throughout the life of the church. We
don’t have to look far for role models
of the vocation of brother. There was
Anthony of Egypt, the desert hermit;
Benedict of nursia, the founder of
monasticism in the Western world;
and of course Francis of Assisi. All
witnessed to the vowed life, some
more contemplatively than others,
but they all helped shape the vocation of brother.
As one who professes the “
evangelical counsels” of poverty, chastity,
and obedience, i make a steadfast
commitment to God and the church
to be at the service of people. This
service manifests itself in the charism
of the Marianist community, which
This life was
about seeking
God in all that I do
through a path
of loving relationships
that advances the
reign of God.
“
asks brothers to profess a fourth vow
at the time of perpetual profession:
stability. That stability does not mean
staying with a particular monastery, as it does in the Benedictine
tradition, but rather it is a life-long
commitment to fulfilling the mission
of Mary, Mother of God in birthing
Christ to the world. This vocation
calls us to know, love, and serve the
Mother of God in such a way that it
leads others to Jesus.
The ministerial paths of religious
brothers vary greatly. A good number
of us are teachers and professors,
some are social workers and coun-
selors, others serve in the health-care
or legal professions. We respond
where the church and the people of
God need us. What we do is not as
important as how we do it and the
witness we pay to this particular
vocation. one of the brothers once
explained to me that “as a brother
we embrace a way of loving—widely
and deeply—that we seek God in a
way that is strange in its ordinariness
as it is mystical in its power.
All are brothers
in the Marianist community we all
enter as “brother,” and at the time of
perpetual profession we can request
seminary studies if we so desire.
Following a personal and communal
discernment, one may be granted
the opportunity of studying for the
priesthood. our brothers are primarily ordained for sacramental service
to the community and only later
function in priestly duties to the
larger church.
Many of our ordained members
will call themselves an “ordained
brother.” We make no major distinction between brothers and priests
and live a life of equality in community. We are one of a few religious or-
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