De La Salle Christian Brother currently serving as @lasalleorg General Councilor
Hopefully, where God needs me
Joined August 2015
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As a faithful and religious brother, never have I been so moved to pray for the Holy Father. May God’s wisdom, the love of Jesus, and the Holy Spirit’s guidance surround him.
Dear friends: I don’t know any Catholic in the United States, from the most traditional to the most progressive, who does not have strong feelings about the comments from President Trump and Vice President Vance about Pope Leo XIV. These include not only President Trump’s initial disrespectful Truth Social post about the Holy Father, but also Vice President Vance’s similarly disrespectful comments about Pope Leo having to be “careful” when he speaks about theology.
Let me share some of my own feelings. First of all, it is shocking that a President and Vice President would treat such a good, holy and learned man with such disdain. Imagine telling a man with the Holy Father’s learning and experience (and authority) that he doesn’t understand theology sufficiently. What’s more, imagine attacking him as, ridiculously, “weak on crime” or somehow not understanding foreign policy.
Second, I’m edified by Pope Leo’s charitable and courageous response to all this. Charitable because he has not responded in any way other than with charity and respect. As some of you may know, I know the Holy Father slightly, thanks to our being seated together at the Synod for two weeks, and know him to be a kind, reserved, discerning and highly intelligent person. In a word, holy.
But courageous too: as we have seen during his time in Algeria and Cameroon, Pope Leo has not shied away from continuing to preach the Gospel, and speaking out in favor of peace (and yes, he understands St. Augustine’s concept of the “just war”) and against, as he said today, tyrants and those who would use God’s name to support violence of bloodshed.
So, where will this all end? It’s hard to say. But I would imagine that now that the taboo has been broken, politicians will continue to denigrate him and thus try to persuade people, without saying it explicitly, to think that the Pope’s words do not need to be listened to.
But this will be in vain for two reasons. First, Pope Leo is clearly fearless. A few hours after he was elected as pope, I spoke with a fellow Augustinian priest who had known “Bob” for decades. “He’s a great listener, very kind and much loved.” Then he paused. “But he’s no pushover.” But the main reason that the Pope’s words will be heard is less about Robert Prevost’s own many virtues but something else: the Vicar of Christ will be heard because he is preaching the Gospel. As Jesus told his disciples, “Heaven and earth may pass away, but my words will never pass away.” So, in these strange times, fear not.
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Yes! This is Los Angeles!
Opening Day in LA isn’t just baseball, it’s family.
“Different neighborhoods, different lives, different languages… same jersey, same hope.”
Let’s go @Dodgers 💙⚾ #OpeningDay
From South Sudan to Rome, the last week has allowed for close accompaniment of our mission in S. Sudan and to continue our engagement with the inter-congregational project, Solidarity w/ South Sudan. Particularly grateful to our Brothers who have & continue to serve in S. Sudan.
Life of a General Councilor & Superior General: I arrived home last night. Our Superior General arrived this morning. I leave tonight for a next visit & he leaves tomorrow AM. So, when do you schedule a meeting? On the walk from the Generalate to the Airport Bus Shuttle! 🙃👏
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A blessed week with the 40 delegates representing our Pacific Asia young brothers as they reflected on being leaven of faith, service, & community. Encouraged by their desire to deepen the gift of our fraternity in service to the Institute and needs of the mission. 🙏
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A blessing to be participating in the Jubilee of Synodal teams. The reflection by Cardinal Rys this evening provided much to consider and reflect with.
His Eminence, Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś, Archbishop of Łódź (Poland), reflects on #Synodality in the face of tensions in the #Church, reminding us that only through #transformation in #Christ can we move from me to us, #unity without uniformity, and preservation into #mission.
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It was a blessing for @lasalleorg to serve as the host site for the @NCCHM and Instituto Fe y Vida, a Lasallian ministry, Jubilee of Migrants meetings. We, too, walk as pilgrims of hope, especially with our migrant sisters and brothers at this time.
“It’s not an easy kind of hope. Pope Francis taught us that hope is both a gift and a duty,” said @DylanCorbett23 (Executive Director of @HopeBorder) to the @NCCHM “Pilgrimage of Hope” in Rome earlier this month.
catholicreview.org/walking-w…
Before you like, retweet, or comment, visit the Holy Land, visit the West Bank, and understand the reality. He is not speaking to reality.
“There is no Palestinian state, and the only time there will ever be one is if there's a negotiation with Israel, which right now is impossible because they have a war going on with Hamas…The only leader in the world really that can broker that or bring that together is President Trump.” — @SecRubio on @CBSMornings
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Our La Salle - Rumbek, South Sudan Brothers’ Community. Four Brothers from four different countries responding to the call to the peripheries. A gift for the mission, the Church, and witnesses that another world is possible.
As a consecrated religious, I find this offensive. Using religion and religious practice as a political tool. As Christians, praying involves a deep connection with Jesus and the Gospel message. This government agency doesn’t seem to connect the dots, I guess.
July 31: 📍Rome, Italy. 300+ Young Lasallians in Rome for the Jubilee of Youth. #pilgrimsofhope
What a blessing to spend some time with our delegation from Bethlehem University attending the Jubilee on Youth. Truly pilgrims of hope!
ENG | As part of the 2025 Jubilee of Youth, the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools organised an event to share and come together around the charism we inherited from Saint John Baptist de La Salle: the Open House. #LaSalleOrgNews
youtube.com/watch?si=UX6f1j4…
Nope. The city was never in chaos until the federal government decided it was a target.
You’re welcome Mayor.
These brave troops are redeploying because their mission was so successful.
You should be thanking them for saving your city from mobs & chaos.
We will continue to support law enforcement—even when you won’t.
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Pained by what is happening in Los Angeles (and across the country), thank you @BishopSeitz for the depth provided in this piece and particularly the reminder that “for our words to be credible, they must be born of genuine solidarity, a solidarity that inspires action.”
'The Living Vein of Compassion'
Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso reflects on the Church’s prophetic role during an era of anti-immigrant scapegoating:
commonwealmagazine.org/livin…
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On May 15th, when our Institute recalls Saint John Baptist de La Salle being declared Patron Saint of Christian Educators, we were blessed to be welcomed by Pope Leo XIV. A blessed encounter. lasalle.org/en/pope-leo-xiv-…
And to do so with the same faith and zeal of John Baptist de La Salle, Patron Saint of Teachers, whose spirit continues to be lived out by so many Lasallian educators.
Message from the Pope to Catholic educators 👨🏫👩🏫: Adopt new forms of language with students and pay attention to dynamics that lead young people toward isolation, relativism, and emotional instability.
romereports.com/en/2025/05/1…
Photo: VaticanMedia
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"...teaching, besides being a service to society and a valuable work of charity, still appears today as one of the most beautiful and eloquent expressions of that priestly, prophetic and kingly munus we have all received in Baptism..."
Pope Leo XIV commends the educational efforts of the De La Salle Brothers, and encourages them to continue "inspiring joyful and fruitful paths of holiness."
loom.ly/pUPwkbY
Well, tomorrow, and I do think it’s thanks to Br Alvaro’s friendship (former Superior General) with former Cardinal Bob (see story below) we have the opportunity to meet with Pope Leo XIV who is honoring a previously scheduled Papal Audience. A blessing for the Lasallian family.
ENG|| Brother Álvaro Rodríguez Echeverría, former Superior General of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, reflects on the election of Pope Leo XIV, with whom he shared in the Union of Superiors General (USG).
Learn more at: lasalle.org/en/pope-leo-xiv-…
