By Brother Michael Phipps, FSC
If you had asked me to define commitment 10 years ago, I would have answered with an assured, focused response with a flowery delivery, but lacking substance beneath the surface. Ten years ago, in the early summer of 2014, I was entering deeper into formation as a postulant with the De La Salle Christian Brothers. Preparing to move from Philadelphia to the suburbs of Chicago, commitment felt like the easiest concept in the world, a sphere that made complete sense — almost too much sense, as I would come to discover.
If you had asked me to define this word yesterday, my answer would carry more substance — the result of years of ongoing discernment. I have discovered that writing down a commitment and living out that same commitment exists as often divergent realities.
Yes, putting words on paper or a screen signifies a decision made. However, living the reality of a written commitment requires something deeper; it demands a connection with something greater, something outside of ourselves.
For me, spirituality, that deep relationship with God and the world that transcends all, sustains and animates the aforementioned commitment. With a year and half under my belt in the role of spirituality project manager for Christian Brothers Conference, the office for the Lasallian Region of North America, I have been surprised at the depth this commitment has welled up in my personal spiritual development.
A quote from the Brother’s Rule embodies the continuing impact of spirituality in my life: “The Brothers should have a special love for interior prayer and consider it ‘as the first and principal of their daily exercises.’” In this role and in my life, prayer is an essential, a practical anchor for cultivating relationships and hearing the voice of the Spirit.
At each stage in initial formation, we Brothers are asked to write a letter to the Brother Visitor expressing our desire to renew promises or vows for another year. In contrast with the very public act of verbally stating these same vows later in the year, the process of discerning and drafting this letter occurs in quiet, in solitude, in stillness.
As I reflect on my time so far as a Brother, I am amazed at how the initial commitment and continued spiritual growth have moved me in the direction of seeking out renewal. Throughout this journey, I have often struggled to take time away, to pull back from ministry and draw much needed breath.
Connecting these thematic strands, renewal also occurs in the stillness, preparing me to recommit myself to my ministry, vocation and relationship with God. Commitment draws upon spirituality for sustenance, spirituality upon renewal for maintenance, and renewal upon commitment for accountability — all creating a loop that draws us ever more into the presence of God and each other.
Brother Michael Phipps, FSC, is the spirituality project manager for Christian Brothers Conference, the office for the Lasallian Region of North America (RELAN).