A brief history of laymen in religious life.
There
have been many forms of lay-religious over the centuries.
In
the earliest times most monks were laymen with a few priests. The
early monasteries were mainly filled with laymen.
But as time
passed the older orders became more clerical, more members were
ordained priests, and the laymen were given to the material care of
the monastery. Gradually they became like servants.
At the
Council of Trent in the 16thc, with this increase in the
numbers of priests in monasteries, the office of superior was
eventually reserved specifically to priests. During this time the new
orders were mainly priests but included some lay members. The lay
members worked alongside the priests but with different tasks to
perform. This continued into the 19th century.
So
there was a gradual progression over the centuries from being mainly
lay religious to being mainly priest religious.
19th century:
In some parts
of the world, the mid 19thc was a time of suppression
against the older religious Orders and Congregations because they had
accumulated too much power and influence over the civil affairs of
society.
The Church was being persecuted and was facing a crisis. At this time the Church was in search of a new identity.
Some new congregations were formed. Some were trying to re-create the traditional style of monastic life. Others were attempting to begin a completely new type of religious life more in touch with the period of history.
Well perhaps that is
happening now! Again the Church is facing a crisis and looking for a
new identity!
Around this time there was a new
understanding of the role of the laity in the Church. Holiness
was everybody’s call, regardless of any clerical or lay status.
Holiness or
“Devotion” was for St Francis de Sales everyone’s vocation.
Holiness can be gained in every occupation. He gave examples of holy
people in their everyday life. One of these is St Joseph. He attained
holiness doing his everyday job in the carpenters’ workshop.
Don
Bosco chose St Joseph as one of the first patrons of the Salesian
Society.
Joseph was a simple layman who was Jesus’ teacher!
St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) wrote and worked on the idea of the call to holiness of everyone without exception.
The Salesian Society:
This was the
environment in which Don Bosco began forming his ideas of a new
Society. He wanted to have both priests and lay people striving
towards holiness by working as equal partners for the salvation of
the young.
But his idea of the Salesian Brother formed
gradually, and is still evolving today.
The aim of the congregation is to unite its members, priests, clerical students and laymen, for the purpose of perfecting themselves by imitating our divine Saviour, especially in charity toward the young: Don Bosco, 1858 draft of Constitutions.
In the years 1858 to 1862 Don Bosco was working on his draft of the Salesian Constitutions and he speaks of lay people, not of coadjutor brothers.
Society of St F d Sales
The Congregation was
founded on 9 Dec 1859 with 19 members. All were clerics. There were
laymen working with Don Bosco all this time.
By 2 Feb
1860, only two months later, the first layman took vows as a
Salesian.
His name was Joseph Rossi.
Two years after
this, on 14 May 1862 twenty-two members were admitted into the
Society two of whom were laymen
In 1867 Don Bosco used the term coadjutor meaning lay helpers or domestics, not religious.
Constitutions…
In forming his Constitutions, Don Bosco was influenced in part by the Congregation of the schools of Charity and the Vincentians who had lay members, but they had a subservient role. Don Bosco wanted his laymen and priests to share the same consecration and apostolate. Don Bosco was thinking of one Salesian religious vocation that would be open to members who might opt either for the priesthood or for the lay state. This is the originality of which Fr Caviglia speaks.
The Salesian Brother, without any outward sign lives by the evangelical counsels, exemplifies in his life the pattern of the Christian person according to the example of Jesus. (Paraphrasing Fr Cavaglia)
However clear Don Bosco’s idea was, it still took many years to conceptualize and express in practice the nature and apostolic task of the lay Salesian. (A. Lenti)
Problems already!
Even at this early
stage in the history of the Society, there was a tendency for some to
regard the Brothers as lower class!
On the 31 March 1876 in his Good Night Don Bosco said:
“There is no distinction between members of the Congregation. Everyone is treated the same, artisans, young clerics and priests. We consider ourselves brothers”
In 1877, in a new hand written edition of the regulations for the House and the Oratory, Don Bosco used the term “coadjutor” for the first time to describe both the domestic helpers and lay-religious members of the Salesian Congregation.
The coadjutors who belong to the congregation must keep the practices of piety listed in their rule. So there is now a clear distinction between the domestic helpers and lay Salesians. But the term coadjutor was still used for both.
Again!
In 1883 only seven
years after the above statement of Don Bosco, somebody said at the
third General Chapter held at Valdocco,
“Coadjutors
must be kept low…” !
Don Bosco reacted sharply,
“Not at all. Our Brother Coadjutors are like everyone
else.”
At the same Chapter of 1883 Don Bosco wanted the lay members to continue to be called coadjutors as well as the lay helpers. However the idea of calling the coadjutors “Brother” was discussed for the first time.
Soon after this Chapter the term “coadjutor” was used only for the lay religious members of the Society.
The role of the
Brother:
Don Bosco had to clarify his ideas
further.
He said to the Brothers in a conference sometime later
after mentioning many fields of work from workshops to classrooms to
financial management and others:
“You are not the ones
to take the manual chores directly. Your task is to direct. You ought
to act as the master supervising the workers, not as a servant…
You ought not to be servants but masters; not subjects but superiors.”
Now I shall tell you
my second point. Since you are helping in such important work, you
must be men of great virtue…
For Don Bosco his idea of
the Brother evolved gradually, but he always spoke of
unity
and equality, where all are bound by the
common life, common charity and the simple vows.
From “Don Bosco: History and Spirit” by Arthur Lenti:
An early daft of the Constitutions by Don Bosco:
“All the gathered members lead the common life, bound together only by fraternal charity and by the simple vows, which bind them to form one heart and one soul in order to love and serve God.”
In forming his Constitutions, Don Bosco was influenced in part by the Congregation of the schools of Charity and the Vincentians who had lay members, but the had a subservient role.
Don Bosco wanted his laymen and priests to share the same consecration and apostolate.
Don Bosco was thinking of one Salesian religious vocation that would be open to members who might opt for the priesthood or for the lay state.
This is the originality of Don Bosco of which Fr Caviglia speaks.
However clear Don Bosco’s idea was, it still took many years to conceptualize and express in practice the nature and apostolic task of the lay Salesian. (A. Lenti)
What is the essence of Don Bosco’s idea which we must not lose?
For Don Bosco his
lay Salesians were to work in the workshops and trade schools, in the
office and in the city, in the classrooms, on the building site and
the farm, and on the missions, in fact in all areas where work was to
be found.
The Salesian Brother could fill any area of
work.
But he must be properly trained. Both professionally and spiritually.
The only place the Brother could not go was that reserved specifically for the Priest by his ordination.
Michael Rua 1888 – 1910;
“Our Society is so constituted that it offers abundant possibilities for apostolic ministry not only to its priestly members, but also to its dear Salesian Brothers… the forming of personnel is vital to the work of our Society… many have high school diplomas, college degrees and teaching credentials… ”
Paul Albera 1911 – 1921:
“In the older
religious orders lay-brothers form a kind of second order… Don
Bosco did away with such dualism. All Salesians share the same rights
and privileges … they are fully Salesian religious, with the same
Salesian vocation, and the same apostolate as the priests, except for
that which pertains to the ordained ministry.
He was a Salesian
presence representing Don Bosco where clerics were not able to go due
to the anti-clerical atmosphere of the time.
What about
now? Is there an anti-clerical feeling now? Where do we fit in today?
I think even in the Church today there is a new realization of the clericalism within the Church and the harm it has done.
Clericalism puts the Church hierarchy in a position of power over the laity, which can be abused.
Clothing:
From the very
beginning Don Bosco wanted the Brothers to dress neatly as laymen.
Curiously in some provinces in the past and even today,
there has been a tendency for the Brothers to dress almost as clerics
wearing black and white and sometimes even a clerical collar! I have
heard of Brothers dressed in albs and cassocks!
But Don
Bosco wanted us to be religious in shirtsleeves.
So what is happening? Is there still confusion about who the Brother is?
Didn’t Don Bosco make it clear?
It is not about what we wear or what we are called. Who we are and our Faith in Jesus Christ is all that matters.
Who we are is not what we wear or what we are called or what badge or medal we wear. We are not our trousers or our shirt!
The Salesian Brother is a man of Faith in Jesus Christ. He is a Salesian of Don Bosco.
We give witness to Jesus through the example of our life. We give witness to the existence of God through our relationships with everyone we meet.
We lead the young
and the old to Faith by the example of our life of Faith.
The
Salesian Brother today:
However!
The
Salesian Brother is a consecrated layman striving for holiness by the
practice of the simple vows. This brings the responsibilities and
discipline of the religious life. Faithfulness to our call is the
greatest witness we can give to the world.
We are men
walking in the footsteps of Don Bosco dedicated to the salvation of
souls, especially the young and those most in need, especially
through education. We are called to work in whatever field is
required for the work of the Congregation.
The Salesian
Brother is a prophet speaking the truth with his life and
being a sign of contradiction in the world. We challenge the
consumerist and materialist societies in which we live.
The
Salesian Brother is ready to be a visible witness to the existence of
God by his life.
The fruits of his labours will be seen in the
lives of those he has educated. He sows the seed and someone else
reaps the harvest.
Crisis:
In Australia, due to
the abuse crisis around the world, religious are experiencing a
decline in status. No longer are we automatically held in high
esteem. We must earn peoples’ trust and esteem.
Some of our
confreres are afraid to say they work at “Salesian College”.
All religious are facing a hostile world today. Perhaps this is similar to Don Bosco’s time.
Visible, Credible and Fruitful:
We are called as Salesians to be a sign of the reality of God for the young.
Our witness:
The questions young people often ask show me that my life makes them think.
They see what I represent and are confronted by it e.g. A boy states that he knows why I do what I do. I ask him to explain. He answers that I do what I do because I believe in God. He came to this belief only by seeing me around the school. Perhaps he will come to Faith through my example. I hope so.
Why did you become a Brother? They often ask.
This is always an opening for some fruitful conversation on the idea of religious life, Jesus and Don Bosco.
Don Bosco was a model of holiness because his work broke with the way of thinking and believing of his contemporaries. (Rector Major)
Don Michael Rua 1888-1910
Our Society is so constituted that it offers abundant possibilities for apostolic ministry not only to its salesian priestly members, but also to its dear Salesian Brothers…the forming of personnel is vital to the work of our Society…many have high school diplomas, college degrees and teaching credentials…
Don Albera: 1911 – 1921
In the older religious orders lay-brothers form a kind of second order…
Don Bosco did away with such dualism. All Salesians share the same rights and privileges… they are fully Salesian religious, with the one Salesian vocation, and the same apostolate as the priests, except for that which pertains to the ordained ministry.
What aspects of his holiness seem most interesting today?
Can we interpret Christ’s Gospel for our own times, as Don Bosco did for his?
So can we be as dangerously imaginative today as Don Bosco was?
How must we respond to our current situation? And not just copy what others are doing?
How can we imitate Christ in responding to our particular situations today?
My references are:
“The Salesian Brother” Rome 1989
“Don Bosco’s Lay
Religious” by Enzo Bianco
“Don Bosco” Teresio
Bosco
“Introduction to the Devout Life” Francis de Sales
