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The Southern Cross, April 17 to April 23, 2013
VOCATIONS
Brothers are Church’s bestkept secret Religious brothers are living their vocation without the burdens of the priesthood, as BETH GRIFFIN reports.
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ELIGIOUS brothers say they are an invisible group in the Church—but that it’s not such a bad thing because it allows them the freedom to be ordinary men performing an extraordinary ministry. That’s the view of brothers and other participants at a think tank convened in the United States to examine their vocation. “Our vocation is one of the Church’s best-kept secrets,” said Holy Cross Brother Paul Bednarczyk, executive director the US National Religious Vocation Conference. “We are vowed religious who commit ourselves to a particular ministry, live in community and share prayers. “We are not part of the hierarchy of the Church, which gives us more freedom in ministry to respond to those most in need,” he said,
adding, “Our vocation complements the religious priesthood.” The number of religious brothers in the United States fell from 12 271 in 1965 to 4 477 in 2012, according to statistics compiled by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate. More than half are at, or close to, retirement age. A steady decline in the number of brothers and a persistent need for the witness to dedicated discipleship they provide inspired four groups to discuss the future of the vocation. Brothers are laymen who take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. They belong to communities comprised of brothers only or of both brothers and priests. Religious brothers are dedicated to the particular charism of their community, expressed in service and prayer. By tradition, some work in schools, hospitals and parishes. Others are monastics. The brotherhood is a distinct vocation, not a step on the route to priesthood. The think tank affirmed the brotherhood as the heart of male religious life and examined ways to
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Br Andrew dinegar visits a resident at a seniors’ home. Religious brothers say that not being part of the Church’s hierarchy gives them greater freedom in ministry to respond to those most in need. (Photo: Lisa Johnston, St Louis Review) promote it as a serious vocational option for young men. Br Bednarczyk said the brothers in his community, the Congregation of Holy Cross, “share a communion of vocation with the priests and each is more complete because of the presence of both within the religious institute”. “This vocation is vital to the Church. Brothers have contributed significantly to the development of the Church, in ministry and as consecrated men, by giving of ourselves to humanity and to God,” Br Bednarczyk said. “Every religious community says something appropriate for the times,” said Christian Brother Robert Berger, associate professor of religious studies at Manhattan College. Br Berger said the charism of some religious communities can be distilled to an individual word. “For the Benedictines, it’s stability; the Franciscans, poverty; Christian Brothers, education; Trappists, silence; Dominicans, preaching. Since the Second Vatican Council, the gift has taken a new form, but is still vital to the Church,” he said.
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anhattan College was founded by the De La Salle Christian brothers. Br Berger said although there are more Lasallian schools, with more students now
than there were at the opening of Vatican II, the focus is now on the teaching charism, not on the brothers who live it. “At educational institutions themselves, there is a responsibility on the laypeople’s part to struggle to understand what the identity of the Catholic school means,” Br Berger said. “They may look to the religious order for guidance, but it’s up to them” to promote and sustain it. Br Berger said men considering a religious vocation today “are joining a seed, rather than a large plant”, but are attracted to the communal life and worship and the timeless values they promote. “The technology and speed of the way things are done in the 21st century is countercultural to a group of men who pray over psalms that are 3 000 years old,” he said. The brotherhood offers an opportunity to be present to young people in a way married men and priests cannot, Br Berger said. “I teach at Manhattan, but am also in charge of a residence hall. How many 61-year-old men are living with 263 undergraduates? It’s a gift of brotherhood that we’re with young people and not within the trappings of a parish structure,” he said. “The sense of freedom has been phenomenal,” Br Berger said. “To be working with young people who will be the Church of the 21st century is exciting. I get glimpses, but I have no idea how the spirit will work.”
Think tank participants said to promote interest in the brotherhood, religious communities should honour the distinct vocation, enhance its visibility in the church, reinforce the identity of brothers and make them more accessible to young people. “There is nothing so unique that brothers do in the church that others cannot do,” Br Bednarczyk said. “But the heart of our life is our communal life and prayer life, which is not always visible to people. It’s a challenge to make that hidden part visible to a world that craves community.” He said people drawn to religious life are “seeking a balance of prayer, community and ministry”. Marianist Brother Steve Glodek, director of the office of formation for mission for the US province of the Society of Mary, said brothers are somewhat invisible in Church circles and “not generally under the same ecclesiastical microscope” as priests. While this does not allow them to “do more or less” than others, Br Glodek said the lessened scrutiny allows brothers to focus “our vocation in this community we love”. He said the downside to invisibility is “as our institutional presence diminishes a bit, so does people’s familiarity with what we do and why. “Even people going through a university that oozes our spirituality and charism don’t have the interaction with brothers they would have had in the past.”—CNS
CAPUCHINS SOUTH AFRICA
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