Religious Brothers - Hidden Treasure: The Witness of Vowed Brotherhood in The Church

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dc.contributor.authorMassay, George
dc.date.accessioned2021-01-18T09:28:04Z
dc.date.available2021-01-18T09:28:04Z
dc.date.issued2003
dc.description.abstractMarcellin Champagnat once wrote: "A brother is one for whom the world is not a big enough place." These words capture quite starkly the vocation of a brother. A brother is in relationship with whomever and whatsoever is around him He is in relationship with the whole universe. The words of Champagnat, I believe, are about the heart of being brother, the heart, filled with passion for love. The brother, I believe, is the one who opens his heart wide to love, serve, and save humanity and nature from human destruction by being sensitive. Sandra Schneiders comments: "What we do with our hearts, affects the whole universe."2 These are powerful words, loaded with meaning. The human heart can have an impact on the whole universe. The way one relates with people and nature can have far greater impact than one can imagine. The brother's heart is wide enough to embrace the whole universe. Brothers live and work amongst people. Their role in the church is not as evident as compared to that of priests, sisters and the laity. They live together in communities and most of them dress in a very simple manner. Most of these men are cheerful, and filll of life and enthusiasm. Yet, quite ironically, religious brothers in the Catholic church occupy an ambiguous position. Very few people know who they are. The majority of Catholics simply confuse religious brothers with priests who, they think, have similarities such as being unmarried men, celibate, and ministers in the church. Catholic religious brotherhood is not valued highly by many people, neither lay nor clergy. According to my observation, it is seen as an incomplete state of life -- men who are not good enough for anything else. Brotherhood is seen as halfway towards priesthood. Because of this ambiguity and the non-recognition of religious brothers in the life of the church, I have a very special interest to explore, study and understand the nature and dynamics of this lifestyle -- the very one to which I have been called. I hope that this study might, in some small way, re-awaken the interest of laity, the brothers, and the clergy in further exploration about, and recpgnition of, the gift of brotherhood in and for the church. These factors now lead me to explore the identity of brothers and where they "fit" in the church. Hopefully, this exploration will help brothers to respond to the needs of the church and of the wider society. The whole of humanity is faced with the crisis of identity. Are brothers an exception to this?en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12342/1175
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherTangaza University Collegeen_US
dc.subjectReligious Brothersen_US
dc.subjectHidden Treasureen_US
dc.subjectVowed Brotherhooden_US
dc.titleReligious Brothers - Hidden Treasure: The Witness of Vowed Brotherhood in The Churchen_US
dc.typeOtheren_US
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