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| The First "Mission House" |
The purpose of the Institute
of the Brothers of the Christian Schools is to give a
human and Christian education to the young, especially
the poor, according to the ministry which the Church has
entrusted to it.
John Baptist de La Salle gave a new meaning to the school
by making it accessible to the poor and offering it to
all as a sign of the Kingdom and as a means of salvation.
The Christian school, which has always to be given new
vitality, is the preferred field for the activity of the
Brothers. The Institute also explores other possibilities
for teaching and education more adapted to the needs of
time and place.
The spirit of this Institute is first, a spirit of faith.
It should induce those who compose it not to look upon
anything but with the eyes of faith, not to do anything
but in view of God, and to attribute all to God. Brothers
enter into these sentiments of Job: "The Lord gave
and the Lord has taken away; as it has pleased the Lord,
so it is done", and into other similar sentiments
so often expressed in the Holy Scriptures.
The second spirit of the Institute is an ardent zeal.
It is the zeal for the instruction of children and for
bringing them up in the fear of God, inducing them to
preserve their innocence, and inspiring them with a great
aversion and horror for sin.
In order to enter into this spirit, the Brothers of the
Society strive by prayer, instruction, and by their vigilance
and good conduct in school, to produce the salvation of
the children confided to care, bringing them up in piety
and truly Christian spirit, that is, according to the
rules and maxims of the Gospel.
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