN STUDIES The Buttimer Institute of Lasallian Studies, a three-year residential course of study that meets for two weeks each summer, is an intensive Lasallian formation and education program that studies the life and work of Saint John Baptist de La Salle and the origins of the Lasallian mission. Through analysis of the writings of De La Salle and an analysis of some modern educators, participants deepen their understanding of the Lasallian heritage and its influence on contemporary education. Participation in the Buttimer Institute is open to faculty and staff of Lasallian Ministries.

BROTHER JOHN JOHNSTON INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY LASALLIAN PRACTICE The Brother John Johnston Institute of Contemporary Lasallian Practice is a formation program that focuses on our Lasallian heritage in light of contemporary realities. The thematic areas include: Lasallian Story and Vision; Lasallian Service to the Poor and the Promotion of Social Justice; and Lasallian Spirituality, Vocation and Association. A capstone project is expected of all participants.

The program is conducted on a two-year cycle and consists of five in-person gatherings and four online sessions. The Johnston Institute of Contemporary Lasallian Practice is designed for faculty and staff of Lasallian Ministries.

INTERNATIONAL LASALLIAN RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM This annual gathering of university scholars is sponsored by the Institute for Lasallian Studies at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, the Office of Lasallian Education at Christian Brothers Conference, and the International Association of Lasallian Universities (IALU).

Its purpose is to discuss key areas that comprise the field of Lasallian research today and look to the future of Lasallian research. The 80

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The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in the moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in times of challenges and controversy.

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.

THOMAS JEFFERSON

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International Lasallian research symposium is specifically designed for university faculty and administrators.

HUETHER LASALLIAN CONFERENCE The Huether Lasallian Conference is an annual gathering of Lasallian educators in the North American Region. Location and theme change each year with a focus on innovative educational issues.

All faculty and staff of Lasallian ministries are welcome to attend.

The conference consists of a blend of keynote addresses, panel presentations, breakout sessions, and prayer services. Presenters are scholars from within and outside the Lasallian tradition in matters pertaining to each year’s theme.

LASALLIAN SOCIAL JUSTICE INSTITUTE The Lasallian Social Justice Institute, an annual one-week workshop held in different locations around the country, attempts to ground participants experientially, practically, and spiritually in the Catholic social teachings on social justice and in the preferential option for the poor that is a hallmark of Lasallian identity. The LSJI is open to faculty and staff of Lasallian Ministries.

INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP PROGRAM FOR FACULTIES FROM LASALLIAN UNIVERSITIES (IALU) The IALU Leadership Program, a two-week seminar held annually in Rome, Italy, brings together professors at Lasallian colleges and universities to deepen understanding of and commitment to Lasallian partnership by study of the Lasallian charism, the Catholic intellectual tradition, and the international Lasallian educational network. The IALU program is specifically designed for university faculty and administrators.

McLAUGHLIN SOCIAL JUSTICE INSTITUTE OF LASALLIAN PRACTICE (for students) The McLaughlin Social Justice Institute of Lasallian Practice is designed specifically for students from Lasallian schools, and is a 82

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Live by the spirit of faith.

You are in God’s presence; that is more than enough for you.

ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE

In place of the old bottom line of money and power, a new bottom line of love and generosity is possible. People of all faiths need to shape a political and social movement that reaffirms the most generous, peace-oriented, social justice-committed, and loving truths of the spiritual heritage of the human race.

RABBI MICHAEL LERNER

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two-week intensive academic, community, and field experience program hosted at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tennessee. Students learn about issues pertaining to social justice and inequity, particularly for people living in poverty and on the margins. In two annual sessions, one for juniors and seniors from Lasallian high schools and the second for students from Lasallian universities across the U.S., students are exposed to Memphis’ rich history and culture through visits to the National Civil Rights Museum, Catholic Charities of West Tennessee, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, RedZone Ministries, and the Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum. Students will also travel to the Orange Mound and Binghampton neighborhoods and learn about food scarcity, homelessness, challenges faced by immigrants, and inequity in education and healthcare.

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Wherever men and women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must — at that moment — become the center of the universe.

ELIE WIESEL

As believers we all have an opportunity and moral obligation to recognize our spiritual common grounds: to rise above our differences: to combat prejudice and intolerance.

QUEEN NOOR OF JORDAN

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PART VII

TOGETHER AND BY ASSOCIATION, AND THE LASALLIAN WORLDWIDE COMMUNITY TOGETHER AND BY ASSOCIATION In 1691, when the Christian Brothers faced tremendous opposition from those threatened by the success and innovations of their schools, John Baptist de La Salle and two Brothers, Nicolas Vuyart and Gabriel Drolin, took what has become known as the “Heroic Vow” to make a life-long commitment to the schools even if they “were obliged to beg alms and live on bread alone.” In 1694, this declaration was followed by a perpetual vow taken by De La Salle and 12 Brothers to maintain the schools “together and by association.” This 17th-century notion of association has become, in the 21st century, the foundation for the worldwide expansion of the Lasallian vision of education.

The faculty, administration, and staff of Christian Brothers University are mostly now comprised of individuals who have associated themselves with the Christian Brothers, sharing the Lasallian dedication to educational excellence for all and a strong commitment to social justice. Each year, the CBU community celebrates the life and legacy of Saint John Baptist de La Salle during Founder’s Week. The Lasallian mission is also fostered by the Office of Mission and Identity, which sponsors the annual Discovering the Lasallian Mission Retreat for faculty and staff. It also explores different aspects of the Lasallian tradition and provides opportunities to unite in association for the mission. In addition, the office works with a committee and selects the annual Distinguished Lasallian Educators Award and the Lasallian Fellow student awards.

CBU’s faculty and staff have the opportunity to participate in 86

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The measure of a country’s greatness is its ability to retain compassion in times of crisis.

THURGOOD MARSHALL

It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare.

MARK TWAIN

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

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off-campus programs that focus on the Lasallian heritage. These include the aforementioned Buttimer Institute of Lasallian Studies, the Brother John Johnston Institute of Contemporary Lasallian Practice, the Lasallian Social Justice Institute, and the International Leadership Program for faculties from Lasallian Universities (IALU).

THE LASALLIAN WORLDWIDE COMMUNITY After its humble origins in France in 1680, the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools grew significantly, so that by the time of the French Revolution there were over 1,000 Brothers.

Outlawed by the revolutionary government in 1792, the Brothers almost disappeared, with only a few remaining in Rome. After being restored in 1805, though, the community grew rapidly during the 19th century. The 160 Brothers serving in 1810 expanded to more than 14,000 Brothers working in 35 countries by 1900, when Saint John Baptist de La Salle was canonized.

Today the Brothers work in 80 countries around the globe. Assisted by more than 100,000 Lasallian Partners — laywomen and laymen comprising the faculty and staff who work together and by association with the Brothers and share in De La Salle’s philosophy of education, they teach over a million students in more than 1,100 schools in Europe, North and South America, Africa, and Asia. The Brothers have expanded from De La Salle’s home in Reims to places that the Founder could hardly have imagined, such as Chihuahua in Mexico, Khartoum in Sudan, Bethlehem in Palestine, and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. Students, teachers, and staff members at Christian Brothers University are part of this worldwide Lasallian community.

In the United States, the Brothers of the Christian Schools run 82 schools, including six institutions of higher education: Christian Brothers University (Memphis), La Salle University (Philadelphia), Lewis University (Romeoville, IL), Manhattan College (Bronx, New York), Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota (Winona), and St. Mary’s College of California (Moraga).

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The servant leader is servant first. It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions… The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society; will they benefit, or, at least, not be further deprived?

ROBERT K. GREENLEAF

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PART VIII

CAMPUS MINISTRY AND THE CENTER FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT If you are a new student at CBU, one way to make manifest the values of faith, service, and community is to take advantage of services offered through Campus Ministry and our Center for Community Engagement.

The Office of Campus Ministry One of the many ways Christian Brothers University fosters the integration of faith and education is through campus ministry. It does this by assisting the entire campus community in the formation of human and religious values and by supporting dialogue, harmony, and interpersonal relationships amongst students, faculty, and staff.

Although the University is a Catholic institution, Campus Ministry provides an important focus for nurturing an understanding of the ecumenical dimension of its Catholic identity. In addition to Sunday and weekday Masses, provision is made throughout the year for special worship services, welcoming people of all faiths and religious traditions. Personal and communal growth is encouraged through a variety of prayer experiences, retreats, and pastoral counseling to assist students, especially in the development of their respective gifts for the pursuit of peace and social justice within a multi-religious and multi-cultural world.

The Center for Community Engagement (CCE) Growing out of CBU’s Lasallian commitment to community and service, the Center for Community Engagement (CCE) collaborates with communities on- and off-campus to enhance learning, enrich student life, and promote positive social change in Memphis and 90

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Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.

EDMUND BURKE

Pray as if everything depended upon God and work as if everything depended upon man.

FRANCIS CARDINAL SPELLMAN

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beyond. The Center supports programs that respond to defined community goals and social challenges, connecting the knowledge and enthusiasm of both CBU and community partners.

The Center oversees a year-long service program — CBU Serves — that features at least one or two service events per month and five events during the month of September to mark the September of Service tradition started by Dr. Tracie Burke. What makes CBU Serves unique is the variety of access points for additional engagement related to a given service project. Service experiences may be complemented by an on-site meal with nonprofit staff or community members before or after service; a Digging Deeper learning event (lecture, roundtable discussion, demonstration, field trip, etc.); and/or a book club selection and discussion. These events center on community engagement and social justice issues to increase understanding and action around local community development initiatives.

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This above all — to thine own self be true.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

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DAILY AND OTHER PRAYERS Our Father, Who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name.

Thy Kingdom come.

Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son Our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended into Hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into Heaven, and sits at the right hand of God, the Father almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Amen.

Hail Mary, Full of Grace, The Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

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Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death. Amen.

Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope.

To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.

Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us; and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

Prayer of St. Francis Lord, make me a channel of thy peace, that where there is hatred, I may bring love; that where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness; that where there is discord, I may bring harmony; that where there is error, I may bring truth; that where there is doubt, I may bring faith; that where there is despair, I may bring hope; that where there are shadows, I may bring light; that where there is sadness, I may bring joy.

Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted; to understand, than to be understood; to love, than to be loved.

For it is by self-forgetting that one finds.

It is by forgiving that one is forgiven.

It is by dying that one awakens to Eternal Life. ­— St. Francis of Assisi FAITH, SERVICE, COMMUNITY

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Psalm 23 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.

He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Psalm 128:1-6 Happy are all who fear the Lord, who walk in the ways of God. What your hands provide you will enjoy; you will be happy and prosper: Like a fruitful vine your wife within your home, Like olive plants your children around your table.

Just so will they be blessed who fear the Lord.

May the Lord bless you from Zion, all the days of your life that you may share Jerusalem’s joy and live to see your children’s children.

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A Lasallian Daily Offering of Self

This is a way of praying that Saint John Baptist de La Salle taught the early Brothers.

First Movement Pause for a few minutes to quiet yourself and to remember that God is, even in this very moment, present to you.

In all of creation, everything around you.

In your very self, keeping you alive.

In the midst of those with whom you are praying.

In the Eucharist and in the Word of God. In you by God’s Grace at work in your life, In the chapel as God’s dwelling place.

In the young and the poor.

Ask for the graces necessary to understand better what God’s will is for you and that you might give yourself wholeheartedly to a more conscious accomplishment of this will … to God’s plan.

I consecrate myself entirely to you to procure your glory as far as I am able and as you will require of me. (De La Salle, 1694) Second Movement Contemplate the mystery of God’s love at work in the world.

Read today’s Gospel a few times slowly. What word or words especially catch your attention? Listen to what is being said; watch what happens; try to become part of the mystery; lovingly contemplate Jesus. Reflect on the Mystery of God’s love at work in your own life.

Does today’s Gospel have any relevance to your life?

How do you try to share the message of this Gospel with those FAITH, SERVICE, COMMUNITY

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with whom you live and work, with those who have been entrusted to your care?

If you chose to allow this Scripture passage to come alive in you now, what would you have to change in your life? What are the obstacles to this change?

Third Movement Resolve to be open to the Spirit working in and through you today.

Where is the Spirit drawing you to sacrifice yourself today that others might have a happier, fuller, holier, and more love-filled life?

Take a few minutes now to thank God for this time you have spent in prayer and to reoffer yourself, as far as you are able, to the accomplishment of God’s will … God’s plan.

Directions adapted from De La Salle’s “Method of Interior Prayer” by Brother William Mann, FSC

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Let me be the change I want to see To do with strength and wisdom All that needs to be done..

And become the hope that I can be.

Set me free from my fears and hesitations Grant me courage and humility Fill me with spirit to face the challenge And start the change I long to see.

Today I start the change I want to see.

Even if I’m not the light I can be the spark In faith, service, and communion.

Let us start the change we want to see.

The change that begins in me.

LIVE JESUS IN OUR HEARTS FOREVER!

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Christian Brothers University acknowledges the inspiration of La Salle University’s Blue Book and Manhattan College’s Green Book, and for giving CBU permission to use or paraphrase selected passages and quotations from their publications in our Red Book.

The University is especially grateful for the many contributions on the part of administrators, faculty, staff, and Brothers of La Salle University, Manhattan College, and Christian Brothers University.

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CHRISTIAN BROTHERS UNIVERSITY 650 East Parkway South Memphis, Tennessee 38104 www.cbu.edu