‘LaSallian Stories on the Road’

Each Christmas, there is a long held tradition that the General Superior of the La Salle Brothers worldwide will release a pastoral letter. This year, this tradition was upheld but given a different twist. This year, the head of the La Salle Brothers globally is Br. Armin Luistro, the first Asian and Filipino to hold this prestigious position.

Instead of following the formal writing style, Br. Luistro opted to use the more personal and informal writing style which he described as “popular among blog writers.”

He explained: “The stories here are from real encounters with persons I had the privilege to meet; sometimes, the persons and places are named, but other times anonymized… Each segment is intentionally brief, stands on its own and may be used to start a casual talk, trigger deeper reflections, inspire some to pray or provoke others to action.”

These stories are meant not just for the Christian brothers but also for the wider LaSallian family or even anyone who may find some use for this. Br. Armin quotes Elie Wiesel: “God made human beings because God loves stories.”

The Pastoral Letter includes 16 segments or stories which are all worth reading. The Pastoral Letter is entitled “LaSallian Stories on the Road.”  It can be accessed through  lasallian.org. I cannot reprint all 16 stories but here are a few excerpts.

Forget your perfect offering

The composer of “Anthem” has encouraging words for those uncomfortable with imperfection: ‘This is not the place where you make things perfect, neither in your marriage nor in your work nor anything, nor your love of God, nor your love of family or country. The thing is imperfect. And worse, there is a crack in everything that you can put together, mental objects, physical objects, construction of any kind. But that’s where the light comes in, and that’s where the resurrection is, and that’s where the return is, that’s where the repentance is. It is with the confrontation of the brokenness of things…”

Howard Jacobson is forthright on the message of Cohen’s “Anthem:” “It’s like a reprimand to people of right temperament – life’s complainant, eroticists of disappointment, lovers only of what is lawless and overwrought. Could he be singing this to me?... By our inaction in the face of climate change, we are contributing directly to the very abolition of our humanity.”

This was the same message of Swedish teenage advocate Greta Thunberg in COP 24 to politicians and entrepreneurs: “I will be 75 years old in 2078.  If I have children, they might have to spend the day with me and ask me about you, and why you did not do anything while there was still time to act.  You say you love your children but you are robbing them of the future.”

Br. Armin’s nationality as a Filipino must have motivated him to include one story about the Filipino Christmas. Here is that story.

Here comes life

What may be the longest Christmas season in the world is celebrated in the Philippines beginning on the first day of December and lasting until just before Valentine’s Day in February. Visitors to the country may find it odd that our traditional Christmas lantern, the parol, is prominently displayed in front of the humblest abode for more than five months. The Filipino version of the Missa de Gallo (Mass of the Rooster) or nine-day novena masses before Christmas is called Simbang Gabi (Night Mass). Although it starts as early as 4 a.m., as crowing roosters announce break of day.

In some parts of the country, they still practice the “Panunuluyan,” a reenactment of Joseph and Mary’s search for lodging at selected homes in the poblacion or city center with dramatic scenes of heartless rejections from some wealthy house owners. Welcoming a newborn opens our hearts – men included, to experience the labor pains of a mother. If we cannot afford to bear pain and anguish in our hearts, we cannot welcome a child into our hearts. The hospitality of the heart is an indispensable prerequisite before we can welcome a child into our homes or schools. A knock at the door of our hearts is an invitation to empathy. It is an invitation to feel the pain of the other, who may be a stranger.

It is easier to keep distant and remain objective. But it is only when I have embraced the anguish of the other that he ceases to be a stranger. She is not alien to me anymore. The eyes of my heart are opened to the profound truth that he is my brother; she is my sister! When that happens, my heart is born anew.

I hope that these excerpts have motivated the reader to read all the 16 stories in the pastoral letter of Br. Armin Luistro.

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