Lasallian Spirituality

Lasallian spirituality stands as a central pillar of the Lasallian charism — animating mission, pedagogy and a commitment to social justice. This spirituality, embodied by Saint John Baptist de La Salle, highlights the themes of faith in the reliance on God’s providence, zeal for the education of young people, and community by associating together for the mission of education. His holy example and spiritual practice continue to offer inspiration for recognizing and living out the noble vocation of educator.

2025: The Year of Lasallian Spirituality

Inspired by the 46^th General Chapter, the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools declared 2025 the Year of Lasallian Spirituality. The hope of this year was to highlight the centrality of spirituality to the Lasallian mission and provide Lasallian spirituality resources for years to come. In the Lasallian Region of North America (RELAN), a variety of initiatives were offered by Christian Brothers Conference to amplify and support dialogue, research and a deeper connection with Lasallian spirituality, including:

Prayers
Lasallian art competition
Encountering Lasallian Spirituality: A Retreat
Prayer Writing Workshop
Ongoing written reflections

Spirituality Resource of the Month
Print and digital resources
Regional webinars

During this time Lasallians were welcome to a time for deep reflection, renewal and growth in the shared mission of faith, service and education. The year was an invitation for all to rediscover the heart of our Lasallian vocation, to strengthen our commitment to our vocation as educators, and to be ever more attuned to the call to serve others with compassion and love. Read the full welcome letter.

Prayer for the Year of Lasallian Spirituality

Loving and Merciful God,

As we enter this Year of Lasallian Spirituality, we ask for your grace to renew our hearts and minds so that we may live with deeper faith, greater hope and stronger love.

We thank you for the gift of Saint John Baptist de La Salle, whose spiritual vision of education and service to the poor continues to inspire us today. May we follow his example of humility, devotion, and service to those most in need.

In this year, may we draw closer to you through prayer, reflection and action, that our hearts may burn with the same spiritual zeal for the mission of education that De La Salle had. May we, like the early Brothers of the Christian Schools, grow in interiority, recognize the Presence of God in the poor, marginalized and neglected, and offer the light of Christ to all we encounter.

We place our lives in your hands, O God, trusting that you will empower us to live faithfully, to serve joyfully, and to work together in the spirit of unity and community, as one Lasallian family throughout the world. We ask this through Christ, our Teacher, our Brother, our Savior.
Amen.

Saint John Baptist de La Salle, pray for us.
Saint Joseph, patron of the Institute, pray for us.
Mary, queen and mother of the Christian Schools, pray for us.
Blessed Nicholas Roland, pray for us.
Blessed James Miller, pray for us.

Stories

Lasallian Saints Art Contest 2025

Nov. 21, 2025 | Winning pieces of the “Seeing With Eyes of Faith: Celebrating Our Lasallian Saints and Heroes” art contest were on display at the Huether Lasallian Conference in St. Louis, Missouri. As part of the Year of Lasallian Spirituality, students and educators in ministries across the Region were invited to choose a person or group of people who they identify as a Lasallian hero (or heroine) and render an image of them to help us to celebrate those who have been living examples of the Lasallian charism through art. Read more.

Encountering Lasallian Spirituality Retreat Renewed and Energized Participants

Nov. 13, 2025 | Lasallians from across the Region found time for rest, renewal and reflection on the Encountering Lasallian Spirituality Retreat at the Bethany Center in Lutz, Florida, Nov. 3-6. Facilitated by Brother Michael Phipps, FSC, Brother Michael French, FSC, and Holly Hoey Germann, the retreat covered three thematic areas that addressed the dynamics of Lasallian spirituality, the development of spirituality and Lasallian spirituality and Lasallian spiritual leadership. Read more.

First Prayer Writing Workshop Fosters Creativity and Collaboration

July 10, 2025 | In late June 2025, a select group of Lasallians gathered at Christian Brothers Center in Narragansett, Rhode Island, for a Prayer Writing Workshop to create prayers for the larger Lasallian educational family. Through prayer, networking and time for community, the workshop fostered professional and spiritual growth for participants. Read more.

Ongoing Reflections

Christian Brothers Conference will publish occasional reflections to provide spiritual inspiration and inspire continued dialogue around Lasallian spirituality. The reflections below were published for the Year of Lasallian Spirituality. Check back periodically as more reflections will be added in the future.

Lasallian Spirituality: Reflections on a Year
By Brother Michael Phipps, FSC (Dec. 17, 2025)

Lasallian Spirituality: Living into the Mystery
By Brother George Van Grieken, FSC, Ph.D. (Oct. 9, 2025)

Teaching Minds and Touching Hearts as a Lasallian Educator
By Erika Lynn Whitehead
(Sept. 26, 2025)

You Can Do More: A Lasallian Journey Through Illness and Grace
By Traci Bennington (Sept. 15, 2025)

An Enduring Spiritual Legacy: The Writings of De La Salle
By Brother John M. Crawford, FSC (July 31, 2025)

The Ritual in Education: A Movement Toward Hope
By Brother Michael Phipps, FSC (May 7, 2025)

Resources

Spirituality Resource Guides

As part of its initiatives for the 2025 Year of Lasallian Spirituality, Christian Brothers Conference (CBC) released Spirituality Resource Guides to provide direction for prayer and meditation and offers questions designed for small and large group discussions centering on any selected resource.

Lasallian Spirituality Today

Published in 2023 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, “Lasallian Spirituality Today” is “intended to be that leaven which nourishes further reflection and enables us to share with all members of the Lasallian family the importance of spirituality in the present content of shared mission and association,” said the Institute’s Secretariat of Association. Access the resource guide.

Announcing the Gospel to the Poor: The Spiritual Experience and Spiritual Teaching of St. John Baptist de La Salle

Written by Brothers Miguel Campos and Michel Sauvage, FSC, in 1976, “Announcing the Gospel” offers a practical journey through the spirituality of De La Salle. The text offers a deepened understanding of De La Salle’s personal spirituality, an invitation into the mind of the Founder and the experiences of the first Brothers, and thematic links connecting faith formation and education. Access the resource guide.

The Spirit of Faith as Foundational to Lasallian Education

In this acceptance speech, Gery Short, AFSC, upon receiving the 2017 Brother John Johnston, FSC Award, reflects on a series of critical questions from his experiences at the local, District and international levels of the Lasallian family. Short addresses new challenges concerning “the spirit of faith.” He highlights prayer as the avenue to integrate faith and spirituality into all we do as ministers to those entrusted to our care. Access the resource guide.

Praying with John Baptist de La Salle

Written by Carl Koch in 1990, the book offers a succinct set of 15 thematically organized meditations based around the life and words of the Founder. With titles like “Living in God’s Presence” and “The Person of the Teacher,” the text spans a range of topics essential to Lasallian spirituality and the Lasallian educational mission. Access the resource guide.

Meditations for the Time of Retreat: A Lasallian Home Retreat

Written by Brother Vincent Pelletier, FSC, this 2021 home-based retreat provides avenues for Lasallians and educators of all paths to bring the experience of retreat into their homes, classrooms, offices and communities. The book calls for personal introspection and contemplation through 16 meditations covering five overarching themes. Access the resource guide.

Praying Our Experiences

Written by Brother Joseph F. Schmidt, FSC, the book offers readers the opportunity to reflect on how prayer flows from daily life, providing each of us with a variety of avenues to encountering God. The powerful topics packed into this short text highlight how our daily experiences, inspiring and disheartening, uplifting and challenging, can become the content of our prayer, drawing us ever more deeply into the presence of God and one another. Access the resource guide.

Spirituality in the Time of John Baptist de La Salle

This book contains a series of eight essays by various Lasallian scholars that describe the context within which De La Salle lived, wrote and founded the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. Its readers find a sweeping view of the Founder’s spirituality, both personal and communal. Edited by Brother Robert C. Berger, FSC, the text includes contributions by Jean-Guy Rodrigue, FSC; André Rayez, SJ; Yves Poutet, FSC; Maurice-Auguste Hermans, FSC; Michel Sauvage, FSC; and Luke Salm, FSC. Access the resource guide.

The Letters of John Baptist de La Salle

This book is a collection of the Founder’s some 150 letters, including 40 never before available in English, addressed to Brothers, members of his family, religious of other communities, and lay people, which were translated into English by Brother Colman Malloy, FSC. These letters illuminate the character of the man who has been praised as an innovative educator, an eminent spiritual writer and patron saint of all teachers. This scholarly work includes extensive commentaries incorporating modern research. Access the resource guide.

Method of Interior Prayer Print and Digital Resources

Bookmarks

This new prayer resource offers a succinct summary of De La Salle’s Method of Interior Prayer in a bookmark format. Perfect to fit in your Bible and spiritual reading, this bookmark serves as a helpful tool to enter into a time of prayer and reflection.

Order copies for your ministry on our online store.

Screensavers

We are excited to introduce a new digital resource for you — a way to easily access and pray De La Salle’s Method of Interior Prayer using your phone’s background.

Instructions: To download the files on your phone, please hold the image(s) until you get a pop-up menu where you can download the image on your device. From there, you can go into your photo library, select the photo(s) and “Set as Wallpaper.” The images are also downloadable through this link.

Note: You have the option of using only the first slide as your screensaver, or you may choose to use multiple screensavers with the separate steps on individual screens. Alternatively, you may choose to save the images in your device’s photo library and refer to the resources there.

Need assistance? Contact us at communications@lasallian.info.