Br. John captures the mood of Mission Assembly

The positivity created by the success of the District Mission Assembly has been felt throughout the District since the memorable event in Malta in February, and the mood has been captured by one of the delegates, Br. John Deeney, who presented the following reflection at the District Chapter in Castletown.

Br. John Deeney at the District Chapter in Castletown

A famous Lasallian Document, The Declaration, was re-issued in 2020 and it stated: “We advance towards the demanding and exciting horizons of the twenty first century.”

In my experience, this second Mission Assembly was an advance – courageous, ambitious, focussed and joyful. We are not told if the apostles and disciples ever met up in a seaside hostel in Joppa, but if they did I’m sure it would have had something of the buzz of Bugibba.

Six nationalities all speaking the language of friendship and Christian mission. Willingness to share, listen and challenge, all in a constructive spirit and we shouldn’t take that for granted even in a church context. Excellent preparation gave us a firm base to work from and targets to reach. We were also an assembly in the middle of ‘the world’ (of tourism) and can only have given a small but positive witness in that busy environment.

We sat in groups at circular tables for sharing. Interestingly, our meeting rooms had mirrored panels on the ceilings, so for each pointing hand or move at table level the eye picked up an opposite reaction overhead and reflections presented a confusing scene.

Would our welter of words, ideas, statements form a coherent picture? We had to have confidence in the process – and now that we have the impressive report to reward our efforts we can see that we were right.

Confidence also in the presence of the Holy Spirit. When Peter spoke to the Roman solider, Cornelius, at Caesarea, he said: “I have come to realise that God treats everyone on the same basis.” And again: “These people have received the Holy Spirit just as we did.” So it should be no surprise that our Lasallian Partners are playing such a large part in driving the Lasallian mission. This Mission Assembly marked a maturing collaboration across the District.

Our Rule has been saying for many years: “Imbued with the spirit bequeathed to us by St. John Baptist de La Salle and with the partners who share our mission, we remain faithful to the living tradition of the Institute.” That process continues today.

- Br John Deeney