THE VOCATION OF
A BROTHER
Brother John M. Samaha, S.M.
What is a Brother? Have you ever met a Brother? Do you know any Brothers? What do Brothers do in the Church? These and similar questions are frequently
voiced. Such thoughts indicate a serious
lack of understanding of the Brother’s vocation.
Recalling that St. Paul
envisioned the totality of all the faithful in the living image of the Mystical
Body of Christ, we are reminded that different persons, each created for a
particular purpose, comprise the Church, just as the human body consists of a
variety of parts to perform different functions. This helps us to comprehend the role of the
religious state and the Brother’s vocation within the Church.
When we celebrate Liturgy we
are doing the work of the People of God.
The Fathers of the Church, both East and West, taught us that liturgy is
nothing less than the ongoing saving work of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, still
present and operative among us now through the Holy Spirit. The great Latin Father, Pope St. Leo the
Great, in the fifth century explained it in this way: “What was visible in our
Redeemer has passed over into sacraments.”
In other words, what Jesus did historically during his earthly life, he
continues to do sacramentally through the liturgical mysteries he celebrates in
and with his Church. Remember that “sacraments”
in the language of the Fathers refers to the mysteries of the whole, visible, ministry of the Church, not
just the seven sacraments in the popular, technical sense of the term. This reminds us that Jesus is working in us
and through us. In effect, each of us
is a sacrament of Christ.
The New Testament Scriptures call
all followers of Jesus “disciples.” And
so we are. From time to time the question
is raised, “What’s in a name?” The name “disciple,”
or the name “religious, or the title of address, “Brother,” is a symbol of the
reality. These names capture the essence
of our being.
The First Letter of John
offers a criterion of faithfulness. He
admonishes us to demonstrate our belief in Jesus Christ in action by loving and
serving as he commanded.
This understanding is the
foundation for the dynamic metaphor of the vine and the branches tended by the
vine grower presented in the Gospel of John.
This figure of a living organism
is used to indicate our union with the Redeemer in the Mystical Body of
Christ. The wide ranging variety of
clergy, religious, and laity comprise the many and diverse organs functioning
in union with the head to form the Whole
Christ, St. Augustine’s apt description of the Church. Though many, we are one in Christ, each of us
filling a God-given, specific purpose in the living organism of human society.
In this context, what can be
said of the religious Brother’s vocation?
Of all the vocations to religious life, the Brother’s vocation is the
least understood. The generality of
human society, Catholics and non-Catholics alike, usually catch the idea of
what a priest is and what a religious Sister is. But what a Brother is remains a puzzle to
most, especially if they have never known a Brother. Many think Brothers have failed the test for
the priesthood, or have gone only “half-way;” that they washed out of some
seminary. Puzzlement and confusion are
common regarding the Brother’s vocation.
One teacher described a Brother as a male nun. Frequently such people, when speaking of
religious vocations, mention priests and Sisters and unwittingly omit any
mention of Brothers. This happens
because they do not correctly understand the religious state of life; they do
not understand Brothers. Brothers are
much fewer in number, are less visible.
Recall that founders of some great religious orders were Brothers and
not priests; for example, St. Benedict and St. Francis of Assisi.
When discussing the three
states of life, the meaning of marriage and the single life are easily
evident. But to understand religious
life as a state of life and a way of life is more challenging, and many lack
close contact or conversation with religious.
Some erroneously think all priests are religious. But the priesthood and the diaconate are
offices belonging to Holy Orders, a function of service. The call of a Brother is to a way of life,
not to an office or service. Like Sisters
and Brothers, some priests embrace the religious state and enter a way of life
based on a particular spirituality.
But all Brothers enter the
religious state to accept a distinctive way of life in a Church-approved
congregation. All religious -- Sisters,
Brothers, and priests -- dedicate themselves to a way of life characterized by
the evangelical vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience lived in
community. The vows, common life, and
community life are the hallmarks of the religious state. The works of charity they perform are
secondary to being dedicated persons of prayer and sacrifice. The essence of religious life is being
someone consecrated to God, not doing a particular work. Being is more important than doing. It is necessary to see the Brother’s vocation
as a call to being totally Christ-centered in a particular way of life in the
religious state. This is the distinctive
place of the Brother in the life of the Mystical Body of Christ. Our call from God is to a special way of
life, not to a special work.
It is important to value the
religious state as Blessed William Joseph Chaminade, founder of the Marianists,
observed: religious life is to the Church as Christianity is to civilization.
Religious triads like the
Holy Trinity and the Holy Family are common in Christian life. If we liken the priestly and religious
vocations to the Holy Family, we Brothers can say, “We are Joseph.”
For all of us -- lay,
religious, and cleric -- Jesus calls us to share his life and to collaborate
with him. He invites us not to imitate
his life or to reproduce his life, but to participate in his life.
We Brothers thank God for the
gift of our vocation. We ask God to make
us proclaimers of his Gospel by our holiness of life.
We continue to wonder who
will take our places. We need to be
resolute in explaining more clearly the way of life we have entered, and more
active in inviting the young to consider God’s call to serve in the religious
state.
Let
us all--- religious and lay branches of the true vine -- glorify God by bearing
much fruit as his disciples. Heeding the
counsel of St. Francis of Assisi, let us always and everywhere preach the
Gospel, using words if necessary.
