 Builders of hope, Reflections of Christ: All Saints week-end was an important one for Young Lasallians. They were gathered at Toulouse to assess two years inspired by the motto, 'Local Children, Dare to take a Look, Build up Hope'.
Brother Theophile Penndu gave an overview of those two years. The Young Lasallian's eye is an eye which sees beyond appearances. As the Moon reflects the rays of the sun, we seek to reflect the light of God.
On Saturday evening was a late session when we reflected on the various ways of looking which took place. This was done by means of masks on which we wrote all these various ways of looking. After daring to take a look, we built up hope following the example of five witnesses: Stan Rougier, Jean Vanier 'Love is possible', Guy Gilbert, Brother Roger of Taizé 'God deposits a gospel treasure in the clay vessels, which we are', and Abbé Pierre. After the session a period of adoration was suggested for those so inclined.
On Sunday morning we continued to build hope. Brother Josselin (24 years old) left for six months in Argentina, a country in the grip of a serious crisis. Faced with this, in Cordoba where Brother Josselin lived for these six months, the Brothers built a school in a poor area. The people said what they expected of the school and it tried to respond to that. Each class undertook a project. Thus the school is the kernel of an area in which there is no public welfare service.
 Karen Gallay and Brother Daniel built hope within the gypsy community in Perpignan. Karen gave witness by living three months with the gypsies, through the medium of the mobile classroom for the children and discovering gypsy society. It was a matter of changing her view of this community.
By means of a car rally the young Lasallians discovered Toulouse's special architecture and the numerous historic monuments in the town centre. It finished up at the Church of the Jacobins, where we celebrated Mass. This was beautiful and devotional, and some masks, decorated that same morning, were placed in front of the altar.
Referring to Haïti, Brother Jacques d'Huiteau told us there could be every reason to despair.
But, there is the choice of confronting it.
Building hope is saying no to what can seem like a tragedy.
Building hope is taking steps and not waiting for something to happen; it is adapting to the situation.
Confident hope must be built up. Expectant hope is much stronger because it rests on a promise, the promise of Christ, and it is matter of living this promise which comes to us through our faith.
As Brother Jacques d'Huiteau reminded us, this week-end is not an ending but a step on the way. We became aware of the many plans of each of the Young Lasallian teams. The new motto which is going to carry us through the coming two years is, "Young Lasallian, draw me your star".
Sincere thanks to the organisers of this week-end, to the people of Toulouse who welcomed us, to the Brothers present either in Toulouse or through their prayers and to the leaders of the institutions which supported the Young Lasallians in this project.
(François-Xavier SIGAUT,President of French Young Lasallians) |
XV Annual Meeting of Young Lasallians of the District of São Paulo: On September 3rd, 2004, one hundred sixty young people were leaving their houses, taking to the road, heading to the XV Annual Meeting of Young Lasallians of the District of São Paulo. Coming from different cities in Brazil, they arrived on the morning of September 4th. For some of them traveling took twenty hours, for others just four, but everyone was equally enthusiastic to have three days of sharing experiences and receiving formation while developing the topic: The Spirituality of the Young Lasallian. 
The meeting was divided in three parts. The first, focused on the person of Jesus Christ, His life and His History. The second was dedicated to the Institute: Addressing the Spiritual Inheritance of La Salle and some topics of the 43rd General Chapter. It also included three workshops about La Salle, Lasallian Martyrs and The Life of the Brothers. Then, the third part was time to reflect on our District, to share what has been done this year and to plan our activities for next year.
The meeting was opened by Brother Visitor Ignácio Weschenfelder, who spoke about how important we are to the Institute and he invited us to continue committing ourselves to the betterment of the poor and especially to children. 
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