The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1912-01-06
THE BROTHERS OF THE
CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS.

Catholic Church in it's educational
work is its religious communities
of men and Of women. Without
them it were powerless to instruct
the children Of the flock along the
lines Of the high ideals begotten
of its divine mission: with them
the task is not only possible, but
comparatively easy. The Church s
Indebtedness to its religious COM
munities cannot be overestimated.
One Of the obstacles-the chief
obstacle, indeed, now-a-days-the
Church must overcome in the
maintenance of it's schools, is the
financial outlay this maintenance
makes necessary. If the expenses
incurred in Catholic schools were
to be measured by those incurred
in schools of the State, the
Church should retire from the
field of education: the requisite
sums of money were hopelessly
outside it's reach. The self-denial
and the spirit Of sacrifice, hidden
into the souls Of the members Of
the Church s religious communi-
ties by the remembrance that in
working for fellow-men one is
working for God, come to the
rescue. Just that temporal COM
pensation which provides the
necessaries of life-that and moth
ing more-is sought for by the
faithful, self-giving soldiery Of the
Church, its Brotherhoods and its
Sisterhood: in this manner the
desert-lands bloom and bear fruit
where Catholic school were
otherwise to be undreamt-of,
trained, devoted teachers, with
the high fitness derived from a
life long conservation to their
work, hurry forward for the honor
Of serving the Almighty God with
out "scrip" or money" and the
furnishing are fed, as by miracle,
with richest viands, and the
thirsty drink Of the sweetest of
the running waters. All praise
from holy Church to it's religious
communities in their work for the
education, secular and religious,
Of it's youth! All praise to them
from the Savior of souls, whose
mission upon earth is so won.
drously wrought out in the Chris
tan schools! ;.
AS we write, we have par.
ticularly in view the Brothers
of the Christian Schools-less
known, perhaps, because Of their
comparative fewness, to the gen.
eral Catholic public, than the
members Of the ever-to-be-blest
Sisterhoods, yet meriting, per.
haps, too, higher esteem and
deeper gratitude, inasmuch as they
are men, and, as the world moves
in its rounds of materialistic
quests, self-sacrifice is, today al
least, more unusual among men
than among women.
At the present time we have in
Minnesota four high-schools In
the charge of the Brothers Of the
Christian Schools-one in St
Paul, one in Minneapolis, one in
Duluth, and one, very recently
opened, in Winona. Fewer other
blessings Of equal value have beer
given by Providence to religion in
Minnesota than those four institu
tons conducted by the Brothers
of the Christian Schools. Woulo
to God that the number of theil
schools were more than trebled
And more than trebled they
quickly should be, were the spirit
of self-denial and the comprehen
sion of the holiness of the work tc
be done, more widely diffusec
amid our Catholic people, anc
vocations to the Brotherhood
brought to be more frequent thar
they now happen to be.
| The results attending the labors
of the Brothers of the Christian
Schools in Minnesota are wonder
to all who have had the oppor
tunity to notice them at close
range. The instruction given il
secular branches is so thorough
so complete, the moral qualitie:
OF application to duty, obedience
to rules, honesty of purpose anG
work, so enhanced by precepts
and example, that pupils of the
Brothers seeking positions in in
dustrial and professional career.
are caught up by employers a.
rare prizes, and soon are seen OF
the road of well-defned and sue
aQSSfnl aaraorS AID oc ~ xrybo J.