MEDITATION for
The Vigil of the Nativity
by Saint John Baptist de La Salle

“The Emperor Augustus having issued an edict ordering a census to be taken of all the inhabitants of all the cities belonging to the Roman Empire, every person was obliged to register in his native town. This made Saint Joseph leave Nazareth, a city in Galilee where he lived, to go to Bethlehem, a town in Judea, in order to register there with Mary, his wife. On arriving there, they looked for a house where they could stay, but nobody was willing to accept them, because they were occupied by people more wealthy, more distinguished than they.

See how the world acts! People consider only what is externally apparent in person s , and pay respect to them only if they are attracted by what fascinates the eyes of the world. If people in Bethlehem had looked upon Mary as the Mother of the Messiah, as the woman who would soon bring forth for the world God made man, who would have dared to refuse to lodge her in their home? What marks of respect would not all Judea have paid her? But as they considered her only as an ordinary person and the wife of a working man, there was no part of shelter for her.

For how long has Jesus been presenting himself to you and knocking at the door of your hear t , in order to make his dwelling within you and you have not wanted to receive him?”

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“El emperador Augusto publicó un edicto que ordenaba hacer el empadronamiento de los habitantes en todas las ciudades dependientes del Imperio romano. Cada uno debía inscribirse en la ciudad de sus orígenes; por lo cual san José partió de Nazaret, ciudad de Galilea, donde vivía,, para ir a Belén, ciudad de Judea, a inscribirse allí, con su esposa María. Cuando llegaron, buscaron casa donde alojarse, pero nadie quiso recibirlos, porque ya las tenían ocupadas por personas más ricas e importantes que ellos.

Ved cómo se procede en el mundo: no se mira sino el aspecto externo de las personas, y no se las honra sino en la medida en que se lo ganan con lo que brilla a los ojos del siglo. Si in Belén hubieran mirado a la Santísima Virgen como la madre del Mesías, y la que muy pronto daría a luz al Dios hecho hombre, ¿quién se hubiera atrevido a negarle alojamiento en su casa? ¿Y qué honores no le habrían tributado en toda la Judea? Pero como sólo la consideraban persona corriente y la esposa de un artesano, en ningún sitio había habitación para ella.

¿Cuánto tiempo hace que Jesús se presenta ante vosotros, y llama a la puerta de vuestro corazón para establecer en él su morada, sin que hayáis querido recibirlo?”

NEWS BRIEFS

Prayers for Cathedral High School Students and Community

A car accident early on Wednesday December 20 in Los Angeles has taken the lives of three young men and injured two others. The two injured are freshmen at Cathedral High School, and two of the dead are Cathedral graduates from the class of 2006. Brother John Montgomery, FSC, principal of Cathedral High School, says that this Los Angeles Times report is accurate and reliable: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-fatal21dec21,0,7965452.story?track=mostviewed-homepage.

Please pray for the repose of the souls of the dead, the recovery of the injured, and the welfare of their families and communities.

Patrick Bonacci and Robert Gardner are Affiliated Christian Brothers

The Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools has given its highest honor to two members of the District of San Francisco:  Patrick Bonacci of La Salle High School in Pasadena and Robert M Gardner of Saint Mary’s College of California in Moraga, naming them “affiliated members” of the Institute and entitling them to the letters “AFSC” after their names. Affiliation ceremonies for Pat Bonacci were held at La Salle High School in Pasadena on November 18.  For the full story, and photographs, visit the La Salle High School, Pasadena, web site http://www.lasallehs.org  and click on NEWS & EVENTS. Robert Gardner, our District’s other new honoree, is a veteran teacher in the Collegiate Seminar Program and other programs in the School of Liberal Arts at Saint Mary’s College of California in Moraga. The affiliation ceremony for Bob Gardner is scheduled for February 24, 2007, at the College.

Huether Lasallian Conference in the City by the Bay

This annual Regional gathering of educators from throughout the U.S./Toronto Region took place in San Francisco November 30 to December 2. At the closing banquet at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory school, six educators received their District’s 2006 Distinguished Lasallian Educator award, including Tom English of Christian Brothers High School in Sacramento. The gathering of more than 160 Lasallians, on the theme of “Deepening Vocation,” was a great success. Greg Kopra of the District’s Office of Education, said, “It was a wonderful opportunity to reflect on our individual and collective vocations as Lasallians, to celebrate these vocations through prayer and conversation, and to explore ways we can support ourselves and others in continuing to live our vocations in generous service to others through education. “ A story and photos are on the Baltimore District web site: Click the NEWS button at www.fscbaltimore.org.

Ten Jubilarians in the District of San Francisco in the New Year

In 2007 we will celebrate major anniversaries for ten Christian Brothers in our District. January 25 is the 60 th anniversary of his reception of the Christian Brothers’ robe by Brother Casimir Reichlin; it also marks the 50 th anniversary of robing for Brother Richard Moratto. February 6 is the 60 th anniversary for Brother Timothy Rapa. Seven other Brothers will mark their jubilees later in 2007: They are Brother Columban Derby (75 th), Brother Felix Masson (70 th), Brother Mel Anderson (60 th), Brother Lasalle Bossong (60 th), Brother Haig Charshaf (60 th), Brother Martin Ash (50 th), and Brother Peter deGroot (50 th).

The District Chapter Continues This Month in Napa

The canonical legislative meeting of the Brothers of the San Francisco District has its second of two sessions December 27 to 31. Is responsible for setting direction and leadership for the District.

Newsweek Magazine Reports on Cristo Rey Schools

An article on the Cristo Rey model secondary schools and the proven effectiveness and rapid growth of this model is in Newsweek magazine (issue of Dec. 25-Jan. 1) titled “Education: The Rev. John Foley.” Read it at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16242487/site/newsweek

News from the Western Catholic Education Association

Listed last, but not least, on our web site’s roster of this District’s schools and works is the Western Catholic Education Association. The WCEA is a work of this District in the sense that is overseen by a Brother of our District, Brother William Carriere, FSC, Ph.D., who is in his second year as the WCEA’s first Executive Director. WCEA is a non-profit, private accrediting agency under the California Catholic Conference which accredits all of our schools in California as a co-accreditor with WASC.  All Catholic elementary and secondary schools are accredited first by WCEA and then reviewed one more time by WASC for the dual accreditation.  Brother William works with the elementary and secondary commissioners in each (arch)diocese who prepare the schools to conduct their Self-Studies, and he trains the visiting team chairs and members to conduct the three-day visit to the schools undergoing a renewal of their WCEA/WASC accreditation.  WCEA is located in twenty-two (arch) dioceses in seven states.  Recently Boise ( Idaho), Denver and Colorado Springs ( Colorado), Albuquerque ( New Mexico) and Salt Lake City ( Utah) have asked to join WCEA.  Brother William will visit each of these dioceses and their school principals to begin the process. He is also working with the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools and the North Central Association of Accredited Schools to become co-accreditors with those regional agencies. In mid-November Brother William attended an International Congress on Catholic Education in Paris, France, as one of about thirty North American delegates. The Congress was sponsored by the Vatican, UNESCO, and Fordham University, and centered on the role of the Catholic school in teaching students the principles of social justice.

The WCEA’s new web site is in the final stages of development. You can find it at www.westwcea.org.

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LASALLIANS WEST - DECEMBER 2006

A monthly newsletter
De La Salle Christian Brothers ● District of San Francisco

For information, contact
J. A. Gray
Director of Public Relations and Information Services
De La Salle Institute, Napa, California
707-252-3739