By Bob Carrejo
This is the final in a series of profiles of Christian Brothers for National Vocations Awareness Week. This interview has been edited for length.
Brother Mariano Lopez, FSC, teaches religion at St. Michael’s High School in Santa Fe, New Mexico. A native Santa Fean and St. Michael’s alumnus, Brother Mariano’s 50-year career as a Brother has taken him to numerous schools, where he has served in the classroom, campus ministry, vocation ministry, and as director of several Brothers’ communities. In this interview, Brother offers some of his memories and thoughts from those years.
What is your definition of vocation?
My definition of vocation is attempting to live out what one thinks God is asking of one to do in life. In my discernment process, I have to be responsive enough to follow to the best of my ability.
The Founder described his vocation journey in terms of God leading him “in an imperceptible way and over a long period of time so that one commitment led to another in a way that I did not foresee in the beginning.” How does that resonate with your story of how you’ve arrived where you are today?
When one decides on a life choice, one makes a commitment with no guarantees as to whether it will work out; that is where trust in God begins. I thought that at the beginning of my commitment it would be easy – it became challenging! I have been put into leadership positions and I have continued on that journey of leadership, and the challenges remain. At the beginning of my service to God as a Brother, I went through some rough patches, but with time life became more doable.
What do you see as the importance of community both to the Lasallian mission and to you personally? And what, for you, have been its biggest gifts and challenges?
Community means the presence of God and being together, laughing, being challenged … TOGETHER. Community gives us something to go back to. There are individuals who grace us with their presence. For me, the gifts have been being together and having unique conversations about our life together in honest discussions. I have served in a poverty community, a formation community, and now a semi-retired community. All of them have their joys and sorrows. But we all know that God is present in our different communities.
How would you describe what it means to have a prayer life?
My prayer life is a continuous reading of the Gospel, community prayer, and a continual response to God’s mercy and love through the way I live.
What are your goals as a teacher and what are your main ways of accompanying your students in their faith formation?
My ministry of teaching means giving my students knowledge and an awareness of where they are; receiving challenges whether expected or not, helping students articulate the things they want to say and express. It also means being present to them in areas other than a classroom.
Some observers question whether or not the vowed religious life is still relevant to today’s culture. What does your experience as a De La Salle Brother tell you?
As for the question of relevancy, Yes! We are relevant! We are needed more than we realize. In my experience, vowed religious life is relevant and enjoyed but not always understood by those who are not involved. As I get older, I realize that some in today’s society want guarantees, but there are no guarantees, just a faith in a God who will guide us. Reflection is always necessary.
“In the Rule of 1718, the Founder wrote, ‘The necessity of this Institute is very great.’ In these times, what do you see as the Institute’s unique and essential gift to our society?
The Institute has as gifts men like us who have been blessed with the grace of community, teaching or working in education, an acknowledgement with pride of our vowed life, and an overall feeling of satisfaction that despite challenges, we are in this together.
What gives you your greatest joy as a Brother?
My greatest joys are talking to other Brothers about our spirituality, serving our students and finding out that we are loved in return. In my experience, it’s “cool” to be called Brother, to be considered a “big brother,” and to respond to needs in ways that not everyone can.