Lois Harr Represents Manhattan at CIL 2010 in Rome

Last semester, Lois Harr, director of campus ministry, traveled to Rome for three weeks in November to attend the International Lasallian Centre (or Centro Internazionale Lasalliano in Italian) / CIL 2010: Understanding and Living Association Today. As a representative of the District of Eastern North America (DENA), Harr joined 76 other Lasallian representatives from around the world to deepen one’s personal reflection on the topic of Lasallian Association for Brothers and Lasallian Partners, and on the vow of association for brothers.

Beyond a conference, CIL is a formation program and included daily prayer, several liturgies, communal meals, inspiring presentations and many periods of discussion and reflection.

As part of Harr’s preparation for the conference, she was asked to read the document, “Associated for the Lasallian Mission … an act of HOPE” (Circular 461). An essential point in the document and the CIL program itself is that association is for mission and the mission is the Christian and human education of young people, especially the poor. The key message discussed is similar to Manhattan College’s own message to teach Catholic doctrine regarding social justice and offer our students the opportunity to meet and serve the poor and marginalized at home and abroad.

Throughout the three-week experience, Harr and the other CIL participants received inspiring and challenging presentations from Brothers and other theologians and spiritual directors. Harr’s favorite speaker was Br. Álvaro Rodríguez Echeverría, F.S.C., superior general of the the Institute of Brothers of the Christian Schools, and his talk was entitled, “The Prophetic Stance of Association for Mission.” He encouraged the CIL participants to create and participate in new structures that “…allow us to proclaim the prophetic word and more, that allow us to perform prophetic acts, responding creatively to the problems that the youth face today, especially the youth who are poor, the less loved, those who have more learning difficulties, those marginalized, and those forgotten.”

For more information on CIL and Circular 461, “Associated for the Lasallian Mission … an act of HOPE” is available at www.fscdena.org.