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MESSAGE FROM THE NATIONAL CO-ORDINATOR
Message of Ms. Grace Wrakia
National Coordinator Lasallian Family
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Dear Lasallians and readers
May the grace and peace of God be with you all.
The 2022 schooling year began with high much renewed hope and enthusiasm. I am sure we are back to doing wha we love the most – teaching, learning, educating! Term 2 is at its pick but by the time you receive this mambo issue, the term will be slowing coming to an end.
The Easter triduum was special this year, after 2 years of lock downs and restrictions, we were finally able to celebrate as a community. It is not late or wrong to continue this festive and joyful spirit of our Lord’s resurrection in wishing you all Happy Easter – we are Easter People! Happy Easter!
The national general election is here now and I am prayerfully reminding all Lasallians, of the children of kings and queens entrusted to us in the classrooms and lecture rooms. The future leaders of this beautiful nation and the Church, need visible angels in classroom, schools, families and communities. We have this golden opportunity to mould and shape future leaders and this responsibility must be taken very seriously. St. John Baptist De La Salle wrote, “We should be God’s messengers bringing God’s wisdom to His children… We must help our children choose between right and wrong ways of deciding what to do…so for your first concern should be to keep them from ever choosing what is bad” (MTR Med 2.2). May we choose the best leader through a fair, just and safe election process. May God bless us and keep us safe this election.
Recently we had few big and significant events in the Catholic Church in PNG/SI and in the Institute of the De La Salle Brothers. The 3rd General Assembly of the Catholic Church of PNG and Solomon Island challenges all Christians and particularly Catholics, to journey in communion, participation and service to witness and proclaim God’s love and good news like “Salt and Light”, being the visible signs of God’s love and mercy for all to see.
The 46th General Chapter of the Brothers, ended on a high note, with the election of the 28th General Superior and an audience with His Holiness Pope Francis. We join with the rest of the Lasallian Family everywhere in congratulating Bro. Armin Luistro as the 28th successor of St. John Baptist de La Salle. We also join in thanking Br. Robert Schaefer for his term as the 27th Superior General. Br. Robert visited our sector in 2017. Let us continue to keep both men and all leaders of the Institute in our prayers. His Holiness Pope Francis, in his concluding statement to the Brothers encouraged them to continue “evangelising by educating and educating by evangelising’ recalling that ‘a Christian Educator is above all a witness of Christ and is a teacher to the extent that she/he is a witness.”
Closer to home, we have a new Brother Provincial who will take office in September. Br. Timothy Peter has been elected as the new Brother Provincial for ANZPPNG District. We too join with the rest of our Lasallian family in congratulating Br. Tim. We thank Br. David for his leadership - a term that gave the PNG Lasallian Family continuing recognition, support and active involvement in the District’s events and matters.
Finally, back home, this year we recall our early days and celebrate the Silver Jubilee- 25 Years- of the PNG Lasallian Family of teachers. A lay movement of Lasallian educators born in the lecture halls of Holy Trinity Teachers’ College in the mid semester of 1996 with late Br. Ignatius Kennedy and 7 graduating students. We remember and praise God for the lives and vocation of many Australian, Pilipino, Pakistanis, New Zealanders, Sri Lankan and Indian Brothers. These Brothers, empowered lay people, by sharing the life and spirituality of their Founder and his charism to enhance quality Human and Christian Education all over PNG.
Eduardo Galeano, a Uruguayan novelist and historian, wrote, “much as I walk, I will never reach it. So, what good is a utopia for? Precisely for that reason: it is useful for walking”. The theme of 2022 National Gathering is Forging New Horizons with zeal. What is the new horizon? Will we ever get closer to it and see it? No, because it is an abstract. It is far from reach but it gives us the direction to walk. We should not stop walking and as we walk, we acknowledge the people who walk/walked with us, the lessons we learnt, the achievements we celebrated and the love and spirit of God that unites us on this journey.
In this mambo issue, we remember in a special way, our family members whom God has called home to rest. We remember two senior members of the family; Madeline Fakepo afsc and Dalcy Robert. May their souls rest in peace and may St. John Baptist De La Salle, all Lasallian saints and martyrs welcome them in heaven. Rest in peace Madeline and Dalcy.
God bless you all and enjoy reading this issue #1 for 2022
Sincerely yours Grace Wrakia National Coordinator Lasallian Family, PNG
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