feast of st. john baptiste de la salle

Today (it said in other years and I don't know what that means) is the feast day of St. John Baptiste de la Salle. Since Pete, his uncle and grandfather and now our four boys were educated by the Brothers of the Christian Schools and then Itoo, when I attended a Christian Brothers' College, I owe a great debt of gratitude to this man. He was born in Rheims in France in 1651. He became a priest and devoted himself wholeheartedly to the education of children, founding schools for the poor. He and his colleagues formed a congregation called the Brothers of the Christian Schools, in whose cause he suffered many tribulations. He died in Rouen in 1719. In thanksgiving to all of the brothers who taught me and Pete and for the charism that lives on through the lay men and women teaching in his schools. I do believe that most teachers and religious women and men at Christian Bros. schools do try very very hard to "love, guide and instruct"(in that order) in the tradition of St. John. In gratitude for the effort and especially for the times they have succeeded in touching so many lives in a Christ like way. I've witnessed it myself. Okay, for example, I had a priest pull me out of class one day and share that he had read my writing and that he didn't think I was living up to my potential in terms of class work. Oops. While I was embarassed, it was a great gesture of generosity for him to address me in all seriousness. I'll never forget Fr. Edgar McCarren... beautiful Irishman with a beatific smile and a passion for education.