Crazy word, charism.  Unless people have some kind of relationship with a religious community, they often don’t know what it means.  In reality we are talking about the gift a founder brings to the world.  Einstein brought a massive new way of looking at the universe that still has impact on the scientific world and has changed the way we understand the dynamics of creation and even time.  

Another way to talk about it is the vitality of a group – what gives it life over time and animates its work. St. John Baptist de La Salle clearly brought a gift to the world in the way he understood education and implemented his system of education.  He changed educational systems throughout the world and even today schools use his popularized methods.

At the heart of De La Salle’s gift is the understanding that education is built upon relationships. The school is a community.   Central to the community is the relationship of the teacher with each young person and with all members of the educational community.  The teacher is the face of God’s love and one who connects young people with Jesus.  The task of the teacher is complex and difficult and so can only be done in community.  Together (my local educational team) and by Association (our connection to the global community of communities) and the idea of stability (we don’t veer away from what we have been called to do) is an important part of the Lasallian charism/gift/vitality.  These things, together, are built on faith in God and become, for the teacher, a zealous passion for the wellbeing of those entrusted to his or her care.  They are central to who we are and have been for more than 340 years.