Br. Dat Hoang, FSC

Lifelong Learning features Brother Dat Hoang this month. Brrother Dat is a Religion teacher at Christian Brothers High School in Sacramento, California.

"Where am I going?" "What am I doing with my life?" "How and where do I find happiness?" These are fundamental questions that most people ask themselves at critical moments in their lives. I am no exception. Seven years ago, I was asking these very questions. I had to decide whether I would join the Brothers of the Christian Schools, a religious community of men whose life and work I have come to admire. After much prayer, and reflecting upon my lived experiences, I felt that I was ready to commit myself to a community of prayer with the Brothers in order together to do educational work more effectively.

Now, as a Brother and a teacher, I have come to realize that we, the Christian Brothers, are lay and religious people in the Church who fulfill the ministerial needs of education to youth. Because we are supported by a community of fellowship and prayer, we have a unique base from which to gain encouragement, support, and comfort in our lives. By that, I mean that as a community we prayer together and present to God all the difficulties we may experience in our schools and in the community. Additionally, when any individual Brother experiences failure in new or difficult situations, the community always remains supportive. The community, indeed, provides the experience of trust, acceptance, and understanding. Through my years with the Brothers, it is obvious that we as Brothers take an interest in and actively seek to love and care for others. We share times of creation and socialization. We celebrate special events such as birthdays or Jubilees to celebrate our lives together.

"Where am I going?" "What am I doing with my life?" "How and where do I find happiness?" These questions, I believe, still exist. They challenge me constantly. The answers I make through my lived experiences with the Christian Brothers' communities have helped to live the questions. The past seven years have not always been easy. Yet, they have certainly been happy. I try to respond to these questions each day of my life with the Christian Brothers while experiencing new culture, language, and lifestyle as my religious journey continues.