ROME – ITALY – CIL - TWO WEEK COURSE ON NARRATIVE IDENTITY AND A HOLISTIC VIEW OF AGEING IN RELIGIOUS LIFE : First a clarification: we were dealing with two distinct subjects, studied in turn, we were not talking of an announcement in advance of the death of Cilists. These two weeks are normally programmed under the heading "Living our Lasallian charism in midlife". The purpose of this course was to pause a little in order to reflect on our past, and then, in light of our present, to foresee what might happen in the future. The following theme followed naturally: "Being a Brother in the Modern World".

Brother Robert Comte led us through the subject of Identity today, viewed from different points of view: the sociological, followed by the psychological angle of our personal identity, then came a philosophical approach which was about narrative identity; this led naturally to Christian identity, studied with reference to the writings of our Founder. Finally we reached the aspect of our individual and community identity as brothers, with special reference, at this moment in time, to the forthcoming General Chapter. During the week, the cilists were invited to write down and re-read their personal itinerary so far. A good summary of what Brother Robert taught us can be found in MEL booklet no 25, titled: “Identity today”. In Brother Robert we had the advantage of a specialist to guide us, one who has researched and reflected on this theme throughout his life and who has profited from his teaching and formation of adults to devise an efficient teaching method. The icing on the cake was that we watched a 50-year-old black and white film of Ingmar Bergman called: “Wild strawberries”

Without a break... almost, (though we did have a Saturday trip to the ruins of Pompei and a rather hurried glance at the renowned Bay of Naples), we found ourselves up to our necks in a subject which at first seemed rather strange: holistic ageing. This was not simply imaginary, but was a real experience of something objective. The course was led by Doctor Cristina Muñoz, a specialist in “Health and Old Age”. Cristina teaches in Madrid in the Centre for the Humanisation of Health or as we might say: The Humane Approach to Health, an establishment which is managed by the Camillian Congregation. The approach taken was that of how to grow older in a healthy way in religious life, in other words “how to grow old holistically”, by linking the various areas of our person: the physical, psychological, emotional, cognitive, social and spiritual aspects of our lives. Based on a series of 13 main points, Doctor Cristina described at time quite clinically a probable evolutionary outlook at what awaits us over the horizon and which up to now we have looked on as vague and distant. Prevention, acceptance, accompaniment rather than fear, refusal, medication, are all various ways of reacting healthily to what are normally considered the limitations of old age rather than as the various illnesses of old age.
^{(Brother Jean-François Morlier)}

MIAMI - USA - LASALLIAN VOLUNTEERS IN MIAMI : On Friday, January 19, some of the school administrative team met with three Lasallian volunteers: Alisa Macksey, the assistant of David Kasievich, the Lasallian Volunteer Program Director for the United States, Maggie Sweeney, our provisional school director, and Adriana García (who has been helping us for three months) from the Lasallian Volunteer program of the District of South Mexico.

The most important part of this meeting was the coming together of two volunteer programs, those of Mexico and the United States, and the plan to establish a community of Lasallian volunteers in Miami (Homestead).
^{(Julio González-Portuondo, Secretary)}

MIAMI - USA - BROTHER VICTORINO : Brother Victorino, FSC (Agustin Arnaud Pages) was born in France in 1885.

At the age of 16, he entered the novitiate of the Brothers. In February 1905 his superiors were looking for volunteers to found a school in Cuba, and Brother Victorino volunteered. He was 20 years old at the time.

At the age of 42, with more than 20 years experience living in Cuba, he founded the Cuban Catholic Youth Federation. Later on, he founded the Catholic University Home and Christian Marriage Teams. In 1961 when the Catholic school were seized he had to leave Cuba.

Brother Victorino was an innovative prophetic man. He was ahead of his time in the area of Youth Ministry and in the commitment of the laity.

He died in San Juan, Puerto Rico on April 16, 1966. On March 30, 1999, the Holy See authorized the office of the Archbishop of San Juan to begin the canonical process which would look into the holiness of Brother Victorino.

"An educator who trusted in the laity and inspired religious vocations."
^{(News – www.delasallemia.org)}

ROME – ITALY - DO YOU SPEAK LASALLIAN? THE ONLINE GLOSSARY IS HERE : For help with Lasallian terms and structures, there is a Glossary on the District web site with brief definitions of key elements and pertinent vocabulary.

Go to www.delasalle.org and click on RESOURCES & LINKS for the Lasallian Glossary

SELANGOR – MALAYSIA - TOUCHING LIVES : A fresh article "Touching Lives" has been uploaded onto the e-Lasallian Family website : "Touching Lives" tells of how the La Salle Brothers and the alumni, in true Lasallian Spirit touch the lives of others. The first of the series is by M. Mahaboob, an Old Georgian whom Bro. James Macken remembers well during the schooldays. “Hte was a small little boy but he soaked up everything he heard in the classroom and was very well behaved and was tops in scripture.”, recalled the good Brother. www.e-lasallian.org
^{(Mr Ng Soon Hong)}

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